Please talk to me about your indoor cat feeding schedule

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I have a BSH, she is a neutered female, 1 year old. Indoor only, quite lazy.
Vet told me she seems to be carrying a bit of extra weight around her belly so might want to cut calories.
Breeder feeding guidance was to only ever stick to dry food (pretty much unlimited) past the first 6 months as they seem to self regulate and overall eat less/only eat what they need and this approach prevents eating disorders as they are natural grazers. I trust the breeder, he has a lot of experience, however I do sometimes question whether it is the correct approach given she has a) already gained weight and b) I am sometimes concerned that she is not getting enough hydration (normally find at least 2 wet lumps in litter but the other day just one).

If I switch to a combined diet, what is the best approach? I am thinking one wet can or pouch in the morning and then a handful of kibble (would follow guideline on box) in the evening. I also like that she has food down at night so doesn’t wake us up for breakfast and don’t have space for an autofeeder.

Keen to know what others do!

I think the portioning of food depends on your cat. Be sensible you know the behaviour of your own cat. Are they a grazer or do they eat everything at first sight? Ours is a grazer she’s fed mostly dry but we do use portion control however she’ll eat a small amount as soon as it’s put down then pick at the rest throughout the day. She does get wet food occasionally but not often.

So far I have tried different wet food pouches and she doesn’t seem to eat any of them. She wasn’t crazy about it also when she was smaller and I used to give her wet regularly

Have you tried the ones in broth? Mine just licks the jelly off the meat in jelly, but likes the broth ones. I get Encore.

Tried shreds, jelly, pate, chunks with gel. I think some brothy ones too at some point! Gets excited and licks it and theb leaves it all there

If you want to try wet food in the morning these are popular in our house. One of ours is very old, toothless and a bit fussy. He loves the mousse ones
https://www.purina.co.uk/cat/cat-food/gourmet/revelations

Have tried to give her several wet food options over the past 4 days, has rejected all of them!

Hi all, just thought I’d post an update. I have tried to persevere a bit more with the wet food daily but what I end up with is a cat eating the size of a teaspoon of it, licking off all the gravy and then letting the food do gross and dry in the bowl and then starting to ask for the dry food instead.
I have been spending a lot of money on wet food and can’t quite afford to continue to waste it in the bin.
I am tempted to just cut it off and do dry only as planned, unless somebody has suggestions to offer that could help. Thanks!

My last cat was on dry food only his whole life. He got very fat. He did not self regulate and looking back should have restricted his intake. We had food down all day.
My current cat has one pouch of wet food in the morning and a scoop of dry in the evening. I weigh it out and it is the amount of one of the pink scoops in a vanish tub. She would LOVE more food and is constantly in the scrounge but she’s still heavier than she should be. I used to give her dry food down all day as well as wet but she got quite fat. She isn’t very active at all during the winter . More active in the summer.

I don’t think it’s true that cats self regulate.

We have an indoor Siamese girl , she eats very little wet food and has dry down all of the time . Our vet said it’s fine to only eat dry food as long as she drinks , she has fountains upstairs and down and does drink plenty. She has never been overweight but is very active , has access to a catio with climbing poles and shelves and also has a climbing wall and floor to ceiling poles indoors . She plays independently as well as with us .She definitely does self regulate but I suppose it’s no different to humans , some can and some can’t .

I have a 4 Yr old neutered male. He has a 80g pouch of sheba split in two , at about 5am and 7pm and as much dried Go-cat indoor biscuits as he wants .
No treats whatsoever, not because I don't want him to have them he just won't eat them , that Inc's dreamies, chicken, mince , fish , cat nip and alsorts of other 'your cat can not resits this' treats.

I agree with pp about keeping cats active, indoor cats don't get the same amount of stimulation or activity as outdoor ones so so interactive toys like ping pong balls , string , tinfoil balls , shoe laces .
I honestly wouldn't bother with shop bought toys they are expensive and rarely get played with.

