Food Schedule/routine

[Sadafraza]

Hi guys,
I’m new to this forum. I have two beautiful cats; Loki and Simba. They’re brothers and I’ve them since almost 2 months now.
Overall I’m doing very fine considering they’re my first pets ever. But i still have few questions regarding them.

In the beginning I used to give them mixture of canned food and dry food three times a day. But the vet told me that they should stick to dry food. I’m finding it really hard giving them dry food. They don’t really eat it. I have to moisten the dry food and feed them with my hands that’s the only time they eat it. And I feel like even when I feed them plenty of dry food they still expect me to feed them canned food because whenever I walk past them with a plate they run towards me.
I still give them tuna or salmon one time a day tho.
My question is am I doing this right?
What is the preferred feeding schedule or routine. How many times a day should I feed them and what should I mostly feed them. Canned food or dry food? Even though the vet said dry food and only one time a day canned food.
Any help or tricks would be appreciated. Please and thank you.

 

[KarenKat]

Generally, most people on this forum will say that wet food is better. Wet food tends to be less processed, has more meat and less fillers than dry food, and most importantly it has a lot of moisture. Cats need meat and moisture most in their diets.

There is a great discussion about this here:

Wet Or Dry Food, Which Is Really Better?

Often, vets say that dry food cleans teeth and is better for dental health, but generally this has been disproven. The best way to clean a cats teeth is to brush them or to feed them raw chicken wings or giblets. This is how cats clean their teeth in the wild.

The type of dry food is also important, you want meat to be the top five ingredients if possible, since other proteins are not as easily digested. Corn wheat and soy are bad ingredients and should be avoided.

The canned food is probably tastier and more satisfying to Simba and Loki, which is why they prefer it. As for schedule, I feed canned food to Olive 3 times a day, and she seems pretty satisfied with that arrangement. So I think your schedule is fine.

Hope this helps, and ask any questions you like! And we always love pictures

 

[Columbine]

Hi, and welcome to TCS


You've hit on a very controversial issue here, so don't be surprised if you get some very emphatic replies


There is a real split in veterinary approaches to feline nutrition. Some (like my vets) are very pro dry food, often saying that it helps to clean cats teeth, and that too much canned food is bad for dental health. Other vets insist that wet (or even raw) food is best for cat health, and that dry food isn't great. This is the view that many members here take, and is broadly my approach too.


The one point that is not debatable is that cats are obligate carnivores. They need and thrive on meat, and it is for this reason that many people feel a wet or raw diet is preferable. It is virtually impossible to make kibble without adding in some kind of carbs/starches, so the actual meat content in kibble tends to be lower (sometimes significantly so) than in the wet or raw options.


Ultimately, though, the best food for any cats is the one they will happily eat and thrive on. As your guys actively prefer the wet food, I would base the bulk of their diet on that. After all, it doesn't matter how great the food is if it doesn't get into the cat!


These articles explain the differences and pros/cons of each approach:-

How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat

What Do I Need To Know About Feeding My Cat?

What Makes The Best Canned Cat Food?

How To Choose The Best Dry Cat Food?

Grain-free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?

Cat Food & Feline Nutrition With Pet Nutritionist Dr. Martha Cline


Does Dry Food Actually Clean Your Cat's Teeth?

 

[Norachan]

There are so many differing opinions on the best food to feed them. I follow the rule of, "Whatever they like best and I can afford."

If they like canned, feed them canned. I'd suggest rotating different flavours and brands so they don't get too picky. Some cats will only eat one brand and then you're in trouble if that's no longer available for any reason.

Make sure they get meat and chicken as well as the fish flavours. A little bit of fish is OK, but they can get health problems if fish makes up most of their diet.

I feed my cats canned around 8 am and then again at 6 pm and they have dry food to graze on all the time. Really, whatever works best for you and your cats is the best routine.

 

[Azazel]

You may find the information on this website helpful: catinfo.org.

Many vets are misinformed about feline nutrition because they don’t receive adequate training in vet school.

 

[duckpond]

Everyone does have different view points on cat food, so do the cats

I feed two wet meals per day. And i keep Dr. Elseys dry kibble out all the time. I use a wide variety of wet foods, different brands, textures and proteins. I only feed the one dry. I try to feed high protein, moderate to lower fat, and low carb.
I also keep several bowls and cat fountains out, with fresh filtered water.

This is how my vet feeds as well, wet and dry. Works for my guys.

 

[Blakeney Green]

My big kitties get two main meals of wet food a day - one before I leave for work and one when I get home.

I leave out a bowl of dry food for them to snack on while Froggy and I are at work. They don't eat a huge amount of it, so I'm not worried it will affect their health, and I feel better knowing they have access to food when I'm not home. Once I get home with the kitten, I pick up the dry food bowl so Froggy won't get into it.

