Changing feeding schedule feline

[Ms Nooks_]

So Loki just turned 7 months this month and think it's time i gave her less food.
Her schedule feeding right now:

7am: Wet food. (About a half dollar size if not smaller than that)
All Day: Kibble. (Free feeding. She does really well with this and it lasts her all day.)
10PM: Wet food (Same amount as the morning feeding.)
(All night she has her kibble left out for free feeding. she barely touches it)


For kibble she gets Grain-Free Blue Buffalo

For wet food it's a mix. Some days she gets Blue Buffalo Grain-free wet food and other days it's IAMS Kitten wet food. (Why is it a mix up between the two? Because I stalked up on Iams before i even started thinking about switching her food. Also, Blue Buffalo is a little expensive for my pocketbook that like a little treat for her. I know that sounds bad, but hey, im working a min. wage job and trying the best i can. Quiet honestly, she probably eating more healthier than i am.)

The thing is, Some mornings she won't touch her Wet food. Hence, a waste of food. So, i'm wanting to cut it out of the schedule i have.

Do you guys think this is a good idea and how should i go about cutting it out? Just complete stop or give her less and less each day?

Bonus Question: She been drinking a lot of water the past few weeks...Is this normal? I've notice this since i switch her dry kibble to blue buffalos.

Q&A: Why do you feed her wet food? Dont you know it's bad for them!?!?! AHHH WHAT A HORRIBLE PET OWNER YOU ARE! YOU'RE GONNA ROT HER TEETH!

My Answer: From my research, Wet food is good for them. That how they get most of their water . As for the teeth, She eats her kibble which helps removes the plaque.

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

You'll really just have to play around with her diet to figure out what works best for her. It could be adjusting the feeding times by an hour or two so that the difference is a little bit closer to equal, it may be cutting out some food.
When I got Saphi, I originally tried for the two meals a day about twelve hours apart, give or take. She wasn't eating her 'breakfast' -given to her sometime between 7 and 11- until 6pm or later, so then of course she's not eating her supper till at least midnight, if not later. I'd eventually just cut her down to one meal, in the evenings (tried mornings, she wasn't eating till evening anyhow) and that's what we've since stuck with. She very rarely eats when I'm not home, doesn't eat till after I've gone to bed if it's just her regular kibble and water (wet she'll eat sooner more often than not), so her daily meal is consumed between midnight and two am basically.


The increase in water intake is likely as a result of the change in food (increase in protein), it's a good thing as long as she's not having issues with peeing or anything.

RE Kibble removes plaque: this is highly based in myth. It's like saying eating croutons will help remove plaque from your teeth - would you believe somebody that told you such? And keep in mind that -with appropriately sized food at least- cats generally don't chew their kibble too much, so really, if only one in every five pieces is actually being crunched, how much is it helping?
The best thing for teeth is to regularly feed raw meaty bones (poultry (chicken, duck, quail, turkey) wings and necks and such, whole prey rodents, etc.. for cats), and/or to brush their teeth.

[Ms Nooks_]

She eats her kibble throughout the day. I just dont wanna seem mean or to her, seem like i forgot to give her, her wet food in the morning (Silly human blaugh )

She does eat all of her 10pm wet food.
It's just that morning one is a hit or miss with her. Which is really confusing because if we're not on time with it she meowing...once given to her...she doesnt care for it =__=; she needy.


About the plaque few websites i read said that and then everyone at work was telling me that too (All the crazy cat ladies there) so i thought it was true.

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

Ms Nooks_

She eats her kibble throughout the day. I just dont wanna seem mean or to her, seem like i forgot to give her, her wet food in the morning (Silly human blaugh )

She does eat all of her 10pm wet food.
It's just that morning one is a hit or miss with her. Which is really confusing because if we're not on time with it she meowing...once given to her...she doesnt care for it =__=; she needy.


About the plaque few websites i read said that and then everyone at work was telling me that too (All the crazy cat ladies there) so i thought it was true.

You've trained her that if she meows at that time, she'll get food, so it's just a habit. Skip it a few times or change it up once in awhile and she'll adjust.

The plaque thing is something the vets tend to use to push their food on people (it's "specially designed/formulated" to break up just so to deal with plaque), which I think is a big part of why people are so ingrained to believe it (a few of the food companies outside vet-specific use the line too)

[Nelo777Neko]

Mouse, bird sized..portions...... Don't let them fool you they don't need that much food. Cat gets a mouse or 2 a day.

