Some interesting info about feeding :)

[Nomilynn]

--BON APETIT - FELINE FEEDING FACTS:

--OOPS! LOOK WHAT I LEFT FOR YOU ON THE CARPET!

If you have really watched your cat eat his dry food, you've
probably noticed that he probably just gulps it down without
chewing it up much. Some cats ingest too much dry food at
once and then regurgitate it a few minutes later. Cats with
this tendency need to be fed smaller portions.

They can also benefit from mixing in some canned food, or from
adding some water to the dry food. Another strategy is to him
feed a larger-sized kibble that must be chewed before being
swallowed. This slows eating and decreases regurgitation.

--TO GRAZE OR NOT TO GRAZE:

Using a feeder that only needs to be filled once a week makes
it easy to feed your kitty - IF he does not overeat. We tend
to think of cats as "grazers" who eat a few bites of food at a
time, but even theses "grazers" can get fat if they consume too
many calories. Dry food can be very concentrated, and feeding
more than one cup of food a day of some brands can cause kitty
obesity.

Most adult, indoor cats tend to gain weight if their bowls are
kept constantly full. When deciding how much dry food to feed,
check the label or consult with your vet. Feeding two smaller
meals a day is a good way to control intake.

--DRY FOOD AND LONGEVITY:

People today are more aware of their own nutrition and health,
for the most part, and they also tend to watch what their pets
eat. Most dry cat foods are chemically stabilized and preserved.
The safety of these chemical is constantly challenged, and pet
food maker defend their safety.

A few companies make "all natural" foods that contain no synthetic
ingredients. Whether these diets will improve your cat's
health and longevity has not been proven. Fortunately, vets
have seen many cats who have lived into their 20's after eating
regular, commercial dry foods for their entire lives.

--A GOOD FEEDING REGIMEN:

The most common feline feeding regimen is feeding a little
canned food once or twice a day, and leaving out some dry
food for the in between times. You might feel like you're
spoiling your cat a bit when you do this, but this method
works well if portions and between meal treats are kept under
control.

[jenluckenbach]

that first fact may be Monte's problem. Thank you. Now I have a stategy to try to stop this habit.

[ramanth]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
--A GOOD FEEDING REGIMEN:

The most common feline feeding regimen is feeding a little
canned food once or twice a day, and leaving out some dry
food for the in between times. You might feel like you're
spoiling your cat a bit when you do this, but this method
works well if portions and between meal treats are kept under
control.

Yay! I'm doing something right.

This is how we've always fed my cats when I was growing up and it's how I feed Zam.

[smokey the elder]

It's amazing how vehement some people can get about cat food. Much like humans, every cat is different. Some can thrive on "junk food" (it's up to each purr-ent's opinion what constitutes junk food) and others need special food, whatever that may be. As far as the controversy about synthetic additives like antioxidants goes, they are used in human food with very little controversy. My one concern is some of the synthetic dyes. I had a foster that was ferociously allergic to a dye in some cat food. As soon as I changed foods, her digestive problem cleared up.

Anyway, if the cats like the food and aren't sickened by it, stick with what you're doing.

[Russian Blue]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
--BON APETIT - FELINE FEEDING FACTS:


A few companies make "all natural" foods that contain no synthetic ingredients. Whether these diets will improve your cat's health and longevity has not been proven. Fortunately, vets
have seen many cats who have lived into their 20's after eating
regular, commercial dry foods for their entire lives.

When I was a kid, we had a Seal Point Siamese cat. We only fed her basic grocery store canned cat food. She lived to the ripe old age of 23!! And to top this off, her mother died at the age of 25!!

Besides a UTI early on in my cat's life we never had any health problems with her. We only had the regular vet checks each year.

She must have had some strong genes in her to put up with that food!

[All Creatures Great And Small]

My mom's kitty lived to the age of 18 on not much more than Friskies and Tender Vittles (we were on a tight budget back then).
My RB girl kitty ate only Science Diet dry food for her 15 years, and she did fine. The free-feeding dry and twice a day moist are what I'm giving my boy kitty, since he was started out that way. I always wondered if it was the best way to do it, so I'm glad to hear that it's common practice.

I'm very fortunate that my kitty has never had any digestive problems or hairballs, although he does have impacted anal glands fairly frequently. I've never seen him vomit in the 4 years I've known him. When my mom-in-law owned him, she was sprinkling Barley Cat powder on his moist food, so I kept that up too. I think that's what keeps his digestion working so well. I also made him a raised feeding platform, like they have for dogs, so he stands while he eats. Even though my cat is WAY skinny, he maintains his weight consistently from year to year, so the vet said he's just destined to be a skinny guy. I offer him healthy table scraps like chicken, fish, etc., but he's usually not interested (he's such a supermodel ).