When to Stop Free Feeding?

[everariana]

I have two 6 month old kittens, one boy and one girl, both spayed/neutered. I used to free feed them dry kibble (Nature’s Variety Instinct) with two wet meals a day, since kittens need access to a lot of food. But when they were around 4.5 months I stopped because I learned online that my free feeding might have been contributing to their nocturnal behavior that was preventing me from sleeping. So I moved on to feeding them 3 times a day—still two wet meals at morning/night and dry kibble for lunch.

But now I’ve been reading that kittens in general should still be free fed and I’m worried that I stopped too soon. At what age is it ideal to stop free feeding and put them on a schedule? Should I go back to free feeding until they’re 1 year old? Mind you, they’re 6 months right now. I should also mention that the last time they were weighed at the vet, the male was 7 lbs at 5 months and the female was 5.5 lbs. My estimates on my home scale puts my male at 8 lbs at 6 months and the female at 7 lbs. So they at least arent underweight?

My other worry— in last month 2 months of schedule feeding, I’ve been concerned about them not eating enough calories, particularly the male. I think he’s technically eating 80-100 calories less than what he’s supposed to be eating at his size for a kitten (he’s eating around 380 Kcal but I found a chart that says he’s supposed to be eating around 460). But he just doesn’t like to eat that much in the 3 meals I give him. He’ll only eat one 3 oz can per wet meal (so 6 oz per day) and then I’m feeding him 1/3 cup of dry kibble. I just don’t want to give him more kibble because I know that’s not the best but he also doesn’t bother to eat more wet food each sitting but he’s still growing so idk.

 

[Columbine]

Its perfectly fine not to free feed kittens. You can simply offer more frequent meals instead. At 6 months they should do just fine on your schedule of three meals a day. As you're worried about your boy not eating enough, you could try offering an extra wet meal instead of upping his kibble. Some cats are very happy to eat two or three times a day, while others really do seem to do better on smaller, more frequent feeds (or mouse sized meals, as I call them). Given the choice, I think most cats prefer to eat little and often, but that isn't always practical for us.

Does your boy really like the wet food on offer? If he's not too keen on it, he'll likely eat less at a time than of a food he loves.

Don't get too caught up in calories at this stage. So long as your kitties are growing, and are happy, healthy and active, you don't have much to worry about. Keep in mind that the calories are only a guide, and that the needs of each individual cat or kitten will be slightly different. It sounds to me like they're both doing just fine

 

[everariana]

Its perfectly fine not to free feed kittens. You can simply offer more frequent meals instead. At 6 months they should do just fine on your schedule of three meals a day. As you're worried about your boy not eating enough, you could try offering an extra wet meal instead of upping his kibble. Some cats are very happy to eat two or three times a day, while others really do seem to do better on smaller, more frequent feeds (or mouse sized meals, as I call them). Given the choice, I think most cats prefer to eat little and often, but that isn't always practical for us.

Does your boy really like the wet food on offer? If he's not too keen on it, he'll likely eat less at a time than of a food he loves.

Don't get too caught up in calories at this stage. So long as your kitties are growing, and are happy, healthy and active, you don't have much to worry about. Keep in mind that the calories are only a guide, and that the needs of each individual cat or kitten will be slightly different. It sounds to me like they're both doing just fine

Thank you so much! I think I'll stick to feeding on schedule, especially since they're still growing and have energy. I'm definitely interested in adding another wet meal for my boy. He's definitely LOVES dry food, so he'll eat anywhere from only 1/3 to 3/4 of his wet food portion depending on his mood before he walks away. And then I usually have to feed the rest of the wet food to him with my hand about 20 minutes later The only problem is that my work schedule is going to change so I'll be gone the typical 9-6pm. So I don't know how I'll be able to do that, lol. But I'm going to find a way.

 

[Columbine]

What about an automatic feeder? They're not all suitable for wet food, but some are. I've never used one, but these links have some more info:
Wet Cat Food Feeder
Best Automatic Feeders For Cats (including 17 Detailed Reviews)