Feeding times or constant food

Me and my family got a feral kitten(2-3 months old according to vet). Already made a post about it in the feral section of the forum, but now I have some questions regarding feeding so I decided to post here too.

For the time being we are feeding her by simply leaving the food out and letting her eat when she wants. But since she only comes out from under the bed in the evenings and during the night she only gets food that was left then. So I was thinking of switching to the food only being there at set times. For the time being I was thinking of putting the food near her hiding place in the morning, at midday and in the evening to get her used to the times. Then after some time(a week or two maybe) moving the food tray back to the kitchen where it is now. Since I have basically zero experience raising cats I was wondering if any part of this is a good idea?

As a side question I was wondering what we should feed the kitten. At the moment we are feeding her 2 times Friskies dry food(vet said we should feed her some for tooth cleaning or something like that) and 1 time some kind of meal from Kitekat.

I always think schedule feeding is better than free feeding.

Just so you know, dry food does not clean teeth. So my suggestion is, get the kitten onto a scheduled meal time, then slowly transition her to an all canned diet.

Welcome to TCS and congratulations on your new baby!

PS since you said you don't know a lot about cats (yet!) here is a good place to start for learning about how and what to feed her.

http://catinfo.org/

Reiten said:

As a side question I was wondering what we should feed the kitten. At the moment we are feeding her 2 times Friskies dry food(vet said we should feed her some for tooth cleaning or something like that) and 1 time some kind of meal from Kitekat.

Click to expand...

I give mine food all the time because I hate the thought of her being hungry and not having anything available. (Also, sometimes I am away during the entire day.) But i cannot vouch for which method is best.

As for food suggestions, I'd suggest against Friskies, Whiskas and Kitekat, and other similar supermarket foods. The reason is that they are high in grains, low in proteins, and that's why they're cheaper and found everywhere.

 It's all very much influenced by your budget (trust me, I know how that goes), but here's what my vet recommended me when I first took Jo for her checkups (I'm from Europe, different labels might be available in your country):

- Royal Canin

- Pro Plan

- Sanabelle

- Hill's

- Biomill

She prefers the first three.

When it comes to dry vs wet, the general consensus is that wet is better. I feed mine both types on your average day, plus some extra chicken on the side, and whatever else I find in the kitchen, but keep in mind that some human foods are not recommended for cats, and others should downright be kept away from them (chocolate, onion, garlic, alcohol, etc.)

Good luck!

PS: Lay low on the liver and milk.

Bozita (Swedish) seems to be available in your country. That would be a healthier choice than Friskies and Kitekat and isn't much more expensive. I third the suggestion to feed her wet food.

Thanks for the information and suggestions. I'll have to check what kind of food is available and try to change from dry to wet food as soon as I can.

Welcome to TCS, Reiten! Congrats on your new kitty!

Three meals a day is a very good schedule for adult cats, but adding a fourth meal for a kitten would be a good idea, as kittens need to eat more food, more frequently. See How often should you feed your cat? for more information.

I'll also add my support for a canned food diet over bagged kibble. Cats need moisture in their foods and they just don't drink enough to make up for not getting it when they're eating dry kibble. Someone already linked to CatInfo.org, so here's another great site: Feline Nutrition Education Society.

I'd also like to throw something else out there - getting two kittens is a better option than just one, as they will keep each other company and give each other confidence and someone to play with when you're not around.

Best regards!

AC
 

I just had to throw in my .02. Having two cats is a blast! They can wrestle with each other, but it's all in good fun. And they're not doing it to my ankles.

I've just finished dealing with struvite crystals in my one-year-old cat's urine - to make a long story short, best case scenario is that they pee all over your stuff, worst case scenario is bladder blockage which results in surgery or death. Wet food typically prevents this. If your kitten is a boy, they can be prone to this. Needless to say, I recommend an all-wet diet, too!

Gussy, may I ask what you were feeding your boy when he got the crystals?  I have 2 male kittens, and I am scared of them developing crystals!

Sure! They got Blue Buffalo dry (regular kitten) and Authority (Petsmart store brand) wet, about 50/50. Any dry food increases risk of crystals. We did have a better-case scenario with my cat peeing all over the house, but needless to say, this was not exactly a picnic! This website helped in my "conversion" process to an all-wet diet: http://www.catinfo.org/ .

Basically, cats tend not to have a strong thirst drive, they're meant to get their water from eating their prey. So if you feed them canned food, which has a high moisture content, you're better mimicking what happens in nature. Boys are more prone to have negative effects of dry food because their urethra is smaller. The vet who made the Catinfo website says that any canned food is better than any dry food. There are some that are better, obviously - lower-grain or grain-free, as these tend to be lower in carbs. Cats weren't meant to eat carbs.

We've been doing an all-wet diet for about a week now. The cats are no whinier than usual to get their food in the morning, and they also seem fine when I feed them when I get home. I don't think they miss the free-feeding dry food. I'm told that we can freeze some portions of food, so if we only want to pay for a sitter to come once a day when we're out of town, she can put out a "regular" portion and a frozen portion. Haven't been out of town yet, but we will be soon enough with the holidays!