I have a 10m old BSH. He’s fed one wet pouch/can a day, but I split it between morning and evening. And always has dry down. He will only nibble on the dry sporadically and lives for his wet food.

I would heavily question your breeder’s advice. A mixed diet is far better for cats. I would also question your vet’s knowledge on overweightness. Is he experienced with BSHs? They are a stocky breed.

Cats can turn their nose up at many shop-bought wet food. Try the Cool Cat Club or Marro subscription services.

Mine just isn’t interested in wet food at all, I have tried so many options, she just licks the broth a bit and then leaves it!

Have they all been shop or pet store bought? Because mine was the same. The subscription brands are so much better.

My three are all on Bella & Duke raw complete. They are fed morning and evening, no dry food in our house at all because boy cat had a bladder blockage 18 months ago and it was put down to having dry food and not drinking enough water.

Yes. I have tried a big variety of quality brands and textures. Not very keen on the subscription services if I am honest, especially the frozen ones. Can you do trial runs before committing?

The frozen ones are a faff. That’s Marro, which I only tried as my friend gave me a box. My cat did love it, but for me it was too expensive. I now do Cool Cat Club which is £27 a month, same amount as I was spending on Royal Canin wet, no freezing, it’s all just cans and pouches. There is no jelly, broth or gravy. It’s all either fillets, soft chunks or blended. Yes you can do a trial box and don’t have to commit.

I give my cat 🐈 3 pouches a day plus fresh water 💕 she also likes liver treats 😊 she won't touch dry food she's never eaten it

We’ve always free-fed our cats: good quality dry food is available all the time, and they just graze as and when they want. All of them have been very slim, and in very good condition.

Thank you! So no wet food? How old are they and have they always been in good health? I think this is what I will end up doing - actually I am already doing it as she refuses all the wet!
What dry food do you use? I mainly use royal canin for BSH

They are all different I guess! even as a kitten mine never really enjoyed her wet food

Once uou know how much dry food to give ( according to vet or pkt) use a old saucer or paper plate draw a line around the biscuits ( dont pile them up to much ) so you can easily see that it's the right amount it takes the guess work out and is easy.

No, no wet food as a matter of course, but we do give them some wet food, or fish or meat from time to time as a treat. My previous cats were 100% indoor cats, and lived to be 14 and 15. I used to feed them Purina Pro Plan, but that’s quite a while ago now. My current cats are 8 and 10, and we feed them a mix of brands, depending on what’s on offer.

If they are happy free-feeding, then it actually works out great as you have the freedom to leave them a couple of nights without having to worry about catteries. This was really important for us because my first cats were rescued feral kittens, and became quite violent whenever we had to put them in cat carriers, so we tried to avoid putting them through that stress whenever we could.

Look at calorie requirements and calories in what you're providing. Mine do self regulated but I dont provide unlimited biscuits. Mainly because they will eat the biscuits over wet food, dry food is much more calorific and they need wet food for hydration.

Our 2yr semi-indoor cat will only drink muddy pond water, or tesco still mineral water.
Even humans can tell the difference between our tap water & bottled still water, so we dont find his preference a surprise! (It’s also a fact that there are all sorts of hormones & meds in tap & riverwater!)

I weaned our cat off dry food by adding tiny quantities of wet to the dry & gradually increasing the wet whilst reducing the dry. This was the method suggested by all cat feeding authorities online & at our specific cat only vets & the cat health insurance co.. Cats have highly sensitive sense of smell / taste, so they have to be very suspicious of new foods in case it’s something that can cause stomach upset, or worse….. this is because they’re basically wild animals not evolved to eat & digest anything other than their prey or the odd strand of grass.

( I call him semi-indoor as he has a garden sized [apple tree included] totally netted pen he can access all day, & has 2 or 3 lengthy ‘walks’ on 6mtr lead each day, but is always in house at night … ie. we always know where he is!)