5 ms·

I’m so grateful for our two - we just leave out big bowls of dry food, they eat a bit here and there, never excessively, and both are lean and happy. I figured

I’m so grateful for our two - we just leave out big bowls of dry food, they eat a bit here and there, never excessively, and both are lean and happy. I figured it was because they were secure that there would always be more food - and it seems to be the case, as I recommended to a friend who was new to cats that they do the same, and their guys behave likewise.

stormbrew 5y ago
We have four cats and 2 of them require special food (kidney and allergies), and of the other two one of them will eat any food he can find most of the time while the other wanted to be in control of her own food to the point where she would do the thing where she scratched at the side of the bowl trying to bury it, presumably to keep it from the other one. So just leaving some bowls out didn't really work for them, they'd constantly eat each others' food or eat everything as quick as possible to keep it from the other cats, with predictable (and gross) results. We got feeder bowls that only open with the right RFID and now they're all much happier and more food secure. Sadly there's no good ones on the market I could find that do both automatic feeding and the rfid-gating, so we still have to manually feed them but for the most part they don't care when we feed them anymore except sometimes in the morning (which is the most likely time for them to run out of food).
- nsv 5y ago
  Seems like a cool DIY project if you get the time to do it!
technothrasher 5y ago
> I figured it was because they were secure that there would always be more food I’ve lived with quite a few different cats in my day. It’s simply the individual cat. Some cats overeat if allowed, some don’t. It’s certainly nice when you have one that doesn’t, but it’s nothing you did if you have one that does.
- not2b 5y ago
  We have a cat that was briefly feral, and she will gorge anything she can get to. While we were visiting my family for the holidays, our cat sitter friend called us and let us know that she had left the bin full of dry food on the counter, and the cat climbed up, pushed it off the counter bursting it open, and gorged on a ton of food, so much that she thought the cat was having trouble breathing. She was OK though, I think at some point she vomited up some of it. We definitely can't leave any extra food out with this one around, likewise she will try to get to people food if human backs are turned. She's calmed down a bit though, it no longer seems that she's constantly plotting how to get extra food.
podiki 5y ago
I should say my cat doesn't really overeat, I don't think. He won't eat everything just because it is out, but did gain a little weight. I think partially from me being home all the time in the pandemic; he seems to eat more when I'm around. In the past he wouldn't eat everything in his bowl, and maybe still wouldn't but I haven't done full free feeding. But even without worrying about eating too much, my cat definitely craves novelty and plays a lot. So I think the vet was recommending it for both reasons. He was getting too attached to going outside a lot, which I also had to curb (perhaps related).
billyjobob 5y ago
The majority of your cats’ diet should be wet food, or else you risk kidney problems.
cm2012 5y ago
I've raised 15 cats in my life and own 7 now. It's almost purely genetic. Right now I have 6 trim cats and one fat cat and I feed them all the same way. I've had one other fat cat that passed away, same story.

stormbrew 5y ago

We have four cats and 2 of them require special food (kidney and allergies), and of the other two one of them will eat any food he can find most of the time while the other wanted to be in control of her own food to the point where she would do the thing where she scratched at the side of the bowl trying to bury it, presumably to keep it from the other one. So just leaving some bowls out didn't really work for them, they'd constantly eat each others' food or eat everything as quick as possible to keep it from the other cats, with predictable (and gross) results. We got feeder bowls that only open with the right RFID and now they're all much happier and more food secure. Sadly there's no good ones on the market I could find that do both automatic feeding and the rfid-gating, so we still have to manually feed them but for the most part they don't care when we feed them anymore except sometimes in the morning (which is the most likely time for them to run out of food).

nsv 5y ago
Seems like a cool DIY project if you get the time to do it!

technothrasher 5y ago

> I figured it was because they were secure that there would always be more food I’ve lived with quite a few different cats in my day. It’s simply the individual cat. Some cats overeat if allowed, some don’t. It’s certainly nice when you have one that doesn’t, but it’s nothing you did if you have one that does.

not2b 5y ago
We have a cat that was briefly feral, and she will gorge anything she can get to. While we were visiting my family for the holidays, our cat sitter friend called us and let us know that she had left the bin full of dry food on the counter, and the cat climbed up, pushed it off the counter bursting it open, and gorged on a ton of food, so much that she thought the cat was having trouble breathing. She was OK though, I think at some point she vomited up some of it. We definitely can't leave any extra food out with this one around, likewise she will try to get to people food if human backs are turned. She's calmed down a bit though, it no longer seems that she's constantly plotting how to get extra food.

podiki 5y ago

I should say my cat doesn't really overeat, I don't think. He won't eat everything just because it is out, but did gain a little weight. I think partially from me being home all the time in the pandemic; he seems to eat more when I'm around. In the past he wouldn't eat everything in his bowl, and maybe still wouldn't but I haven't done full free feeding. But even without worrying about eating too much, my cat definitely craves novelty and plays a lot. So I think the vet was recommending it for both reasons. He was getting too attached to going outside a lot, which I also had to curb (perhaps related).

billyjobob 5y ago

The majority of your cats’ diet should be wet food, or else you risk kidney problems.

cm2012 5y ago

I've raised 15 cats in my life and own 7 now. It's almost purely genetic. Right now I have 6 trim cats and one fat cat and I feed them all the same way. I've had one other fat cat that passed away, same story.