when do you ..

sunfairie

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..stop free feeding?
My kits are 8 months this month and I am still not restricting their food intake..It has slowed; they get Nutro dry kibble to snack on all day with Nutro meaty bites 3x a day.

Should I keep this up until they hit one year old?

Or does it depend on their weight gain?
 

bnwalker2

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As long as my kitties aren't eating too much and gaining too much weight, I continue to free feed dry throughout their lives.
 

bluegirl

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Originally Posted by bnwalker2

As long as my kitties aren't eating too much and gaining too much weight, I continue to free feed dry throughout their lives.
exactly this
 

goldenkitty45

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SOME cats can free feed as adults. Most gain too much weight and its hard to get it back off.

I don't free feed after 5 months of age. They get a certain amount of dry and/or wet and they are in excellent shape/weight.

If your cats are neutered/spayed and 8 months old, they should be eating adult food and 2 meals a day.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

If your cats are neutered/spayed and 8 months old, they should be eating adult food and 2 meals a day.
I agree. Though mine get 3 meals a day.

Mine have never been free fed, all eat adult dry (though very little) and 2 of them are still under 12 months. All in excellent condition.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by bnwalker2

As long as my kitties aren't eating too much and gaining too much weight, I continue to free feed dry throughout their lives.
Originally Posted by bluegirl

exactly this
same here. i free feed dry 24 hours, with an evening wet meal for the wet eating cats. Pixel's a little pudgy, but she's also 10. last vet visit they said she was ok for a senior. Chip's a bit overweight, but not obviously so. he's got a really big set of shoulders on him!
 

sharky

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I measure free feed ... ie I know what the bowl holds and adjust as needed
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by sharky

I measure free feed ... ie I know what the bowl holds and adjust as needed
i do measure, & i've noticed when i have to use a less-premium food, the bowls are empty in the morning. usually there's a leftover amount each morning, which i give to the ferals.
 

kitytize

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I free feed all my cats but one. And the one not free fed is because she is obese and I need to measure what she eats.
 

whiteforest

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I wouldn't recommend free-feeding at all at this point. She is old enough now. I do what I consider to be free-feeding, but it's controlled. I measure out an appropriate daily amount [based on weight and activity level - a sedentary cat doesn't need the full 'recommended' amount]. Since I feed dry, I just put the measured amount out and they pick at it throughout the day. So it's kind of like free-feeding but I know they won't overeat and gain unnecessary weight.
 
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sunfairie

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oohh Ok thanks for the shared experiences here..
SO I use one of those free feeders that I fill and the dry food just pours out to a bowl..so I should stop using this and measure out dry food??

I am afraid with 4 kits, that one or more could never get any dry food to snack on...Cumi my alpha seems to come over and push the others out of the way when he sees them snacking on the dry stuff.

hhmmm
 

sharky

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I advise measuring then YOU know HOW much the bowl holds and he/she is eating in a day.. plus if say the vet says at some pt to cut down or to increase you can without guessing
 

whiteforest

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We've had 5 cats eating a measured free feed and found that it's best to put out a bowl for each cat. They seem to work it out better this way. Otherwise they'll eat according to their hierarchy. The top cat always gets to eat first, and so on... With multiple bowls they can all eat at the same time with no problems.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by whiteforest

We've had 5 cats eating a measured free feed and found that it's best to put out a bowl for each cat. They seem to work it out better this way. Otherwise they'll eat according to their hierarchy. The top cat always gets to eat first, and so on... With multiple bowls they can all eat at the same time with no problems.
i have 5 bowls for dry & 3 plates for wet.
 

cococat

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Originally Posted by kitytize

I free feed all my cats but one. And the one not free fed is because she is obese and I need to measure what she eats.
So how doesn't she get to eat what the others eat? That must be hard.
 

cococat

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I stopped free feeding at around a year. Now the meals are measured out, wet and dry.
 

sillyjilly

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I've always free fed dry to all my cats and actually have never had a fat cat... Not that I'm not saying it couldn't happen. Kitters is rather petite and I think her knowing she can eat at anytime makes it so she doesn't horde it when it's put out. (Now if only I did so well! :lol3)
 
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sunfairie

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Originally Posted by whiteforest

We've had 5 cats eating a measured free feed and found that it's best to put out a bowl for each cat. They seem to work it out better this way. Otherwise they'll eat according to their hierarchy. The top cat always gets to eat first, and so on... With multiple bowls they can all eat at the same time with no problems.
Thank You whiteforest..
This is what I actually did this morning!..

I needed to hear this..I ditched the one feeder for all and put out dry bowls for everyone.

what a difference it makes!
Thanks!
 

pussy_cat

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I go by what the bag says for how much they get depending on their weight and I put that much in their food bowl for the day. Most times there is a little left over by the next morning. All of my cats are in excellent shape and my vet recommends the free feeding method.
The way I feel about it is- if you were a cat would you want some one telling you when to eat and if for some reason you didn't feel good or were not hungry, have them take it away and only give it back when they say it's time to eat again?? lol.
NO THANK YOU!
 

tutti_bella

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I don't free feed anymore even though my kitten is only 5 months old. I feed more frequently and also allow her to have some treats especially when we are in a training session. This arrangements only works when I am at home most of the day so I am a little worried when I have to get back to work next week. I might have to just leave her dry food out, which I really didn't want to. She eats mostly wet food.
 
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