Meal Feeding

I'm going to start the cats on meal feedding instead of a little canned in the morning and free choice dry all day til bedtime, then they dont eat again til morning when they get their canned, food and fresh dry.

So anyway I'm planning on mixing dry and canned together. I'm thinking about dividing it into 3 meals a day. Or would 2 be better? I was gonna do a quarter cup of dry each feeding and about a table spoon of canned, if fed 3 times a day.

What do you all think?

I think 3 meals is better. I feed mine when I wake up, after work and right before bed. More mealtimes cuts down on their begging

Yes, I agree.  Three smaller meals rather than 2 larger ones.  (although as to the portions, I cannot attest to the amounts...3/4 cups total per day of dry seems like a lot, but it depends on which kibble you're feeding, and how big your cats are, and how active, etc)

Is your ultimate goal to switch them to all canned, or what? 

Ni, I have a couple of fatties and I'm hoping this will help. I dont want to cut out dry because if we go out of town I can leave dry out for them and not have to worry about somebody feeding them for me.

How much dry would you suggest? Theyre eating Nutro dry right now.  Everybody weighs between 9-12 pounds.

Ahhh, yes, the best way to lose weight is definitely to put them on scheduled feedings.  But it's much easier and better to do it with canned vs dry (believe me...been there, done that!) 

As for how much dry to feed them, I think all you can do is experiment, and if they start to lose a bit of weight, you're on the right track.  If they don't, then cut down some.  (and usually what it says on the bag is too much)  (same with the cans )

Sorry, not much help, am I .  But it's like with people...every one is different.

A definite vote for three meals a day, for several reasons. I would also recommend against mixing kibble and canned unless the food is eaten within 20 minutes or so and the dishes are cleaned after each meal. Kibble routinely harbors quite a bit of bacteria and they proliferate fairly rapidly in moisture-rich environments, which might lead to a sick kitty (diarrhea, vomiting, etc.).

Why not go all canned? It's lots healthier than kibble anyway! 

AC

MGJ~ I want to mix dry and canned together for each meal

AC~ I want to stick with some dry for when we go out of town I can leave it for them and not have to worry about somebody feeding for me, plus I'm feeding 4 cats and I don't know if I can afford to feed everybody all canned. Food is not left out for too long, to be sure bacteria is not built up and bowls are always washed after every meal.

I know all the arguments against dry but personally I believe as long as the are drinking water well its fine I also free feed my cats so I never have to worry about being woken up early. Their bowl is filled in the morning and before I go to bed.I fed Nutro at one time and I believe the recommended requirements were 1/2 to 2/3 cup daily (Mia weighs 11 lbs and is definately not overweight). Both of mine are good at regulating their food themselves. I know though that all cats are not so you need too adjust what meets their needs. Hope this helps. 

Meal feeding didn't go over very well here. They never finished all of their food. I fed 1 tablesppon of dry and a tablespoon of canned each meal. And Bart threw all of what he did up right away after eating.

Suggestions or thoughts?

Hmmm, that doesn't sound like too much food. I know my cats will throw up if they've eaten too much at once, also if it's been too long between meals. We feed them 4 times a day (because they're beggars) giving them about a large Tbsp of wet each time and a little kibble at the end of the meal.
Was Bart eating quicker than normal? Maybe he was too hungry and needs to be fed more often, especially if they're used to being free fed.

Sounds like what Cuddles does when she is over hungry. Maybe being fed more often could be beneficial?

When I switched to timed meals, it was a process. They were used to free feeding, so didn't have the concept of eating all of their food at one meal. I don't know if this works for you - it worked for us, because we work from home. So I was able to feed them a lot of small meals, and then just slowly cut down on the number of meals I fed them (increasing the amounts at the meals).

Bart might have thrown up because of acid build-up in his stomach. He's used to eating a little frequently if he was grazing before. The only real answer to that is more frequent meals (initially). See if it happens again... You can try feeding him 2-3 pieces of kibble before you prepare their meals. It MAY absorb some of his stomach acid (if this is the issue), and that few minutes to calm his tummy down between when you give him those few pieces of kibble and then put down their food for the meal may do the trick....

pushylady said:

Hmmm, that doesn't sound like too much food. I know my cats will throw up if they've eaten too much at once, also if it's been too long between meals. We feed them 4 times a day (because they're beggars) giving them about a large Tbsp of wet each time and a little kibble at the end of the meal.
Was Bart eating quicker than normal? Maybe he was too hungry and needs to be fed more often, especially if they're used to being free fed.

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Yes, and he normally doesnt eat all of his canned food and he was finishing all of the dry and canned mixed together

LDG said:

When I switched to timed meals, it was a process. They were used to free feeding, so didn't have the concept of eating all of their food at one meal. I don't know if this works for you - it worked for us, because we work from home. So I was able to feed them a lot of small meals, and then just slowly cut down on the number of meals I fed them (increasing the amounts at the meals).
Bart might have thrown up because of acid build-up in his stomach. He's used to eating a little frequently if he was grazing before. The only real answer to that is more frequent meals (initially). See if it happens again... You can try feeding him 2-3 pieces of kibble before you prepare their meals. It MAY absorb some of his stomach acid (if this is the issue), and that few minutes to calm his tummy down between when you give him those few pieces of kibble and then put down their food for the meal may do the trick....

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Thanks, I'll give that a try. I let them go back to free choice feeding. They seem alot happier that way

Oh yeah, cats don't like change. The transition to timed meals IS difficult. But it's healthier for them, and being overweight is a serious health problem.

I hope you're able to give it a go again. My cats had access to free fed kibble for 8 years, so the transition wasn't easy on any of us. The first step I made was picking up the food during the day. It came up when I got up - and I did not feed their first meal of the day right away. I didn't want them thinking that me getting up meant food so I had some flexibility in the mornings. Before bed, I would put their bowl back down, but I put it down with a measured amount of food in it - only enough for one meal of kibble for each of 8 cats. Now - I know one of the piggy cats ate a lot of it, and two of my cats didn't get much, if any of it. But that hunger helped them to eat more at that first meal of the day. You don't want them starving - but you do need that hunger working for you. :nod:

The more meals you can feed them during the day at first, the better. But if it's only the three they will be eating, that will work. Just know that even though they're happier now.... they'll be healthier on timed meals you control (and they'll be happy too! Just not at first. ). :heart2:

LDG said:

Oh yeah, cats don't like change. The transition to timed meals IS difficult.

But it's healthier for them, and being overweight is a serious health problem.

I hope you're able to give it a go again. My cats had access to free fed kibble for 8 years, so the transition wasn't easy on any of us. The first step I made was picking up the food during the day. It came up when I got up - and I did not feed their first meal of the day right away. I didn't want them thinking that me getting up meant food so I had some flexibility in the mornings. Before bed, I would put their bowl back down, but I put it down with a measured amount of food in it - only enough for one meal of kibble for each of 8 cats. Now - I know one of the piggy cats ate a lot of it, and two of my cats didn't get much, if any of it. But that hunger helped them to eat more at that first meal of the day. You don't want them starving - but you do need that hunger working for you.

The more meals you can feed them during the day at first, the better. But if it's only the three they will be eating, that will work. Just know that even though they're happier now.... they'll be healthier on timed meals you control (and they'll be happy too! Just not at first.

).

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I do want to try it again.

My cats do associate me getting up with being fed right away, cuz I created that monster by doing that lol. The dogs too They only get tp eat their dry food durign the day. The door is closed to their food at night. I get up and feed them canned and give them fresh dry in the morning. I can do more meals to start off with. I'd like to get them to 2 meals a day, but if 3 works we can do that too.