When and how much do you feed your kitties?

[CalliesMom]

I was just curious as the Nawtees get a 1/4 cup in the morning and at night. Shadow and Callie are on diets and Whisper doesn't eat much anyway.

Feeding, however, really depends upon Callie. She is great on the weekdays to wait until the alarm goes off to start meowing outside the bedroom door--7:15 AM.

At night, they get fed whenever I get home--between 4:30-6:30 PM.

[LauraT7]

Since I always fed Tristan, and now Fizzy - my goldens, twice a day, it easiest to feed Pixel kitty at the same time -

When I get up in the morning, and at 'people' dinnertime. (anywhere between 4 and 7 pm)

Pixel gets dry kitty kibble, with a spoonful of wet, canned food on top. Often he doesn't eat all the dry kibble, and comes back later in the afternoon or middle of the night to finish it up.

Pixel's bowl is up on a counter, so that Fizzy can't get into it (catfood smells SOOO GOOD to the doggies!)

As I'm a first time cat owner, though - I have a question about water.

I've always had BIG bowls of water for my golden retreivers. Since I have a doggie door, I would encourage them to drink all they want. however, if I put out a water bowl for Pixel, (near his food dish or other places) he won't touch it! Fizzy(golden) and Pixel (orange kitty) both use the dog door to go outside - Pixel is an at-will, mostly indoor, sometimes outside, cat.

He does get up on the kitchen and bathroom counters, and will 'ask' for a drink from the faucet, (he prefers running water when he can get someone to turn the tap for him) and I have seen him drink from Fizzy's large Ceramic water dish, a puddle on the patio, or the bucket of clean water I keep for her outside under the tap - even her kiddie pool!

I was concerned that he wasn't getting enough water, but he is obviously healthy.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting him to drink from a dish - for him? or does it really matter?

laura

[jenluckenbach]

6:30 am and 6:30 to 7:30 pm.......1/4 cup each at each feeding.

[Glacier]

I free feed the cats. Their food is in a room the dogs can't get into to. There's always dry food in the bowl. They also get a couple tablespoons of canned food every morning.

I tried going to scheduled feedings when Pete first needed prescription food. I had a kitty revolt on my hands. It was not pretty. To save my house from smelling like cat urine forever, I talked to my vet and he said they could all eat the CD food.

[moosmom]

I have 5 bowls, one for each cat. I put 1/4 cup in the morning (usually around 5 a.m. when Eli, the designated pain in the ass starts to whine) in each bowl. At night, I split a can of food between the 5 and add another 1/4 to each bowl.

[Craftlady]

1/4 cup 3x a day for 3 bowls
Eleanor or Skinny starts the whining for food between 4-5 a.m. During the school yr hubby is up at 4:15 a.m. so thus earlier feeding. Summer and vacations around 5 a.m.
2nd feeding is 4-5 p.m. (human dinner hour)
3rd feeding anywhere between 9-11 p.m. Depends on when Eleanor starts whining at me while sitting at the computer. She is doing it now to me and it's 9:15 p.m.

Eleanor and Thumper have to have a "treat" of a few kibbles around 10-11 a.m.

Their treats are they regular food. None of the "treats" in the pouch or can that are specifically called a "treat".

On a side note... Nurto is large kibble so it probably isnt a true 1/4 cup like smaller kibble.

Eleanor is the eater of the family. She eats 3x a day and more if you let her.

[catmandu]

THE FOUND CATS,HAVE IX FEEDING STATIONS.TWO ARE NUTRO COMPLETE CARE INDOOR SENIOR,ONE,IS EUKANUBA MATURE,TWO ARE WALTHAM WEIGHT CONTROL,AND THE OTHER,IS SCIENCE DIET SENIOR.SOMETIMES,THEY VARY,AS TO WHAT I HAVE,ON HAND,BUT THAT IS GENERALLY THE SITUATION.AND THE STARRYS GET WHISKAS DRY,AND CANNED,AND SAMPLE BAGS,OF PET VALU,WHICH,IS VERY GOOD.THE FOUND CATS,GET THAT,ONCE,IN A WHILE,AS WELL.

[G535]

Mine has his food put out at 5:00AM and he nibbles on it as it suits him at any time. He's another one who drinks from everywhere else except his water dish but it doesn't matter, he's very healthy for a 12 year old.

[NoahsMommy]

I free-feed Royal Canin's Special...but at night I split a can of Innova between Noah, Micah, Phoebe and Jonah (Basie doesn't like wet food). Usually thats before I go to bed or right when I get home.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I used to free feed but Sky was such a pig. Now I feed them 4 small feedings 2 times a day. I usually feed them at 7am and then again at 7pm or whenever I get home. After they get their first feeding I wait about 1 hour and then feed them another small feeding. I do this because Sunny will gobble his food down so fast that he'll then throw it up.

Storm is on Royal Canin S/O and I mix both wet and dry together. I just started feeding Sunny and Sky Innova wet and dry food. They get Innova Lite wet food and I mix it with the Innova Adult dry food. They don't seem to eat very much and I was concerned that they weren't getting enough food. Now I've also been mixing Storm's Royal Canin S/O dry with the Innova Lite dry and leaving it out so they can free feed during the day and at night. I mix 1/4 cup of each so there's 1/2 cup out. They usually don't finish it. I thought that Sky would inhale the whole thing but he's been pretty good about not hogging it all.

[kittycats_delight]

I free feed as well. There is always dry food available. They get purina one and max cat mixed as a staple. Between 5:00-6:00 am Vixen starts atalkin and that means it's time for wet. They WILL NOT eat pate of any kind. There are very feed chucks or flakes they will eat either. But they demand it. So it's a teaspoon each(I know that doesn't sound like much but they get that 4-6 times a day) of fancy feast grilled chicken feast, grilled tuna feast, flaked turkey and giblets also fancy feast or iams select bites salmon, chicken or beef. They usually eat about 3x85g cans a day in total with their dry and if I would have to estimate they eat about 1 cup of dry a day between the 2 of them.