Simple question: how much time do you give them to eat before taking away the food?
My cats don't free feed, but if there is food remaining on the plate when it's time to go to work, I'll leave it there. They seem to finish it in a couple of hours most days. I do the same with their evening feeding. The vet would like them to have a more exact feeding schedule, though. No one is overweight, but there was a concern over one of their blood sugar results. (probably caused by infection, but we're waiting for it to stabilize)
For the last couple of days I've given them exactly an hour to get their fill, but am concerned if this is enough time. They still haven't figured it out completely, and I am currently concerned if two of my four are eating enough at the moment, as they are more interested in the birds in the morning, or what I'm having for breakfast instead of filling up as quickly as possible.
I also have another cat who comes back to the plate multiple times even within that hour to get more. He's a bit on the thin side, and I don't want to keep him from eating. This morning, he was eating when I wanted to pick up the plates, so I had to give him a few extra minutes, so I wasn't ripping the food away.
The last couple of days I've been tossing a lot of food, since they rarely touch it after it's been refrigerated, I can't put it out again. They should be eating around 5-6 cans a day between them, but the last couple of days it's only about 3 or 4. That's certainly not enough!
So, how long do you keep your's out? (assuming you don't free feed!) Is an hour enough time, and they just need to get used to it, or should it be a bit longer?
My cats don't free feed, but if there is food remaining on the plate when it's time to go to work, I'll leave it there. They seem to finish it in a couple of hours most days. I do the same with their evening feeding. The vet would like them to have a more exact feeding schedule, though. No one is overweight, but there was a concern over one of their blood sugar results. (probably caused by infection, but we're waiting for it to stabilize)
For the last couple of days I've given them exactly an hour to get their fill, but am concerned if this is enough time. They still haven't figured it out completely, and I am currently concerned if two of my four are eating enough at the moment, as they are more interested in the birds in the morning, or what I'm having for breakfast instead of filling up as quickly as possible.
I also have another cat who comes back to the plate multiple times even within that hour to get more. He's a bit on the thin side, and I don't want to keep him from eating. This morning, he was eating when I wanted to pick up the plates, so I had to give him a few extra minutes, so I wasn't ripping the food away.
The last couple of days I've been tossing a lot of food, since they rarely touch it after it's been refrigerated, I can't put it out again. They should be eating around 5-6 cans a day between them, but the last couple of days it's only about 3 or 4. That's certainly not enough!
So, how long do you keep your's out? (assuming you don't free feed!) Is an hour enough time, and they just need to get used to it, or should it be a bit longer?
and after that, he'll come back like 5 minutes later and finish up. But there are times he took a few bites and run away, and I'll either leave it there for another 10 mins or move the bowl up to the counter and when he sees me taking his food away, he'll hop onto the counter and finish the rest. 
