Advice about cats anyone?

[JuliasUndies 7288]

If anyone could take a second and answer a quick question for me about cats and food that would be helpful and appreciated.

So, I'm not sure if I'm feeding my cat enough food or if he is being a suck and begging because he get's bored. I've researched how much to feed cats but in the end, all cats eat differently depending on activity, age, weight ect..

I feed my cat twice a day on a schedule and he either eats it all at once or leaves some for later. When he does eat it all at once he sometimes comes back to the kitchen and stands in front of the food cupboard and meows.

My question is, do I feed him more food if he asks for more or does anyone think he is just trying to squeeze some in by begging or just to get attention(he might turn into a chronic beggar)? I thought about leaving him a huge bowl full and let him decide when he's hungry but then again, I've seen some fat cats out there...Any advice?

Thanks!

These cats look like my guy, sweets bunches of softness

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

For my cats, I have a bowl that dispenses the dry food and I only have to fill it up once in a while. One of my cats who is very old cannot chew the dry food too much anymore so I give him a can of fancy feast twice a day. My other cat who is an orange tabby is one of those cats who is a glutton and will try to eat both wet and dry food and I always make sure he knows the pecking order. But when there is no wet food he will meow and want more.

 

And another thing is if you walk into the kitchen at any time, they will associate this with getting fed even when they just ate.. I'd buy the dispenser dish at Canadian tire and leave it at that. Then they can eat on their own. Or you can give them feeding times and leave no food out after they're done but they will probably meow. I wouldn't give in to them because they will expect it all the time. Cats are excellent manipulators when it comes to getting what they want. lol.

[Guest *D E**a]

I just leave food in a bowl and they eat when they are hungry. My cats aren't overweight. I think that you can leave a full bowl as long as he's not gorging himself...then you'd have to restrict his intake again.

[roamingguy 300291]

I do the same as Nicolette, I have an automatic food dispenser for my cat

I also have a automatic water dispenser along the same lines

This is what it looks like

RG

[Maria Divina 2262]

but I am a Pet lover...

 

For my cats (I got 2), I put a 2 full bowls (each one has his/her own bowl) when it is necessary, they are not fat, they have enough food for both at any time. It takes like around 2 days to empty their bowls.

 

My darlings are miewing (sorry, I am inventing) when they need something, not only food or water. Sometimes, they even miew when I am coming back home, like saying: "Where have you been, what have you done?"

No necessary to say that I don't need a man at home to ask,

my cats are there, doing it!

 

hahaha

 

ps: That's a lot of cats (and dogs too) I got in life: don't worry, maybe your cat will take a bit of fat, especially if he had been sterilized. If you have only one cat, I really don't think you will have problem with the food with him.

[milfhunter1967 2154]

 

And another thing is if you walk into the kitchen at any time, they will associate this with getting fed even when they just ate.. I'd buy the dispenser dish at Canadian tire and leave it at that. Then they can eat on their own. Or you can give them feeding times and leave no food out after they're done but they will probably meow. I wouldn't give in to them because they will expect it all the time. Cats are excellent manipulators when it comes to getting what they want. lol.

 

This is great advice, once you fed your cats the first time you were being played ! lol cats are great but sometimes they are a major battle of wills! I had a long running one with my cat Spike for twenty four years, still not sure who won!

[Cowboy kenny 50799]

It's a tough call, the twice a day theory is the best. My little guy had 18 good years on two feedings a day and a bowl of dry food to nibble on should he get peckish until the next feed, but he never over ate, the dry food bowl would last infact we'd toss it after a day because it would go stale.

 

On the other hand my girlfriend had a cat that would only eat if someone was in the kitchen, where the bowl was kept, not to beg to be fed, his bowl was full, he just wouldn't eat unless one of us was in there. If we got up to go to another room he would "steer" us towards the kitchen!

 

Cats! I love 'em but they are weird!

[Gabriella Laurence 301887]

My question is, do I feed him more food if he asks for more or does anyone think he is just trying to squeeze some in by begging or just to get attention(he might turn into a chronic beggar)? I thought about leaving him a huge bowl full and let him decide when he's hungry but then again, I've seen some fat cats out there...Any advice?

Perhaps talking to the veterinarian might be best. Depending on many factors (age, current weight, indoor or outdoor cat, etc.) he will be able to recommend a proper quantity of food and most importantly, the right food for your cat.

Then a follow up appointment might be ideal after 2-3 months.

