A thread on how to leave wet food out for cats prompted me to start this thread.
In the other thread, I suggested feeding wet food and leaving out frozen cubes to be eaten a few hours later. This is my routine. I feed my two cats canned food for breakfast. I will then leave 1 or 2 cubes per cat out and they are usually eaten anywhere from 3-8 hours later. I have an auto feeder that doles out little snack size serving of kibbles in the evening. Then just before bed time, they get their late serving of canned food.
Now, my cats are fine with two big meals of canned food and one snack per day. But I want to increase their feeding times for a number of reasons. One of my cats, Dory, is more of a grazer. It's like a huge chore for her to eat a lot of food at one time. I also find they fight less if I can distract them with meals spaced out during the day. Dory also suffers from constipation--I'm hoping more frequent meals will help with her motility issues. I also want them to be used to eating frozen wet food that has been left out for when I travel. That way, a cat sitter can feed them one wet meal and leave out frozen wet food for their next meal. They wouldn't have to eat as much kibble from the feeder. The old routine was for the sitter to feed them wet food and they would get 3-5 snack size servings of kibble from the autofeeder for the rest of the day. By using frozen cubes, I'm hoping to limit it to 1-2 snacks daily.
Okay, the problem. I have a wet food pig. Josie is much more a canned food fiend than Dory. If Dory had her druthers, she would eat kibble 24/7. So Josie will eat her cube(s) 3-4 hours after breakfast. Dory doesn't really get around to hers until 6-7 hours later. The problem is Josie would have eaten all of her portion and all/most of Dory's in 6-7 hours. That either leaves zilch or very little for Dory.
I've considered a Cat Mate or Pet Mate type feeder to house the ice cubes. There are complications though. Dory and Josie like to eat wet food apart (they can eat kibble together). So Dory's dish is in the bedroom and Josie's in the hallway. So I would need two feeders. But with two feeders, I would not be able to ensure they open at the same time. There's a good chance Josie will get one and then wait for the other to open and pounce. Dory's ambivalent about wet food and less likely to stand guard for her portion. I also do not like plastic dishes or trays. Dory and Josie eat off glass or stainless steel bowls/plates.
Just wondering if anyone has suggestions or ideas? Today, I experimented by giving Josie two ice cubes instead of one,hoping a bigger serving will satiate her and she won't eat Dory's serving too...
In the other thread, I suggested feeding wet food and leaving out frozen cubes to be eaten a few hours later. This is my routine. I feed my two cats canned food for breakfast. I will then leave 1 or 2 cubes per cat out and they are usually eaten anywhere from 3-8 hours later. I have an auto feeder that doles out little snack size serving of kibbles in the evening. Then just before bed time, they get their late serving of canned food.
Now, my cats are fine with two big meals of canned food and one snack per day. But I want to increase their feeding times for a number of reasons. One of my cats, Dory, is more of a grazer. It's like a huge chore for her to eat a lot of food at one time. I also find they fight less if I can distract them with meals spaced out during the day. Dory also suffers from constipation--I'm hoping more frequent meals will help with her motility issues. I also want them to be used to eating frozen wet food that has been left out for when I travel. That way, a cat sitter can feed them one wet meal and leave out frozen wet food for their next meal. They wouldn't have to eat as much kibble from the feeder. The old routine was for the sitter to feed them wet food and they would get 3-5 snack size servings of kibble from the autofeeder for the rest of the day. By using frozen cubes, I'm hoping to limit it to 1-2 snacks daily.
Okay, the problem. I have a wet food pig. Josie is much more a canned food fiend than Dory. If Dory had her druthers, she would eat kibble 24/7. So Josie will eat her cube(s) 3-4 hours after breakfast. Dory doesn't really get around to hers until 6-7 hours later. The problem is Josie would have eaten all of her portion and all/most of Dory's in 6-7 hours. That either leaves zilch or very little for Dory.
I've considered a Cat Mate or Pet Mate type feeder to house the ice cubes. There are complications though. Dory and Josie like to eat wet food apart (they can eat kibble together). So Dory's dish is in the bedroom and Josie's in the hallway. So I would need two feeders. But with two feeders, I would not be able to ensure they open at the same time. There's a good chance Josie will get one and then wait for the other to open and pounce. Dory's ambivalent about wet food and less likely to stand guard for her portion. I also do not like plastic dishes or trays. Dory and Josie eat off glass or stainless steel bowls/plates.
Just wondering if anyone has suggestions or ideas? Today, I experimented by giving Josie two ice cubes instead of one,hoping a bigger serving will satiate her and she won't eat Dory's serving too...