Having mostly wet food with a little dry to snack on has worked well for my cats.

(Froggy has a totally different routine that isn't applicable to healthy cats.)

 

[Sadafraza]

Thank you so much for all your replies. Definitely helpful.
I’ve decided to feed them can food once in the morning and once in the afternoon after I come back from work. They didn’t Actually like dry food before but I’ve been trying to find their favourite and I feel like I’ve found the one!
They love the whiskers kitten dry food. They eat it the moment I put it for them in a bowl. If they enjoy this note often then I’ll probably be feeding them canned food only once a day.
Please let me know if any more suggestions. I don’t know if I mentioned, Loki and Simba are my first pet. And they’re both 4 months old. I’ll be sharing pictures of them below.

 

[Azazel]

Thank you so much for all your replies. Definitely helpful.
I’ve decided to feed them can food once in the morning and once in the afternoon after I come back from work. They didn’t Actually like dry food before but I’ve been trying to find their favourite and I feel like I’ve found the one!
They love the whiskers kitten dry food. They eat it the moment I put it for them in a bowl. If they enjoy this note often then I’ll probably be feeding them canned food only once a day.
Please let me know if any more suggestions. I don’t know if I mentioned, Loki and Simba are my first pet. And they’re both 4 months old. I’ll be sharing pictures of them below.

Great that you came up with a plan! Unfortunately Whiskas is a very unhealthy brand. I would pick a dry food that is higher in animal protein and lower in carbs.

 

[Sadafraza]

Great that you came up with a plan! Unfortunately Whiskas is a very unhealthy brand. I would pick a dry food that is higher in animal protein and lower in carbs.

Hi,
Yes, actually I was thinking that because they got into Whiskas dry food so easily. So, I was thinking maybe it isn't really that healthy it just might be the taste attracting them.
Do you have any other suggestions? what kitten dry food should i try? I also got them one from Iams, do you think that one us healthier compared to Whiskas?

 

[Sadafraza]

Also, how do you guys choose what brand to feed them. What should i be looking for when choosing what brand to get them?

 

[Azazel]

I would look for kitten food that has meat listed as the first 3 ingredients (at least). You also want it to be high in protein and low in carbs. Catfooddb.com gives great breakdowns of different brands. The food doesn’t necessarily have to be “kitten” labelled food, it can also be for “all life stages.”

Wet food is better for health than dry because it’s typically higher in animal protein, lower in carbs, and high in moisture. But with kittens you need to feed a lot so it doesn’t hurt to leave dry out for them if you’re not home during the day. You can transition them to a primarily wet or all wet diet when they are adults.

 

[KarenKat]

A Azazel had my same suggestion. My goal for dry food is little to no carbs, high protein, and medium fat. Be aware that if the ingredient says "Chicken, pea protein, chicken meal" or something like that most of the protein comes from peas - the "chicken" is listed before they remove moisture, so by weight pea protein is actually first. So ideally only meat in the top 3 ingredients.

When it comes to wet food, I go for meat/byproducts/moisture in the top 5 ingredients if possible. I personally avoid corn, soy and wheat in wet food and limit peas and potatoes. I also don't like carrageenan or menadione (synthetic vitamin K3). I don't like agar-agar or gums but most of my food includes these.

Finding a good cat food (canned or dry) can be hard and overwhelming. Take a look at the ingredients, read Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats., Little Big Cat | Holistic Health, Nutrition & Behavior or Dr Hovfe's book "What Cat's Should Eat." I did this, and after awhile I could read an ingredients label and understand if I wanted to feed that food or not.

In addition, don't get too stressed about every little ingredient. You may find you are less concerned about certain ingredients like agar-agar or grains, or they might be hard nos. I wanted to feed Gohan the best food I could, but he really only will eat a little bit of two wet food brands (Lotus and Life's Abundance). Lotus may have more vegetables than I like, but as long as he eats some I'm happy.

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

Hi I think what's most important is sticking to a routine, what you feed comes secondary!! Cats love routine as it gives them security and predictability in times of stress e.g. if you are moving house, your cat will know that you are still feeding it at the exact same times every day. It gives them relief. I prefer not to not only free feed dry. I give Aquaria wet 2-3 times a day. One when I wake up, one in the evening and one before bed. Sometimes I screw up and wake up one whole hour late, or I have to come back from class late, but otherwise I am very careful about the timing and be sure I don't suddenly pop in on a Saturday afternoon or Friday midnight to give her a meal.

I personally feed 90% wet and 10% dry because once I fed too much dry and she started having really weird peeing habits.

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

Like what others have said, grain free, no potatoes, less fish, meat as the first 3 ingredients. And carrageenan free. For dry, I feed Fussie cat market chicken and turkey which isn't her favorite but I think grain free is important for healthy stools.