How many meals a day?

jazzythecat

jazzythecat

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Ginga gets 2 meals a day, it says on what we feed her to give her 3 meals a day. I have a feeling that she wants 3 meals because at around our lunchtime, she rushes to the laundry (where we feed her) she mewls her little heart out. I'm not sure whether we should give her 3 meals a day because we don't want her to be fat. I'd like to know what I should do.

Jackz, Jazzy & Ginga.
 
otto

otto

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You can feed her three meals a day. Just make them smaller, so she is still getting the proper amount of food.

My cats eat five meals a day and two snacks. Breakfast is split into two (or even three servings) meals, as is supper. There is a snack midday and at bedtime. If I am not home midday to give the snack they get double snack before bed.
 
lyrajean

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Am I correct that Ginga is still a kitten? or under 1 year old? Incredibly active? She might still be growing and need that extra meal.

Otherwise I'd say it depends. If you are feeding dry you can put it out once or twice a day, no prob unless you have a gorger and puker (one who scarfs down everything you put out and then vomits) in which case smaller more frequent meals is probably best.

Try the three meals and make each meal slightly smaller and see how it goes. Does she eat everything you put out? Does she bother you less for food? Is she getting fat? If your answers are yes, yes no, then 3 meals a day is probably a good thing for her.
 
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jazzythecat

jazzythecat

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Yes Lyra, she is still a kitten. She thinks of me only as a food source though. Every time I go into the laundry to get something, she rushes up to me and starts meowing. She is not fat, I will try what you and otto have said and give her three meals.

Jackz, Jazzy & Ginga.
 
ldg

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I know nothing about how many calories a cat should eat. I just know that cats' digestive systems are designed to eat many small meals a day.

That's why we let our cats free feed on dry food - they always self-regulated. We gave them a meal of wet food at dinner time - and now that we've learned wet food is better for their health in the long run, we now also give them a wet meal at breakfast - but we still leave the dry out for them to free feed. Because they eat more wet food, on their own they now eat less dry food.

Of seven cats, the youngest of which is going to be four this year, only one at this point is overweight - and he was a feral rescued at about 2 years old, so took advantage of the ability to have food available all the time.


Little kitties need a lot of food for that growing body all full of kitten play!
 
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wmarcello

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Originally Posted by LDG

I know nothing about how many calories a cat should eat. I just know that cats' digestive systems are designed to eat many small meals a day.
Click to expand...
The site CatInfo.org (written by a vet), mentions this about caloric intake:

Allowing a cat to go without food - especially an overweight cat - for a long period of time (greater than 48 hours) can be quite dangerous and may result in hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease).

Hepatic lipidosis can also develop when a cat consumes 50% or less of his daily caloric requirements over a period of many days. The definition of "many" varies from cat-to-cat. For this reason it is important to understand that you need to have some idea of the calories from canned food combined with the calories from dry food that your cat is consuming on a daily basis while you are implementing the transition to canned food. I have never seen a cat develop hepatic lipidosis when consuming at least 15 calories per pound per day. This number is figured on lean body weight, not fat weight.

If your cat weighs 18 pounds but really should weigh 12 pounds, please make sure that he is consuming at least ~180 calories per day. (12 pounds lean body mass X 15 calories/pound/day = ~180 calories/day)

If you have a small female cat that should only weigh 9 pounds, please make sure that she is consuming at least 135 calories per day.
Click to expand...
 
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wmarcello

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Just to add to that, on almost any bag or can of food it mentions that kittens and nursing/pregnant mothers need more food than the norm.
 
lyrajean

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They do seem to make the assunmption that all cat should be between 10-13 lbs. I've had 2 very petite domestic females who were 6 and 7 lbs respectively (Aya is 7 lbs).
 
jenwales

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I can't free feed because one of my three will not self regulate. At one time he weighed 20 pounds. He's down to 16.2 and should weigh 12.

Jack, the fat one, gets 1/2 a can of Avoderm/Wellness/Evo in the AM and the other half in the PM. He also gets 1/8 cup of Kirklands.

Lily, aged 2 and about 9 pounds gets 1/4 cup of Kirklands in the AM and 1/4 cup of Acana in the PM. In the AM she also gets a couple of tablespoons of wet food (she licks the moisture out and leaves the meat).

Boo, the 8 month old, gets 1/4 cup of Kirklands in the AM, 1/4 cup of Evo Salmon and Herring when I get home from work, and 1/4 cup of Acana in the evening. She will not even lick canned food. She weighs about 7 pounds.
 
otto

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I also do not free feed. Currently I have three cats on three very different diets, so couldn't free feed anyway, but I never have.


For one thing I've always fed wet, but also, my cats and I experience meal time as very special bonding times. Each cat has his or her own little quirks and habits and requirements at meal times, it's fun.


(Plus, I have always seemed to have at least one, and currently two, who would eat everything in sight and not stop until the dish was empty)
 
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kittykatt23

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My cats nellie and alexis eat three small meals a day it rotates from dry to wet. Neither one of them are overweight. so i think it would be fine for your cat u just have to watch the calories some. My cats eat wellness core.
 
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goldenkitty45

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Two main meals a day here. We do give a few nibbles of treats as a snack once or twice a day.

Scheduled meals help maintain the weight of a cat. Most cats will overeat if you leave food in the bowl all day.
 
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