Feeding schedule

Alright, so I've got 2 kittens that are getting 'plumper' by the day lol. So I've decided to stop free feeding them dry during the day. All 5 cats are on Felidae Chicken and Rice, and I've been feeding them 1/4 cup each of wet every night at 10pm. So I've worked out that they'll be getting rougly 1/3 cup of dry during the day, and that should just about cover them for getting the required amount daily. (I will of course be watching their weights, and will change each of their diets accordingly).

My question is what type of feeding schedule will be best for their little tummies and digestive systems? The easiest way for me to work it would be to feed them their dry around 12-1pm when I get home from work so that I can seperate them all and watch them to make sure that they each eat all of their own. Is 1/3 cup of dry too much for them to eat in one sitting? We've had issues with 2 of our kittens and lots of throwing up (undigested foods after what looked like gorging to me) so I don't want to overstuff the kits. Then I'd feed them their wet at 10pm. Is that too long between feedings? Should I chop everything up into smaller portions so they don't go ridiculously hungry?

Help please

I would do the smaller portions thing since they are used to free eating. This way you can limit thier intake but they still feel like they are eating all day. GOod luck!

Yes, I agree. I think if you can get closer to 3-4 small meals they will make a smoother transition.

A lot of cats do fine with 2 meals a day, spaced much like you described but going from free to scheduled will make it a little harder. Thus the smaller more frequent meals.

I free feed dry, and I don't think any of my cats ever eat more than 15 kibble pieces in one sitting. So your kitties are probably used to something like that. The meals don't have to be THAT small, but you get the idea - it's what they're used to so it will take some transitioning to get to 2 meals a day.

Thanks for the replies I'll follow your suggestions and try to break their food up into smaller meals for them to transition. It'll be a little dificult on the weekends since I work 12 hours on Sat and sometimes the same on Sunday. How detrimental to their feeding schedual would it be to leave their required dry food amount out on Saturday morning and let them free feed that until its gone, and then feed them their wet at night? Me and the hubby both work at the same place, and normally its just us, so there really isn't much of a window for me to be able to sneak home for 20 minutes to feed the cats :-/

Silly chubby kittens

Kittens are usually fed three or four meals a day, while adult cats do fine on two. You could try an automatic feeder with a timer for when you're away for long hours.

Well, I suppose I should stop callling them kittens, since they're 11 months old lol But I'll definitely look into the automatic feeders. DH is getting pretty frustrated with me buying all the gizmos for the cats (water fountains and toys galore lol) but he'll have to make do

Originally Posted by Shiraz

Well, I suppose I should stop callling them kittens, since they're 11 months old lol But I'll definitely look into the automatic feeders. DH is getting pretty frustrated with me buying all the gizmos for the cats (water fountains and toys galore lol) but he'll have to make do

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At 11 months, they'd probably be okay with two meals a day. I know what you mean about gizmos - our cat gets more packages than we do!