When to move to two meals per day?

[calista24]

This is a great thread and one we were just wondering about too

Cali is 1yo in a fortnight, and up to now has grazed, though we have been leaving smaller amounts the last 2-3 months.

She has a 30% wet / 70% dry diet and we were thinking of having 'mealtimes' .

I even read a cat food site yesterday that said cats rarely over-eat (hello, there are 2 porkers in our street!), so to leave it down all the time!

I'm now putting down more in the morning and evening, with a minimal amount of lower calorie (royal canin neutered female) during the day / handful overnight which is sometimes touched,sometimes not.

If she hears us go in the kitchen she often comes running along, as like us, it is probably better to have many little meals a day than 2-3 big ones!

Just an aside, has anyone heard their cats tummy rumble if they are really hungry,- loud! (for their size)

[dandysmom]

"it is probably better to have many little meals a day than 2-3 big ones!"

My theory exactly. Leia, who is a BIG cat, but not fat, has maintained her weight at 14 pounds for years on 4 small meals a day.

Never heard a cat's tummy rumble!

[pinklizzy]

Imogen has access to dry food all day and a sachet of food split into 4-5 meals a day-she was 2 in March. She's a very small cat despite being neutered.
I feel that giving them lots of small meals speeds up the metabolism and is more like the way cats would naturally eat-catching small rodents throughout the day rather than digesting two larger meals.

[angieh]

Yes ............ they are a long way from lions and tigers digestively speaking!

[pinklizzy]

I suppose the big cats tend to eat large meals in one sitting, so to speak?

[angieh]

Yes, and then can go for a long while without eating again.

I do love the picture in my head .... "in one sitting". The whole pride at table, napkins around their necks and Sir raising his cutlery ready for the onslaught.

[niki71uk]

i changed to adult food quite early with cass,she kept eating tobys food,and vice versa,so was waste feeding kitten food really lol

[dandysmom]

I did the same: Dandy ate the girls adult food and they adored the kitten food I gave in too!

[Kobster]

I started feeding my older boys three times a day (up from two) when I got the kitten as I couldn't see feeding one and not the other two. I think I like the smaller more frequent meal approach. They certainly approve! But I would certainly never feed less than twice a day. Imagine how slow our metabolism would be if we only ate once a day! My kids are on a 100% canned food diet, so I have to meal feed, can't leave food down. Feeding three times a day is going to be fun if I ever go out of town and have to hire a sitter! But its worth it if its better for them!