Is my cat's dry food feeding schedule right? Should I leave food out?

Hello. That actually does not sound too unusual. You can certainly offer her the canned twice daily ( my house kitty gets a spoonful morning & evening ), & then he is free to pick at the dry all day. MOST cats are good at self regulating & will not eat too much to become obese, but this is something to watch for as Aspen grows older. It is very much an individual thing, but for now Aspen can be free to eat when he wants to. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello. Just for convenience, most folks just leave a bowl of food out for cats to graze on throughout the day. But if Maximus is overweight, or trending toward being overweight, you will need to control the amount of food he consumes in a day or place him on a metabolic weight control diet. As I see it, cats seem to get hungry, 10 minutes after I turn off the light for bed, so having some available will help me sleep all night. If Maximus is more considerate, & you do not mind feeding when he asks for food, you can certainly do this. Ideally, I would calculate the proper amount he needs daily based on what your bag of food recommends & divide this into 3 feedings, morning, noon or early evening, & the remaining amount for snacking overnight. Remember, if you are feeding for an ideal weight, or for Maximus to lose a little weight you will feed for that weight. In other words, follow the food amount recommendations for a 10 or 12-pound cat if he needs to lose a couple of pounds. Just divide the total daily amount into 3 separate meals. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like what you are doing is perfect if their weight is ideal. It is fine to just leave food out 24/7. This might need to change if your cats become overweight. Best of luck with your little ones!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At 10 months of age, Toby can be fed twice daily. If he isn't finishing the food then I recommend offering less. Obesity in cats is a huge problem. If he is self regulating that is a good thing. I would decrease the amount from the pouches or cut out the dry, whatever you prefer. I hope this helps!

Given that Cinnamon is overweight, I would leave food out for him twice a day. Feed him according to the package instructions on the food, and divide it into two equal portions. You can start giving Cinnamon wet food, as it has fewer calories due to it's higher moisture content. Just be sure to cut down on the dry food you give him. I recommend feeding Cinnamon a high quality cat food, such as Royal Canin or Hill's Science diet.

if your cat is of normal weight and gets enough exercise, you can leave it at that. If you prefer to feed individual meals (2-3 times a day) you should slowly transition to wet/canned food and slowly reduce the dry food. Wet food overall is better for your cat, especially when a cat gets older. It contains less carbohydrates (cats are obligatory carnivores, so mainly need protein, not carbs), lessens the chance of your cat becoming a diabetic, and ensures that your cat gets more moisture with its food rather than having to drink more. If you feed canned food, stick with pate-type food, as cats tend to only lick off the gravy in chunky type foods. They prefer the ground mouse approach :D

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I recommend meal feeding as this prevents obesity which is a huge health problem in cats. I would feed him twice daily. If he finds this terrible then split his total volume in to 3 meals. Good luck!