How often do you feed your cat?

[bangersmashandbeans]

I have a 15 year old male ragdoll cat who lives indoors. He is pretty skinny but always has been, probably due to a rough start in life (we rescued him). He is a bit funny with food, sometimes doesn't eat much for days, very fussy etc etc. But recently he's decided he is hungry all the time - cries for food all day! He only has wet food pouches and is currently asking for his third one of the day. Should I feed him 'on demand' or tell him to stop being so greedy?!

Those pouches have guild lines on the packet and I think 4-6 a day is recommended according to size. So 3 seems fine

I have two males and they have a constant supply of biscuits plus a tin of food shared between them in the morning and late afternoon. They seem fine on it.

Half a pouch of meat on a morning (7:30am ish) half at tea time (5pm ish) and dry food down all day but it does have a high meat content.

Any more wet food and they stink.

Do you think it's unfair to try to introduce dry food as well as the pouches as he's getting on a bit?

For me, I would always be noting any big and continuing change in eating/other habits. Has he had a health check recently?

Has he been wormed recently?

Read the packet. My sachets say 2/day for small cat, 3 larger cat. On those ratios my 7kg cat should have 3-4 (he's just big, but fairly sedentary. Vet sucks in her breath every time she weighs him, then looks at him and says he's not overweight). What he does have is one sachet a day, and always biscuits down. Occasional scraps of chicken etc.

Buy a small box of biscuits, and see how he takes it?

Mine has four away, sometimes 5 if he's had a busy day. One day he had 5.5 a day but fell asleep and couldn't manage the other half.

If you buy the better quality biscuits then he is far more likely to accept them.

Thanks all will give the biscuits a go. He is a bit of a grazer so may suit him. Box says 2-3 a day for a 4kg cat so he is definitely eating more than that. He has never been wormed - vet said as he never goes outside or comes into contact with other animals he doesn't need it.

Mine used to get 1/2 a pouch 2x a day + a small handful of biscuits. + stolen scraps. We've just moved and have builders in, so she's a bit nervous of coming out from under my bed clothes while they are in the house. So she gets the whole pouch when we go to bed and I keep the biscuits bowl full. I think She's actually gained a little weight, which she needed, she was 2.7kg last time she was at the vet. She's very small statured, but vet thought she could comfortable be 3-3.1kg.

My 17 year old torti and white female cat has two pouches a day. She doesn't do much these days except for sleep and eat! I'd echo what a pp said. If your cat has developed a sudden change in eating habits it might be worth a vet visit?

Suscat has complete all diet biscuits down all day, so fed once a day but she grazes when she is hungry. No wet food here.

Have you taken him to the vet's recently? Increased appetite is one of the signs of hyperthyroidism which is really common in older cats.

I would disagree with your vet on the subject of worming, OP, because it's sounding as if he hasn't been wormed in 15 years? As an indoor cat he has a hugely reduced risk of exposure to worms and fleas but unfortunately, it's not a zero risk because he's not living in a closed environment: you're coming in from outside as are other visitors and there's always the possibility that you or they could bring something inside on your shoes etc. (I've had an indoor cat who got fleas for example.)

Equally, if you've ever had mice - which many houses do although their owners may not realize it - then your indoor cat could be killing and eating the odd one of them without you knowing it. Wormers are pretty safe these days so I'd be doing it, although likely not to anywhere near the frequency of an outside going cat - which might require worming eg every couple of months.

Ours (a 4kg girl) has 1 pouch in the morning and another in the evening (at least 50% meat and 100g). And biscuits available through the day, but she barely eats a handful. They're there if she's starving though.

I agree you should still be treating for parasites. I get people bringing fleas into the house in their clothes for eg (glares at ex). She's still treated regular for fleas and every 3 months for stuff they can pick up from mice.

I would take him for a health check first and foremost and go from there.

Mine gets unlimited applaws dry and one pouch of wet a day or she gains weight.