Out for lunch

[TeenMinusTests]

We've had our beautiful 10yo DCat for a couple of months now. All good.

The only thing is, she has 3 meals a day ~7am, 12pm & 5pm.

What do we do if we want a day out? Her meals are usually wet pouches with a few biscuits on top. Overnight she has a few biscuits on their own.

Do we

• just miss the meal and give more before / after
• put the meal out when we leave
• put biscuits out instead of wet meal
• stay in to serve her every whim

Well obviously stay in and serve her every whim. Who do you think you are?!

I would either leave it out. Or leave extra biscuits. Depending on if she's a guzzler or a grazer!

Get a time feeder, you can get ones with space for ice packs in the bottom to keep wet food fresh

Our huge floofballs have lunch and should we dare to go out we leave a double portion. They’ve usually finished it shortly after we go our and greet us with wails of starvation when we return, but I reckon that’s their problem.

None of my cats have ever had lunch. They had a morning meal, an evening meal (preferably served on the dot at 6.00pm, they could all tell the time) and a handful of dry biscuits at bed time.

Timer bowl

I would put extra food out at breakfast. Mine have dry food left out and wet food 2 or 3 times a day (depends who's about at lunchtime)

Our cat usually has wet food first thing and lunch time, and biscuits in the evening/overnight; if we’re all going to be out over lunch time he has wet food as normal in the morning, and some biscuits left for him.

Sometimes he will eat them, other times we get home to be met with outrage that we’ve clearly abandoned him to starve, biscuits untouched. His choice!

I would give extra food at breakfast. Most cats don't eat until they're ill and will leave some to come back to later if there's more than usual. If you don't want to leave extra wet food then they should be fine with biscuits until you get home.

I would use a timed feeder for now, but in the long-term I would look to drop the midday meal, Mine have only ever been fed twice a day with biscuits down all the time - even as kittens.

Ours get fed 1/2 a pouch of wet food each morning and mid-afternoon, with access to biscuits and water 24/7. They also get bits of chicken and the odd dreamie most days.

Thank you - a variety of opinions, it's nice to know there isn't 'one correct' answer.

I wouldn't have chosen to go down the 3 meals a day route, but it is what she is used to.

We'll give the various suggestions a try as and when we need to and see what works.

I wouldn't have chosen to go down the 3 meals a day route, but it is what she is used to.

She'll adapt to two meals - honestly. I would just split the wet food into two meals and leave her some biscuits to have at "lunch".

I agree she'd probably be fine.

It is just the DCat is DD's and she (the cat) is helping her (the DD) recover from anxiety & depression. DD will be anxious about any change we try to make so I'm not after altering much too soon.

Plus as a human child adopter, I had it drilled in to me not to change routines too quickly for the DC, and it seems to have hung over to how I view the cat too.

Mine grazes so I usually just make sure there's some wet food in his bowl before I leave. His choice if he eats it and then whinges he's hungry later
Be prepared for the "where have you been?! I'm starving! You left me!" face