[Leigha.Lane 790]

hi.. Im a huge animal love and actually trained as a vet assistant... my advise is the same as everyone else's, allow your cat to free feed, cats in gerneral do much better when they are the ones who decide to eat... they are usually unlike dogs and will stop eating if they are full..

 

you do see a lot of overweight cats, but its the lack of exercise in indoor cats and the fillers in the food that causes it not because they eat all the time, tho if the food isnt the best quality the cat may need more to get what he needs.

 

as far as him "begging" as a few people said... cats are too smart for their own good, if he realizes that he gets attention by following you to the kitchen then he will continue doing it whether its for food or not.. ignoring unwanted behavior is the best way to deal with a cat because even a bad attention is still attention ;)

 

good luck!

[Phaedrus 209521]

If anyone could take a second and answer a quick question for me about cats and food

 

Cheezburgerz! It doesn't matter what the question is; there can only be one answer.

 

that would be helpful

 

Nope :)

 

Sorry, but someone had to go there :)

[cometman 35115]

Barn cats pour moi. I buy a bag of cat food, open the top, and lay it on it's side. Presto......auto dispenser. They help themselves and supplement their diet with rodents and birds. No fat cats here unless they're pregnant.

[mrrnice2 157005]

I can always use a good mouser too. :)

[backrubman 64800]

With our cats (we have three, not by choice then but who can turn away, and therefore sentence to death, a cat that comes to your door with a broken paw and wants to limp in?) my wife is disabled and for the most part house bound so we don't feed them at any time, never, ever until they ask as she is always around when I am not.

 

So when they get hungry they sure do let you know it, no problem with communication.

 

So there is always some dry cat food available if the humans are all asleep or not home. But if they decide they want canned food, they just ask. None are skin and bones and none are fat, they are all just all very happy that we know how to use a can opener when asked.

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

I'm convinced my cat has another home he goes to because he's gone all the time in spring, summer and fall months and once found him 5 miles away from home. I always have to feed my older cat in another room so he doesn't eat his food. He has gotten bigger over the years and is about 13-14 lbs. Here he is at normal size.lol

 

[SamanthaEvans 166766]

We have two orange tabby cats--they're brothers. Having moved from a very big house with lots of stairs into a much smaller one hasn't been good for their waistlines, unfortunately. They're indoor cats and definitely need more exercise. They share a single bowl and feed at will during the day. Usually, this works well, but one of them seems to be bulimic. When he's annoyed with me, he tends to eat and then throw up immediately. I swear he does it on purpose! He's also the bossier of the two. He talks a lot and makes very clear demands about things, often along the lines of the water in the water bowl has been sitting there for more than 10 minutes and needs to be changed, NOW. Both cats become very vocal the moment there's an empty space in the bottom of the dish, like this:

 

 

To make things more complicated, the dog thinks that cat food is yummy and will sneak around if there's a chance that she might get to clean out the bowl when no one is looking!

[suejameson 100]

Hi!

You mentioned that you think he might be bored. For the record I free feed,just wish I could make homemade cat treats.....There's now a battery operated laser pointer at Amazon. It does the work for you just goes round and round and up and down. They are probably avail elsewhere as well. I find the Almighty laser is the one way to distract my guy sometimes. He's a Russian blue and definitely runs the household.

[JoyfulC 132299]

Our two cats are curvaceous! Both females, both fixed and both Daddy's L'il Darlin's. That's the problem at our house. Our cats don't beg, they insist. And he's only too happy to kowtow to their every little demand. They have a bowl of dried out at all times. Plus they each get a quarter can of food each evening. Plus they get a "cut" of anything we eat. Plus he always keeps a little something in the fridge for impromptu treats (chicken, meatballs, cheese, etc.). And the younger one insists on sharing my milk with me every morning. Which is just delightful. She kills mice. She eats dead flies. She licks her ass. And then she sticks her tongue in my milk!

 

I love them, but really my husband is too much of a suck. I thought he was bad with the dogs!

[NotchJohnson 214073]

My cat(18 yo) is I could say always hungry but that is just greed. He wakes me up in the morning at 5:30 am just to be fed, I buy expensive vet food for cats, both dry and canned so I give him half a can at 5:30 am and he as the dispenser that everyone got and showed here. He does drink a lot of water and pees a lot, the vet said its normal for a cat that age.

 

I can say that he is spoiled he has 2 master bathroom(they are giant plastic container from canadian tire) and it takes a full box of litter to fill one up.

 

Back to the subject, he does like to eat when someone is watching, if there is no one home for a long period of time he will hardly eat at all.

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

My cat taps me on the back or arm when he wants something and will persist until I do whatever it is he wants.