Free Choice Feeding

kittymcg

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Hi there,

I've done some searches on this site and others and have found a lot of information on free choice feeding but none specific enough to tell me how to switch from scheduled to Free choice.

I was feeding our girl her kibble free choice. She would get a small amount of wet twice a day and would graze on the kibble throughout the day. It was measured and she would rarely eat it all/ want more than her daily amount.

We got a kitten a while back and he is 9 months old now, while he was isolated from her (when we first got him he was sick) he would graze too.

Since their introduction a while back their eating habits changed, he would eat really fast and everything and try to push her off her food-and she started gobbling her food and being prone to vomiting.

My remedy was elevating her dish and feeding both a tiny amount of wet when I first get up, followed by half their daily kibble. When home from work they get the rest of the wet and then later the remaining kibble.

They get along great but ructions occur around food and we want to try free choice feeding them (just the kibble) to see if it cuts down the tension and possessiveness over food/ problems at meal times.
Added problem is I need to know she eats her wet as she has a lysine supplement.

Does anyone have any thoughts based on this info.

Do you think free choice feeding the kibble will help?
How should I go about this?
 

2coolcats

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If I were you i would just feed the cats in different rooms. Put one's food in the bathroom for example and let them finish. After 20-30 minutes or so you can take up what is leftover.
 

stephanietx

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I agree to either feed them in separate rooms or stand guard and train the little one to only eat from his bowl and then bypass your other cat's food when finished. This is what we do and it's worked well, but it does take constant attention during feeding time.
 

ducman69

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I feed wet 2-3 times daily, and free feed kibble, but both my cats are young.

I would just try it, and as long as your cats aren't becoming overweight, then its a non-issue.

This also eases the burden on you should you need to be away for a while.
 
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