Frequency of feeding

[Italiangreyhound]

Our neutered Tom gets fed three times a day, half a pouch of wet and a bowl of dry about 8.30 then 7 hours later the same again and then about about 7 hours later a smaller meal of just dry food.

Does that sound about right? He is a big ginger Tom and there is often a small amount of food left so I am guessing we are not under feeding him, but are we over feeding him or are those odd times?

Thanks

We do a pouch of wet mixed with dry around 6.30am and another half-pouch each around 4.30pm. They have constant access to dry throughout the day as well.

Personally I would cut out the dry food completely and feed three meals a day of a high quality wet food. Look on the HappyKittyCompany and get ~anything~ from there. The brands are all high meat content, low filler, no grains and added sugar brands. This is far healthier for a male cat. Cat's need to take their moisture from the food that they eat. If you are feeding predominantly dry food, your cat is almost certainly in some constant state of dehydration. Your cat will soon let you know if he's hungry. If he's leaving food, adjust accordingly _

I don't leave any food out all day. Cat's are not grazers like sheep. As soon as mine finish eating, it's taken away until the next meal.

Thanks livinginwonderland the dry food is always available to him and I am never up at 6.30 a.m. unless I have not been to bed!

Thanks kimthomasandaimee why do male cats need a different diet? He does have water available all day and I have seen him drink. The vet recommened dry food and this was because of teeth and dental problems, we just could not afford expensive teeth cleaning and it is not covered by insurance. Plus cat seems to prefer dry.

mine get 1/4 of a tin of butchers c;assic each at 7am before i go to work and 1/2 a mug of biscuits at 2pm and they all wheigh what they should for their particular size ie 2 of them are around 5kgs and two are around 2.5 kgs and constant access to water i think you have to watch male cats with too much dry food because they are prone to crystals and blockages in their urinary tract as long as your cat is drinking plentyof water he will be fine

They only get fed at that ungodly hour because DP gets up for work at six and feeds them before he goes. They get fed at around 7.30-8am at the weekends!

Boy cats can get dehydrated on dry food though ime this was only a problem for my boy cat in the summer heat. Refrigerated cat milk did the trick, as did crushing ice into cat food.

Dry food is fine if of good quality.

Also ime my cats are total grazers. They hate wolfing food down and makes them sick. Also if you're late home or something leaving some food out means you don't have to worry.

my cat has access to dry food all day. he has no wet food now as was very close to having several teeth out and was overweight when he was eating it.

he drinks plenty. mainly from the shower and puddles outside whilst his lovely water bowl stays untouched

It might be worth trying one or two different water receptacles. There have been a surprising number of cats on this board who prefer eg mugs or glasses to pottery bowls. (Just in case circumstances arise where having him trained to a water 'something' might prove useful.)

thanks cozie. I have tried plastic and ceramic bowls and he isnt interested. Seems to prefer a flat pool of water.

My cat asks for food every time he sees me. The vet told me it was impossible to overfeed him but I don't agree - he'd eat all day every day if he could.

Something I've never understood is the guideline amounts on the side of the box of wet food. They always say something like "for an average 3 - 4kg cat". If your cat weighs more than this, do you increase the amount? Or decrease it because perhaps a cat should weigh 3 - 4kg?

Janey - I saw a poster at the vets once about cats weight. It said to stroke your cat a little firmly and feel for ribs, spine and shoulder blades. If you can feel them, this is fine. If you can see them the cat may be too thin. If you can't feel them it's too fat. I would do this test and adjust food accordingly.

Ceramic or metal bowls only of filtered water was the advice from my vet. It's probably why your cat prefers rain water as it doesn't taste of fluoride.

I have a similar issue with two rescue kitten/cats. They are 7 months old and always seem to be hungry. We are giving them 1x100g pouches twice a day with 1x bowl of dry food between them twice a day. We were doing three times a day and having to throw uneaten food out, the vet said that one kitten was getting chubby and to cut back. Not sure they are appreciating the new regime though..
They are passing Catameringue's test though

Janey - the vet said that cats are perceived to be looking for food when it is your attention and time that they want, not more grub. If you put out food and it is all scoffed then hungry but they will always have a taste and then wander off if you do in my experience.

My two used to have a half a can of wet and a bowlful of dry around 7am and the same again around 4.30pm and what was it. Then one of my cats developed cystitis which was pretty nasty, within an hour she would be passing clots of blood every 2/3 minutes constantly until she tired herself out and then start all over again on waking. My vet recommended she was fed totally on wet to flush the bladder through more with dilute urine, but this does mean they look for food more.

Now I feed 1/2 can between two cats 7am, a couple of pouches in the day and another 1/2 around 7pm. If most has gone, I will leave some more down for night-time otherwise one of them will wake me. I understand dry fills them up for longer, but after having a cat with urinary problems with are hard to solve, would always go for them pestering me for food more!

Forgot to say, boy cats who get dehydrated or form crystals (sometimes due to diet or concentrated urine - which you are more likely to get on dry) are prone to getting urine blockages, meaning they can't wee and resulting in an operation. Even a cat who drinks a lot on a dry diet, will not take in nearly so much moisture as a cat who is fed totally wet.

My vet said she would prefer to see any cat on a cheap wet diet rather than a dry one!

Cat is getting wet and dry so think I will stick with that as opinion seems so divided.

I moved water bowl away from cat food and now see him drink BUT the bowl is now in kitchen so that may be why! He also gets up on loo which can only be about drinking and that water is definitely not filtered!

Thanks for all the tips.