Random question about NOT free feeding kitties

[Frivian]

I am one of the lucky few whose cat who pretty much self-regulates in terms of diet and has never had any weight issues.

We free feed her (mostly wet food, but she usually has access to dry food as well) mainly out of convenience. She eats when she wants to, and has remained a svelte 8.5 pounds for the entire time I’ve owned her.

We are currently working on baby-proofing the house, and one of the issues is where to put the cat food so DD doesn’t get curious and try to eat it. I decided that I wanted to try to move the cat to a feeding schedule so the food is just not out all the time.

Right now I am feeding her about 5 times a day and leaving the food down for 45 minutes at a time (I work from home so it is possible for me to do this). I plan to get this down to 3 times a day.

Will forcing her to eat on my schedule change her ability to self-regulate her diet? Will she eventually forget how to tell whether or not she’s hungry, and simply eat because there is food there? Discuss…

[Hippolyta]

other possible solution: Can you put the dish up on a shelf where the cat can get to it but baby can’t?

[alabama]

I’d just put her food behind a baby gate and let her be. Of course, I have the perfect place to do that in my house - about a 4’x4’ “hallway” with a door to the sun porch. I could use that easy. I realize that’s not possible for everyone.

[GraceLikeRain]

I’ve transitioned several from free feeding to 2 meals a day. I did it cold turkey. Even our newest addition, a 4 month old, is learning how to do 3 meals a day. He would fuss at first but within about 7-10 days he learned that whining did not result in additional meals and that he needed to eat his meal rather than pick and walk away. People don’t need to graze constantly, neither do cats IMO.

[make_x_it_x_so]

I’ve always meal-fed my kittens, but in increasing their food intake as they grow, I’ve noticed that they do self regulate, and sometimes will not finish breakfast right away and go back to it a bit later. That being said, I do not take the food away if they don’t finish it, unless it’s old wet food.

[wendy]

there are other reasons for feeding set meals other than regulating body weight. Cats are predators, and as predators, they are “designed” to eat large meals at random intervals and fast in between. When you let them eat whenever, their body starts producing insulin bursts throughout the day, many more times per day than is normal for their predator design. And this can easily lead to the development of illnesses of middle/older age such as diabetes and kidney disease, diseases that are rampant in today’s cats.
Also, you may think the cat is “self regulating” her weight just fine, but most likely she’d be healthier if you kept her slightly thinner than her preference- most people seem to think that animals that at a real, proper healthy weight are actually underweight. Of course I don’t know for SURE if you’re one of those people who have a distorted view of what a healthy weight looks like, so don’t be offended if you aren’t one. Being able to see the outline of ribs is good.

[Simbalism]

My sis meal feeds her cats( she has 5) She gives 1 meal per day that is 1/2 dry, half wet and the other meal is all dry(double the amount she feeds for the other meal). Her cats all are in good weight and finish their food fairly quickly and then she takes up their dishes.

[Chall]

The one case I would not do that is with a senior cat.
You can make a box with a cat flap door that kitty can enter and eat in peace, and daughters arm can not reach through to the food.

The cat will probably would appreciate a safe place to eat unmolested.

[PRS]

I transitioned my daughter’s overweight cat from free feeding to twice a day meals. I did it slowly over time…allowing free feeding for shorter and shorter periods throughout the day. I gave her access to her free feeder during the morning hours until lunch time then took it up until dinner time shortening the times it was available while I decreased the amount of food in it. She now gets less than 1/4 cup of food in the AM and less than 1/4 cup of food in the PM and that’s it. She’s still fat BTW

[ASBJumper]

[QUOTE=PRS;7370930]
She now gets less than 1/4 cup of food in the AM and less than 1/4 cup of food in the PM and that’s it. She’s still fat BTW [/QUOTE]

Because you’re feeding dry food. Dry food is almost all carbs, and cats can’t digest it properly, so it either gets thrown up, or it mostly converts to fat.

If you’re truly concerned about her weight, try transitioning her to mostly wet. Raw+wet would be even better, but most people aren’t willing to go that far. Wet food is infinitely better for cats than dry food. Look for “grain-free” varieties.

[Frivian]

Thanks all for your opinions.

For those who mentioned it - we really don’t have a place where we can section off the cat food and keep it safe from the baby that is convenient for us. We keep the litter box in an upstairs unused bedroom, but I’d rather not have the food that far away from the kitchen. And we don’t have any high surfaces where the cat is allowed that would make sense to put food on (i.e. she is only allowed on her cat furniture and the couches/chairs, no counter tops or high shelves).

She is definitely not overweight. I know most people say this about their pets, but it really is true for her. She has a very clear outline of her hips and waistline when viewed from above. No problems there. In fact, I think a lot of “typical” pet owners would say she is too thin.

I guess I am just worried that she might lose her convenient self-regulating ability, which definitely comes in handy when we go out of town - only having a petsitter come over once a day vs. twice or more is a big plus.