FELINES in FOCUS

How to successfully feed your cats for optimal health

With our first Feline Focus, we discussed how to adjust your cat’s feeding schedule and amount to achieve an optimal weight.  However, we often see client’s with multiple cats that are unsure how to have their cats on different diets, different feeding amounts, etc.

Meal Time feeding!!

Meal time feeding, versus free-feeding (i.e. leaving out a bowl of food all the time) is important for your feline’s health for so many reasons.  First of all, if you are feeding each cat a meal at a given time everyday, you will know so much more about your cat’s health and well-being.  You will easily be able to answer important health questions like “How much does your cat eat each day?”, “Have there been any changes in appetite?”, and  “How long has your cat not been eating?”.  Cats often have changes in eating and drinking habits when they are feeling ill, and knowing these changes are happening quickly can more efficiently target a health problem. 

Secondly, having meal times means you can easily adjust each cat’s portion size if needed, and their type of food if needed.  This can come into play not only for a diet and weight loss plan for an overweight kitty, but also cat’s with diseases and allergies related to food that need to be on a specific diet.  If your cats are already used to having mealtimes, there is no adjustment period if someone were to need a change in diet or feeding allotment.

Third, it gives you 1 or 2 golden opportunity moments to see all of your cats, everyday.  For shy cats, or reclusive cats, you will see them, see how they are acting, and notice if someone is hiding or having mobility issues, or not feeling well as usual.  If, for some reason, one of your felines needed medicine, you would know where to find them at least twice a day.

In conclusion, mealtime feeding makes caring for your feline family more convenient and leads to well-being and good bonding.  If your feline friends are not on a mealtime schedule, transitioning is easy.  Start, by getting an idea of how much food is in the bowl when you leave it out each day.  Split this amount into two portions.  Start leaving out a portion in the morning, and pick up what’s left over.  Offer a portion at dinnertime, and remove what’s leftover.  In this way, you pet will become accustomed to mealtime feeding, and you will get a better understanding about how much your cat is currently eating each day.

Next Time on Felines in Focus: Challenges in Mealtime Feeding in a Multiple Cat Household