How Often Should You Feed Your Cat? It should depend on several things, such as your cat’s age, health and habit and it is an important topic to tackle. In this article, we will show you several different tips to keep your cat healthy.
How Often Should You Feed A Cat at different ages
Compared with adult cats, kittens need more food per pound of body weight to support their growth, so they should be fed more often in a day.
According to the professor of nutrition, growing kittens up to six months of age may need three meals per day. From 6 months old to maturity, most cats will be well if they are fed twice a day.
Once the cat is adult, about a year later, in most cases, it is appropriate to feed it once or twice a day. Elderly cats, such as 7 years or even older, should maintain the same feeding regimen. They can be fed once a day as long as they are healthy and have no disease problems. This shows that there are reasons to adopt different feeding methods.
How To Make a Schedule For Your Cat
How often you feed your cat may also depend on your schedule. When the children go to school and you go to work, the morning may be very busy. In this case, it may be easier to feed the cat at night. Find a schedule that suits you and your cat, and then keep it consistent.
In a multi-cat family, not all cats can eat food, and some cats may eat too much. At this point, you need to feed them individually, or you can feed them in different places in the house.
Some people are not too concerned about maintaining a proper feeding schedule and choose to adopt free feeding methods. This allows cats to control their feeding schedule. When and what to eat depends entirely on the cat. This is beneficial because cats can eat a small amount of meals in their own time, which is most comfortable for them.
However, in some cases, this feeding method may lead to overeating, obesity and related health problems.
Most people will agree that it is best to feed twice a day, especially because it is easy to control the portion size and you can track the cat's food intake and appetite. This method also helps to provide a certain structure for the cat during the day. Although your cat may not care about this structure, it will make your life easier.
What Kind of Food is Better?
Many cat owners feed only dry food to cats. As long as the food is complete and balanced, dry food is fine. Dry food may be cheaper than canned cat food and can stay fresh longer. Cats that eat only dry food need to provide plenty of fresh water, especially when they are prone to obstruction of the urinary tract. For all cats, it is very important to continue to provide fresh, clean water.
Canned cat food usually contains 70% to 80% water. In addition to dry food, it can also replace dry food. Some cats may find canned food more delicious. If these cats are allowed free access to food, they may consume too much food. Of course, this can also happen to dry foods. Foods with palatability may be preferred. If it is very tasty, the cat may overeating. If it is not so delicious, he may be less likely to overeating.
Excessive serving of food is not only a problem for people. Since the feeding instructions on the pet food label are based on the demand of ordinary cats, if the cat’s demand is below average, you may need too much feeding. If you feed your cat dry food, you can provide it to him in a measurable amount at a specific meal time. Dry food can also be supplemented with a small amount of canned food to make the meal more attractive.
Cats that exercise self-control can be fed dry food for free, but some cats like to eat snacks, for them, free feeding can increase extra weight. If the cat can maintain its weight, it can freely choose its feeding method. Even dry food left for cats free feed needs to be fresh, so make sure to provide new food every day. If free feeding does not work, you need to control their food intake. Eating fewer meals may make them hungry. But the nutrition is okay.
This is a useful tip: If you have a fussy cat, changing food occasionally may help him avoid only one diet.
How To Feed A Cat With Health Issues?
If your cat suffers from health problems such as diabetes, you may need to feed it according to the time it takes insulin, depending on the type.
If your cat has hyperthyroidism, he may want to eat all the time. If this is a treatable problem, deal with it and then feed your cat normally.
When a cat gets older, his teeth may deteriorate or may develop gum disease, making it difficult to chew dry food. If they reach this point, provide them with canned food or dry it in a finer nugget size. You can also mash dry food and mix it with water to make it easier to chew.
How many times a day you feed your cat is up to you. However, in order to maintain a schedule and some semblance of order, most will choose to go with two feedings per day, usually breakfast and dinner.
Hope this can help you protect you and your pet. If you enjoyed it and would like to see more news, do not hesitate to visit Happy & Polly website on https://happyandpolly.com.
