A really stupid question: but how often do you feed your cat?

[ScaredButUnavoidable]

Just that really!

And what do you feed them?

Mine have access to biscuits all day and I feed them wet food when they ask for it, usually once or twice a day. They're very healthy and perfect weights.

3 cats, dry biscuits bowl out all the time. Cat food usually in the morning. Treats (lik e lix) as and when. One cat prefers wet food, one only treats, one just biscuits 🙃

You’ll gauge over time what works for you and your cat.
Our last cat (5kg) we fed 3 x sachets a day and left biscuits out to graze. He wasn’t particularly fussed over his food and never finished it. We also found giving him biscuits helped keep his bowel movements regular.

Now, we have two 5 kg sisters, we give 2 pouches in the morning on the same plate, 2 in the evening and have biscuits automatically dispensed at 2pm & 2am.

We did also give a pouch at lunch but had to cut it out as the vet said they were heading towards being overweight.

Going back to my first cat, he had health issues and we needed to adjust the food according to when his weight had dropped. A friend of mine at the time who is a vet patient care assistant told me with confidence that we should only be giving him 1 pouch a day. Had we done that his weight would have plummeted dangerously low, so, a word of caution, listen to all advice, but gauge for yourself what you feel is right for your cat x

If you ask the cat, (n - 1x) -1 where n = the number of meals he needs and x = the calorific value.

If you ask the vet, (n + 1.05x) +0. In other words, he's a solid beast but not actually in need of a diet.

He gets half his food in the morning and the evening, plus a small snack if he's eaten it all and is mithering around when we're cooking.

Mine has dried food available all the time and wet food twice a day

Mine has dry food (james wellbeloved grain free) and water upstairs and downstairs 24/7. She gets a small tin of wet food (applaws) in the morning and another in the evening and she gets webbox lick-e-lix mixed with water any time she asks for it.

She's a bugger for not drinking enough and now she's getting older we're getting more creative.

She self regulates and has maintained a stable weight for years. She likes to know there's always food around should she want it, then she feels happy to just graze through the day.

When I get up, when I go to bed, and inbetween when they ask, which tbf is fairly frequently. They have constant access to dry food too. They seem to self regulate pretty well, neither are overweight. If they were getting tubby I'd give it some more thought.

Ad hoc dry and a couple of sachets of wet a day

Shes 11 and lives outside all year round (through choice - we have a cat flap) seems to be in fine health and isn’t over weight.

Mine is a nightmare.

she has dry food down all the time but really doesn’t eat much of it. Has two pouches a day but again only grazes - doesn’t really have a big appetite.

but - loves chicken and fish so has either at bedtime. Sometimes cat milk and a few treats.

edited to add she is seven - has outdoor access but spends most of her time inside. Is a healthy weight (maybe a little on the chunky side but vet happy).

Two types of dry kibble available 24/7 and one sachet of Sheba, occasionally 2. She's not a big eater and was starting to waste a sachet per day by not eating it. Treats when she appears in the kitchen looking for them! She's 12.

Same

If I got a new adult cat with no feeding instructions, I'd be inclined to leave a scoop of dry food out all day for free grazing and give 1 pouch or 1 tin of food morning and night.

I'd then adjust according to need.

It’s quite surprising, but cat nutrition is an absolute minefield. You get vets on the one hand who often seem to prefer dry (ideally the ‘scientific’ Hills or Royal Canin they sell at huge mark-ups) because it’s better for teeth, then cat people on forums who are passionately opposed to dry food and prefer raw feeding (and have long, tedious discussions about the exact recipes). And we’re all stuck in the middle going ‘Wha…?’ And then the cats themselves, who have very firm opinions on the matter. For us, the key thing was discovering that our cat doesn’t tolerate any food with grain in it, and gets horrible digestive issues from it.
But by and large, yes, overall calorie intake is more important than frequency. If she’s 3.2 kilos normally, for example, she would never need the 3 x 100g my big lad needs.
We don’t weigh it out exactly - either he gets a pre-measured 100g tray or pouch, or he gets three-quarters of a 400g tin per day.
There’s a good YouTube vid from Helpful Vancouver Vet explaining that some cats self-regulate their food and others don’t. You need to know which kind your girl is so she won’t get overweight.

They get a pouch between them in the morning and at about 5pm. One takes 2/3 the other 1/3 as less of an eater. Have access to dry food all day. They get supper of a lick e lix and a few treats. They are like old men - go to the toilet then go up to bed 😂😂

Twice a day, portion of raw food (we get a box full once a month and defrost a tub every 2 days).

I think a lot of people overfeed their pets.

We have farm cats and they just have quality dry food in an automatic feeder whenever they please and then treats on occasion. Also mice. I think if they could read this thread they’d revolt!

All of my cats have lived well into their late teens and into their 20s though.

Ours gets a tin of untamed in the morning, 1/2 a tin in the evening, and 15-20g of Scrumbles dry in between. Oh and a lick e lix before bed.

She is very active and will just get take out if we feed her less. She’s only a small cat though, and her weight has been creeping up from 3.5kg towards 4kg over the past couple of years. 4kg is definitely her maximum so we are trying to keep an eye on her intake. However, former stray and still very food motivated.

Dry food is available all the time in a bowl, he has a wet pouch at our bedtime. He's out most of the time this time of the year. He comes in for a snack and goes out again. Comes back in the evening. During winter he's in much more.

Wet food on demand. Dry food kept topped up.
All the cats go outside and the youngsters supplement their diet with rodents. None of our cats are overweight.
Sybil also gets a lick-e-lix and cleans our porridge bowls each day.
The 'kittens' are 8, our older cats are 15.

I feed on demand, dry in the day and half a pouch of wet in the evening.

I have a scoop that measures out about 55/60g of dry food and give a scoop between 2 bowls twice a day (have 2 cats). Also give 1 pouch of wet food between them am and pm and often a small pouch between them at lunchtime

First thing and then when they shout at us

Twice a day.

Twice, breakfast and supper. They have Purina kibbles.

Twice a day, when we get up and 7pm. 24g dry food cos she's on a diet. She has a spoonful of wet food in the morning to hide her medication in.