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Feeding Tips and Tricks for Cats
As a general rule, we recommend giving cats a set, controlled amount of food per day. If there are multiple cats you will need to separate them and potentially feed them in different areas to avoid cross eating. This type of feeding allows you to control calories, feed specific foods for specific pets and helps you to closely monitor feeding habits which allows you to recognize subtle changes that may indicate a problem.First, it can be helpful to remove the human component from the feeding process. If cats see their people give them food directly, they know where to turn when they decide they want to eat and we all know a meowing, persistent cat can be very difficult to ignore! A good way to separate from the feeding process is by purchasing a timed, automatic feeder. There are many options to choose from – some have a number of slots that you pre-prep food into and they open up as scheduled and others hold food and distribute a set amount at regular timed intervals. Cats are programmed to want small meals, several times per day and an automatic feeder can make this easier. If your cat wakes you up at 4am to eat, then set a meal for 3:30am! Over time, your cat learns to wait for the feeder and not bother you for extras. This can also be helpful if you leave your cat for a day or two and still want them fed appropriately.
Examples of timed, automatic, portioned controlled feeders… (available on Amazon and many other places – read reviews!)
Of course this process becomes more difficult when there are multiple cats in the household. Multiple cats can add an extra element of work, but does not make it impossible to feed appropriately. In a general sense, we recommend separating the cats and feeding in separate rooms. They get x amount of time to eat and then any remaining gets picked up and the cats are allowed to roam again freely. This is especially helpful if cats need to get specific foods vs. others or if you have grazers who leave food and snackers who go around eating whatever they can find. If you wish to use automated feeders, you may be able to successfully train your cats to eat at a specific feeder, at different ends of the house. You program them to go off at the same time and they learn the sound of the feeder dispensing the food and will run to their respective feeder for their meal. This is fine if they eat it all at once and do not leave any in the bowl for the other cat to snack on. Using several very small meal sizes might make this possible.
If that does not work well, there are still other options! There are feeders that are programmed to only open under a specific circumstance – this could be for a specific collar or microchip implanted. Not all of these feeders are timed and automatic, but some like the Portion Pro Rx are. Others, like the Sure Feed Connect allow free feeding of the amount of food placed in the bowl each day. If a cat tends to eat all of their food at once you may need to meal feed into the feeder, which keeps you in the equation, but can still be helpful. We have also seen videos online of people DIYing their timed, automatic feeders to dispense into multiple cat microchip feeders, thus removing themselves from the equation and allowing their cats to get fed freely, even if they aren't around. There are lots of options!!
Additionally they make cat doors that only open for certain collars or microchips. These can be especially helpful for separating for feeding or even giving cats a separate space away from others for things like litterbox use, eating or even just resting. We have seen people use these in regular doors in the house, closet doors or even built into DIY spaces made specifically around the house to add separation for multiple cat households.
A final option for feeding involves making mealtime a more stimulating process than eating from a bowl. Cats are natural hunters who prefer several smaller meals per day. This helps prevent them from eating too fast, reduces boredom, helps with weight management and generally contributes to a healthier lifestyle. There are many types of interactive feeders from Doc and Phoebe's Feeding System where you fill and hide little mice around the house to various food puzzles to wobbler type products. There are even tons of tutorials online that show DIY options for puzzle feeders as well… switching it up keeps it interesting! These types of things do tend to work better if you have only one cat or can separate spaces in the house, but are wonderful options to help increase activity level and provide mental stimulation for indoor cats.
If you've made it this far, thank you for taking an interest in better health and well-being for your cat! If you have any additional questions, need problem solving options or want any further advice don't hesitate to contact us!
