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"forget" to eat?

post #1 of 6
3/13/11 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,
My 9 month old is currently on a kibble/wet diet. Kibble is out all day, while i feed a few spoonfuls of canned in morning and night.
Funny thing is....as soon as I get the wet stuff out he bolts towards me. When I put it down he attacks food..LOL
But I notice he doesn't finish, and we are only talking less then 1/4 can. WHat is "funny" is that when I put him at the dish of canned later he eats more as he doesn't go get it himself...i have to put him there to finish.
Is this normal?
Thanx!
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post #2 of 6
3/13/11 at 7:24pm
Its because you are free feeding dry, and he's likely nibbling small amounts throughout the day, so his tummy is never completely empty to feel like finishing the wet all at once. I had the same issue when free feeding, they'd finish, but never all at once.

Switch to scheduled feeding, say dry morning and night, and wet afternoon, and he'll inhale it.

9 months is old enough you could switch away from free feeding if you like, and eventually you'd really want to as older kitties can get pretty porky from that.

I picked up the Petmate LeBistro automatic feeder and am really happy with it.


It works well with evenly sized kibble like Blue Wilderness, and the problems of cats jumping on it and knocking it over can be resolved by putting it in a corner or under something (I used their tree), and clever thieves are easily thwarted just wedging a chopstick between the bowl and dispenser (takes two seconds).
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post #3 of 6
3/13/11 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 
Thanx so much for reply!
I am concerned about feeding since I leave house at 10am and may not return until as late as 8pm.
I dont mind having him eat a little wet at a time, but dont want it where it just gets simply nasty.
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post #4 of 6
3/13/11 at 7:39pm
Yeah, definitely don't want to leave wet out too long, especially the fishy stuff. I put down 3oz of food that they share for them at a time, and they wolfed it down after switching to scheduled feeding. I think it takes about 30 seconds and that plate is CLEAN!
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post #5 of 6
3/14/11 at 7:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by usaalways View Post
Hello,
My 9 month old is currently on a kibble/wet diet. Kibble is out all day, while i feed a few spoonfuls of canned in morning and night.
Funny thing is....as soon as I get the wet stuff out he bolts towards me. When I put it down he attacks food..LOL
But I notice he doesn't finish, and we are only talking less then 1/4 can. WHat is "funny" is that when I put him at the dish of canned later he eats more as he doesn't go get it himself...i have to put him there to finish.
Is this normal?
Thanx!
I also free feed dry to my 4 meezers and give them each 1/4 can of wet 2x daily. Sounds like we're on the same feeding schedule Sounds to me like he's not super hungry when you feed the wet food. He's probably been snacking all day long while you're out. If you don't want to, or can't, go to a scheduled feeding for dry (so he doesn't have access to it all day), you might consider switching to a smaller kibble. Nutro Indoor Complete Care has reduced their kibble size by 24% and my cats seem to love it. A smaller, more uniform kibble might help if you can't do scheduled feedings. My cats have dry available 24/7 but can't wait until it's time for the "real" meal, which is 1/4 3.5oz can apiece. They usually gobble it all up. Ducman69 suggested an alternative for feeders and that is a really good option for you as well.
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post #6 of 6
3/15/11 at 10:38am
Why not do the opposite, feed him canned for breakfast and late at night (canned is much better for cats anyways, especially for a male) and leave out a bit of kibble while you are gone so if he's hungry he can snack. You didn't say if you are feeding a certain amount of kibble daily or just filling the dish and letting him snack? I don't free fed, it sets cats up to get fat, not to mention you can't always tell if they aren't eating or how much they are if you just add food whenever it's empty. When I feed canned my cat gets about 6 ounces, split into 3 feedings, she doesn't eat a whole can at once although she'd probably love to.
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