A Question About Cat Feeder Bowls

[carole]

I bought one of those continuous feeder at the cat show for my two, you know the ones you can put biscuits into and they just keep falling down into the bottom when eaten, my question is do you think your cats tend to eat more this way and become overweight or do they just snack and only eat what they need, or does it depend on the cat?

[RedHedd]

It probably depends on the cat. I use those continuous feed towers when I go out of town for more than a day. Otherwise they each get their own bowl of food, but they're not hoovers. They just nibble throughout the day, rarely gobbling it all down. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

[Denyce]

My husband lived in Vancouver BC and I here in State College PA when we met. When he came here to visit he would leave his cat Kaliban with one of those continuous feeders. The manager of the apartment complex would check on her every day and spend some time with her. Besides then he could watch hockey without the wife and kids around . Unfortunately he didn't understand that refilling it every day wasn't good for Kaliban. She gained quite a bit of weight which we are still having trouble getting off of her. She should weigh in at about 15 pounds or so. She is a big cat anyway..but right now she is at about 21 pounds. Ever try to get a 21 pound cat to exercise when she doesn't want to? You wave a string at her and she just rolls on her back and waves her paddle paws in the air at it. The best we have been able to do is to take her outside and Brian stands at one end of the driveway while I am at the other and we call her back and forth between us. After a bit she just gets fed up...lays down...flips over on her back and waves her paws at us But it is way cute.

[carole]

Thanks for your input folks, wow 21 pounds thats one big puddytat, my ash is around 14 and he is a rather big boy, i dont want him to get any bigger, i have marked on the calendar when i gave them the feeding tower, and the bis usually last around 2 wks, so we shall c, if they are eating way too much, thanks again. I can just picture your kitty waving at you.

[slick]

Although continuous feeders are very convenient, I can't use that method because Speckles would end up even fatter that she already is.

I have heard that if you start the grazing method at kittenhood then they do learn not to overeat.

[AngelZoo]

Generally for most cats indivdual feedings are best.

But it can depend on the individual cat. All 3 of mine get fat if i let them free feed. And most cats I have owned, have also been this way.

Though it is a convincence, I keep one around incase I have to leave for a night or so, so they can have a constant food supply if I can't get someone to come over and feed them when I need them to.

[carole]

so far the cats have been good, they dont seem to be feeding any more than ususal, lexie is a snacker, being a young cat full of energy she seems to eat little and often, but no more than usual, its the older one i have to keep an eye on because he is a bit on the podgy side and i dont want him any bigger. thanks for the input folks, most helpful.