Cat feeding regime

[Ladyfox]

Looking for advice on whether to free feed my cat or not. I have a 3 year old rescue cat, adopted last Autumn from a shelter where he'd been fed a pouch of Whiskas in the morning , one in the evening and a handful of dry at bedtime. Since we've had him he's been eating a pouch of Felix/Nature's Menu/ Lily's Kitchen (I alternate) morning and evening, with some Royal Canin/Hills at night.

However he seems constantly hungry, he'll come in to the bedroom at 4am in the morning no matter how late or how much he's fed before I go to bed! And is hungry during the day, so I might give him a small snack, and then needs to be fed at around 4pm - if I leave it any later he has vomited (I don't know whether this is due to him being too hungry).

He's 5kg now and the vet seems to think he's ok but shouldn't be any heavier if possible, the shelter carers commented on how much he likes his food! So I'm a bit apprehensive about free feeding him in case he turns into a monster....I've had cats previously and with them I've always just given two meals a day. He has no health issues and is wormed regularly.

I've always just left dry down all the time and given wet food 2 or 3 times a day for my 2 cats. The wet food is just half a pouch each at a time

Thanks @dementedpixie
I suppose I’m just cautious as I’m unsure if he’ll self-regulate his food intake!

Do most people leave cats to free feed? I’d be interested to hear your experiences, thanks.

My two have access to a big hopper of dried food at all times. They occasionally pick at it.

Officially they have 2/3 pouches of wet food each a day.... reality can be up to five as they are very good at lying to different family members about when they were last fed.

One is a perfect weight for her breed. I have a lot in common with the other .

Thanks @MaidenMotherCrone

Maybe free feeding + svelte figure = holy grail

I know that depending on the cat’s history, ie if it hadn’t been sure when/if it would be fed, it might seem greedy and take any chance possible to guzzle food. Having said that our Cat’s been with us for 4 months so hoping it understands now that it won’t starve!

My cats try to convince us they have never ever been fed before ever in their lives several times a day.

In my bitter experience feeding on demand leads to fat cats. Not all cats but at least one of the bunch will be a fat one.

Of your regime I'd say alternating wet food isn't a good idea. The cats don't care and a pouch of Lily's Kitchen is v different protein and calorie wise to a pouch of Felix - a bit like a gourmet dinner versus a MaccyDs.

Of my 4 (to include late lamented cat) if allowed unrestricted access to food, RIP cat and current silky kitten would have head their heads in the food bowl at all times and never left it. They have/had the saggy bellies to prove it despite great efforts with silky kitten not to let history repeat itself.

Old lady would now self regulate but eat enough to get some curves, in her youth would have self-regulated to look like a super-model. Ninja kitten also claims to be on the verge of starvation but will easily be distracted by important things like going outdoors and killing wildlife.

We practised ignoring and eventually the early morning wake-up calls ceased. Same with the pleas for them to be let out at night to go massacring.

Thank you @AnnaMagnani

I probably need to be stronger-willed and IGNORE the early morning furniture scratching —and DP’s swearing—re the wet food, I suppose I was trying to give nutritious food to balance out his usual Felix addiction...as I can’t afford to feed him the good stuff all the time!

I feed Smurfcat 2 sachets of Gourmet Mon Petit wet food, morning and night so 4 sachets a day.

I also have a gravity feeder, I change the water daily but the feeder tray has an 800g bag of food that does about 10+ days, she tends to come and go from it.

She is a treat fiend, all I have to do is rattle a bag and she is on it and right there waiting for her treat.

I wake up around 6am generally, carers come in at 7 am / 7pm (the other calls aren't her feeding times) and when they leave cat gets fed.

She follows them around silently but as soon as they go out the door, she is very vocal in case I would forget as I did once, I fell straight back to sleep one morning and forgot to put her 2 sachets down. She was on the verge of ringing Catline except couldn't reach the phone.

Smurfcat turns her nose up at all other wet food apart from Mon petit and cat soups (not the cheap one's mind)

You are feeding your cat as best you can, they are cared for, they are loved and if there were a dozen people in the house I can guarantee the hungry cat / feed me eyes / pitiful miaows etc will be played out to each person several times a day. That's a cats life.

The dry food was topped up this morning. Don't think they were impressed with their late lunch offering of wet food! (They can be a bit fussy and will sniff and walk away if it's not to their liking)

Thanks @Smurfy2015
It made me giggle picturing Smurfycat’s toe beans trying to reach the phone. My cat makes sure I don’t forget by sitting on top of the old biscuit tin where his food’s kept and miaowing loudly at me with his cute freckly mouth (totally enslaved, me)

@dementedpixie
my cat has yet to leave any food ever apart from when he had a funny tummy and i made him rice and chicken- skilfully left all the grains of rice untouched but ate the chicken though it was mashed together

If you can't afford the good stuff all the time you need Zooplus.

Have a look at Animonda, Bozita and Feringa for starters. All meat, no grain and far far cheaper than Lily's Kitchen.

My six are all have constant access to dry food, and wet food topped up by family members throughout the day. No overweight cats and all bar one have been starving rescues. I find that restricting intake makes them more inclined to focus on food and constant access makes them much more relaxed about it.

@AnnaMagnani thanks for the tip, I looked at Zooplus before and thought the delivery times might be tricky due to my work hours but I’ll look again.

@brownmare That’s also true, same as humans when we restrict our diets I suppose! It’s a tricky one, I’m still not convinced that mine will not become a bloater....

Thank you all for your advice!

Free feeder here and until illness at the start of the year, they only have soft food very very occasionally. At 15, he is 4kg and she was usually 3.4kg.