[Ms Nooks_]

Nelo777Neko

Mouse, bird sized..portions...... Don't let them fool you they don't need that much food. Cat gets a mouse or 2 a day.

Bigger portions, she will only eat half of what i was giving her...so it more like 15-25% of a 3oz can portion that she will eat.

[Ms Nooks_]

~ Aki - Fairy ~

Ms Nooks_

She eats her kibble throughout the day. I just dont wanna seem mean or to her, seem like i forgot to give her, her wet food in the morning (Silly human blaugh )

She does eat all of her 10pm wet food.
It's just that morning one is a hit or miss with her. Which is really confusing because if we're not on time with it she meowing...once given to her...she doesnt care for it =__=; she needy.


About the plaque few websites i read said that and then everyone at work was telling me that too (All the crazy cat ladies there) so i thought it was true.

You've trained her that if she meows at that time, she'll get food, so it's just a habit. Skip it a few times or change it up once in awhile and she'll adjust.

The plaque thing is something the vets tend to use to push their food on people (it's "specially designed/formulated" to break up just so to deal with plaque), which I think is a big part of why people are so ingrained to believe it (a few of the food companies outside vet-specific use the line too)

Ah. Okay. You're so smart! emotion_kirakira
Are you a vet or something? you're so knowledgeable about cats and I very much appreciate your input.

[TheGorgeousDovahkiin]

You seem to have a very similar schedule of feeding as I do. My cats do really well with free feeding their food. I only put a 1/4 cup in the bowl when it's empty and usually that's once a day. And then giving a spoonful of canned food twice a day. Good on you for keeping a lot of moisture in his diet!

You could try nuking the canned food in the microwave for 5 seconds (obviously not in the can) to create more of an aroma. Or you could start by giving her less in the morning but if she continues to not eat it, and will still eat it all at night, I would say give her the canned food once a day. That's what I used to do and it worked well. Giving canned food is definitely a good thing!

Can you determine how much water she's drinking a day? Do a skin terger test on her. Pinch the skin somewhere on her body and if it snaps back, she's well hydrated. However, if the skin takes a slower time going back to normal, she could need more hydration. At that point, I would probably consult a vet as she made need fluids. But at that age, I can't imagine she'd be getting dehydrated.

Aki-Fairy is right. She's trained to meow at that time to get food. Once you change her routine to something else, she'll adjust. You could even substitute the canned food the morning for a treat just to give yourself a feel good so you know you're not skimping out on her and she still gets a goodie. =]

Good luck!

[Ms Nooks_]

AFeistyFeline

You seem to have a very similar schedule of feeding as I do. My cats do really well with free feeding their food. I only put a 1/4 cup in the bowl when it's empty and usually that's once a day. And then giving a spoonful of canned food twice a day. Good on you for keeping a lot of moisture in his diet!

You could try nuking the canned food in the microwave for 5 seconds (obviously not in the can) to create more of an aroma. Or you could start by giving her less in the morning but if she continues to not eat it, and will still eat it all at night, I would say give her the canned food once a day. That's what I used to do and it worked well. Giving canned food is definitely a good thing!

Can you determine how much water she's drinking a day? Do a skin terger test on her. Pinch the skin somewhere on her body and if it snaps back, she's well hydrated. However, if the skin takes a slower time going back to normal, she could need more hydration. At that point, I would probably consult a vet as she made need fluids. But at that age, I can't imagine she'd be getting dehydrated.

Aki-Fairy is right. She's trained to meow at that time to get food. Once you change her routine to something else, she'll adjust. You could even substitute the canned food the morning for a treat just to give yourself a feel good so you know you're not skimping out on her and she still gets a goodie. =]

Good luck!

Her water intake is about....maybe one full bowl of water a day. (I always refill it even if it just half way gone. Dont want her to be without water...or maybe im just paranoid? sweatdrop )

And the meowing is maybe once or twice a week. But in general she a very quiet cat. She usually only meows when the door to her litter box is shut, or when i ask if she hungry at her 10pm meal time. xD

[Henrika]

Ms Nooks_

.

What you're doing seems mostly fine but, what I'd do is measure the amount of kibble you dish out every day - put it all out in the morning, and do not refill at night.

If your cat is around 9-11lbs, you should be feeding 1/2cup per day. (Feeding Chart)So just put that out in the morning, and at night feed the entirety of the wet food portions for the day.