Best feeding schedule for wet/dry food?

Hi!

I'm a brand new cat owner, and I may have some silly questions about feeding. I have two indoor cats about a year old, and I have recently decided to introduce wet food into their diet. They've been free-feeding off of a bowl of dry food, and I realize that's not the best decision for their health. So, I went to Trader Joe's and picked up a few cans of their house brand cat food to test it out and see if my cats will like it (seemed like okay ingredients and a fair price, and they've been eating a little bit of it). I'm afraid that my cats aren't getting enough nutrition from the cheaper dry food alone. I work away from the home, so it's difficult to figure out an eating schedule that we all can live with. Should I put wet food out in the morning as I get up, and then take it away before I leave for work? I realize you're not supposed to leave wet food out all day. I'd still like to give them some dry food as well, but I'm not sure when to give it to them. Maybe bring the free-feeding bowl of dry food back out right before I go to bed? I don't want my cats to overeat, but I don't want them to starve either. Any tips and thoughts on this would be much appreciated!!

Thanks!

Can you feed 3 times a day, on a before work, after work, and before bed schedule? If so, I would feed wet before and after work and leave out a measured amount of dry for overnight while you'll transitioning them to timed meals.

Here are a couple of great articles that should help answer your questions.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals

Thank you! Three times a day will work, but I'm a little confused as to how much to give them. On the can of wet cat food (5.5 oz), it says to give a full can per cat a day. Since I have two cats and will be giving them dry food at night as well, should I break it down to 1/4 can per cat in the first and second feedings, and then maybe give them a cup of dry food at night to nibble on? This allows me to use 1 full can a day and a cup of their regular dried food.

Most cats seem to eat about one 5.5-6oz can a day, so if you're going to feed half a can each, then I would figure out how many more calories they need because one cup seems like a lot. Most indoor, neutered adult cats of average activity level need about 20 calories per pound of ideal body weight daily.

I feed Mia a half can of wet food(5.5 oz can) every morning first thing. I cover the rest with a lid (walmart pet ile) for the next day (heated 10 seconds in Microw wave). The rest of the day she Free Feeds on dry food. She is 3 and not fat at all. She regulates her own food intake just fine.

ilovemia said:

 
She regulates her own food intake just fine.

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You are so lucky.

My skinny Sophie will eat only if I dance in the rain first and howl at the moon while wearing a red beret. And if I sprinkle freeze dried treats on her food. But Harley over compensates - he would gladly eat anything, anytime, all the time. So not all cats self regulate.

For those that don't, scheduled feeding and portion control are the only solutions to ensure them a healthy life. I feed them at 9 am, 7 pm and 11 pm. It is not a perfect schedule, but they seem to have adjusted quite well - and it is definitely better than feeding them just two meals a day. On weekends I tend to feed them the 7 pm meal earlier, and that is even better for them. We are kibble free for a couple of weeks now so they have 15-20 minutes to finish their meals. I would throw away or feed to ferrals what gets left, but that usually doesn't happen, as my vacuum kitty Harley doesn't have a FULL system alert so he would just keep on eating.