Mine are eating California Natural dry, along with various premium wet foods.  I also tried NV Raw, and they seemed to like the beef.  I would like to feed them majority wet or raw, but my fiance will not budge from old school thinking that the dry food is good for them, keeps their teeth clean, etc... he thinks we should feed them all dry and be done with it. I have spent TONS of time researching diet but no matter what I say I cannot convince him. I also want to get them on more of a schedule, but of course he wants to just leave food out all the time. Sigh...... ......  But I do try to get as much water in them as possible.  I mix water into the canned food, I make sure their water dish is fresh several times a day, I give them chicken broth sometimes (that I have made myself using nothing but chicken and water), and if we eat tuna I mix a little of that juice with water for them.

Sounds like you are doing the best you can! Do you have a water fountain? The circulating water can be helpful, as cats are more likely in nature to drink from the babbling brook than the stagnant pond. I don't honestly see my cats drink from it all that much, but the water level goes down very quickly, so I think they are drinking at night or while we're at work.

Can you try printing this out for your fiance? http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FEEDING YOUR CAT 8-10 Short 2-12-10.pdf   To call it the short version is a little funny, because it's 11 pages, but I hope you can convince him to read it. This quote had a big impact on me: "Keep in mind that the cheapest canned food is better than any dry food on the market."

If you're the one that scoops the litter box, just be aware of the size of the urine clumps. If they start to get small, it's time to take someone to the vet. My cat also changed in personality, but it was subtle enough that we attributed it to his growth from kitten to cat, not illness. He was super-affectionate, but became less so. Now that his crystals have been fixed, he's super-affectionate again.

When I posted a question asking for advice about diet to prevent crystals, 9/10 people who responded told me that I should convert to an all-wet. Food for thought (hah).

Good luck!

Krysta said:

... I would like to feed them majority wet or raw, but my fiance will not budge from old school thinking that the dry food is good for them, keeps their teeth clean, etc... he thinks we should feed them all dry and be done with it. I have spent TONS of time researching diet but no matter what I say I cannot convince him....

Click to expand...

Wow, that's really sad he has no interest in the long term health of your kitties, and doesn't believe you can conduct worthwhile, meaningful research. I'd be upset about that as much about the issue of my kitties' health!

What about appealing to finances? Just like with people, diet is the foundation of health. If you and your DH were to eat only dry cereal day-in, day-out forever, you'd have some hefty doctor's bills down the road.... Think urinary tract/bladder infections, candida, kidney problems from lack of moisture, to name a few. ....But an apple a day keeps the doctor away! Just as people need fruits, veggies, and whole grains - not only highly processed foods - the equivalent diet for a cat is raw, or at least a MOIST high-protein, grain-free, low-carbohydrate diet.

What does he think cats in the wild eat? People don't put up fences around the garden to keep the cat out! Cats and humans have had a relationship for thousands of years because cats.... eat mice. Cats didn't eat the grain stores - they ate the animals that were going after that grain! If we feed them right, we spend less on vet bills. A LOT less.

Krysta said:

Mine are eating California Natural dry, along with various premium wet foods.  I also tried NV Raw, and they seemed to like the beef.  I would like to feed them majority wet or raw, but my fiance will not budge from old school thinking that the dry food is good for them, keeps their teeth clean, etc... he thinks we should feed them all dry and be done with it. I have spent TONS of time researching diet but no matter what I say I cannot convince him. I also want to get them on more of a schedule, but of course he wants to just leave food out all the time. Sigh......:smshfrk: ......  But I do try to get as much water in them as possible.  I mix water into the canned food, I make sure their water dish is fresh several times a day, I give them chicken broth sometimes (that I have made myself using nothing but chicken and water), and if we eat tuna I mix a little of that juice with water for them.

Click to expand...

If I were you (which I am not, just wanna give you some advice ) I would print out various articles from websites such as catinfo.org and hand them to your fiancé and tell him to read them; if they do not sway him in favor of wet and raw, I don't know what will! I would also look for a holistic veterinarian, and ask for a nutritional consultation - and bring your fiancé with you to the appointment! Wet and raw are honestly the way to go. Moisture content is so, so important. Kitties do not need all the carbs in dry.
I feed NV raw, and my kitties eat the beef as well as a variety of other flavors. If you need any advice on feeding this (how much, what flavors kitties like best, timetable) just feel free to let me know! I have a timetable for when I feed and what flavors I feed weekly.
That is so good of you to be mixing the water with canned and giving chicken broth! Honestly this is exactly what I did before switching to raw, and it really does improve their moisture content.
for you that your fiancé will come around, and for your kitties too!

Wow, that's really sad he has no interest in the long term health of your kitties, and doesn't believe you can conduct worthwhile, meaningful research. 

I'd be upset about that as much about the issue of my kitties' health! 

Click to expand...

It's not that he doesn't care.... it's mostly just that his family didn't have a lot of money growing up, and fed the cat whatever was cheapest.  Said cat went away to college with him, made the move far away with him, and was really healthy and lived to be 20.  So I totally understand his logic and where he's coming from.   I  just think he got lucky with that cat.  For the most part, they are eating what I want them to eat, though, and I am moving them toward more scheduled feedings.  So I am making progress!