How long do you leave your cat food out for?

ekoampeace

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We started feeding our cats 2x a day instead of free feeding them. They eat dry food and on very rare occasions wet food.

My question is how long do I leave the cat food out for them to eat? I'm feeding them once in the morning and once at night. Do I leave the food out for 20 or 30 minutes? I noticed they eat for about 5 - 10 minutes and then go off and do something else.
 

ritz

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Good for your for changing from free feeding!

I would leave the food out for around 20 minutes, then take it up (refrigerate if wet).  In a short time, your cats will learn to eat then, or not for another 10 or so hours.  Your cats may have not realized they aren't going to have access to food 24x7.
 

just mike

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We started feeding our cats 2x a day instead of free feeding them. They eat dry food and on very rare occasions wet food.

My question is how long do I leave the cat food out for them to eat? I'm feeding them once in the morning and once at night. Do I leave the food out for 20 or 30 minutes? I noticed they eat for about 5 - 10 minutes and then go off and do something else.
A healthy can can "graze" between 20 and 30 times a day. That said, it's good to get them on a schedule and avoid free feeding kibble. Do you measure their food and give them 1/2 their daily requirements 2x daily? My next question would be do they eat all of the food during the 2 feedings? Some cats will inhale their food... others will piddle around with it all day.

Is there a reason that a wet diet is not possible or maybe they just won't eat wet. If you're interested in transitioning them to wet, there is a lot of help out there. A good start on that would be http://catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_

I'd leave the food out at least 20-30 minutes for each feeding if you're going to continue with kibble. You could also get a timed feeder and measure out their daily portion into the timed feeder and feed them several small meals daily at different intervals.

My cats get about 90% of their daily diet in wet and 10% in dry. I use the timed feeders for the dry and give them small feedings of kibble 3x a day in very small portions. Their 2 main meals are wet 2x daily. I really like the timed feeders for kibble. :2cts:
 
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ekoampeace

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2 of my cats won't touch wet food, so we leave it out occasionaly as a treat for the third.

They do not finish the food I give them in one sitting but I'm feeding them their full serving in te morning and letting them finish what is left at night. Im noticing They tend to eat about 1/3 the first time and 1/2 the second time. My cats are not overweight (with the exception of our roommates cat) and are healthy we are switching off of free feeding because it was recommended to help with a behavior problem we are having.

Since they are not finishin their servings, Should I be leaving them food several times. Day?
 

texaszet

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It really depends on the cats. My cats all trend toward being underweight, so I leave the dry food out all day long. My two cats without food allergies also get wet food twice a day. For that, though, I only let them have it for 20-30 minutes, and then pick up the rest.

If you have overweight cats, you may need to restrict their food, but otherwise, you shouldn't worry about it.
 

ilovemia

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I freefeed mia dry. She grazes all day and some at night. She eats about 2/3 cup every 24 hours. She is a normal weight.
 

korina

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The short answer is:

for however long it takes them to consume 150-200 calories worth every 24 hours. (hence why it is SO much easier to control calories with wet food, one can equals that range)

Any other suggestion is superfluous.

Personally I think it's bananas to try and schedule feeding.

I try for my own convenience but never would delude myself into thinking it was as sure shot.

My only experience is having 1 cat addicted to dry, 1 cat who eats all wet but when exposed to freefeed dry will partake and then reject wet later because she is full.  In that scenario we would just keep the dry bowl off the ground till the dry eating cat asked for it (and she always does).

As far as leaving out food, I will leave out canned 8 hours as well as raw (both dry the same rate).

But I don't think freshness was your question.
 

sivyaleah

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Both of my cats get mostly canned food.  Both usually eat it all in one shot. However, if for any reason they don't, I only keep it down about 1/2 hour or so.  It gets crusty after that. I'm sure it's fine a little longer but I have a health inspector in my family that's drilled food safety into my head for too many years lol.

If they behave like they are hungry later in the day, between meals, I'll give them a very small amount of kibble, probably not more than a 1/8 cup or so.  

I stopped free feeding my first one months ago because he has a tendency to eat too much, and throw up.  This way it's more controlled.  Our second one came to us only eating 2 meals a day from the foster home; she was a rescue so never used to having food available all the time anyway.  I still have some trouble getting her to know it's dinner time; she doesn't quite understand food being presented to her at set hours either although she's gotten used to breakfast at least now.
 

korina

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Quote:
Both of my cats get mostly canned food.  Both usually eat it all in one shot. However, if for any reason they don't, I only keep it down about 1/2 hour or so.  It gets crusty after that. I'm sure it's fine a little longer but I have a health inspector in my family that's drilled food safety into my head for too many years lol.
Growing up in an imigrant family, I was always the one screaming "food safety!!!"  My dad is the kind of guy that sees mold, cuts it off and saves the food for later.

If you knew what went into producing cat food you would know that sitting for 1-8 hours is the least of your worries. 

And if it makes you feel better, dry food is always sitting out
 collecting bacteria. 

To prevent waste I would recommend putting rejected food back in fridge or put out smaller portions.  With a cat that sometime took hours to start eating, I would just pack all the food into the side of the bowl to keep it moist.

For people like me who work long hours (leave at 9am come home at 7-730), I find it convenient to feed the cats when I get home, then before I leave for work.

If the plate is clean when I get back, Im happy and repeat the process.
 
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