Do cats need food available all night? Can they go 8 hours without eating?

Yes, your cat will be fine physically if you don't leave food down over night. Mentally though, Misty may not like it and may complain. I assume Misty needs to lose some weight based upon the conversation with your vet, Here is a helpful link about weight loss: https://www.petcoach.co/article/frequently-asked-questions-regarding-overweight-cats/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If she has open eyes, most of her kitten teeth, can walk, and is otherwise doing well, you can actually start leaving some kitten food out for her. Canned kitten food mixed with formula/milk is a good place to start. You can leave this for her before bed and she can eat it throughout the night. I definitely recommend a maximum of 8 hours between feedings if she will not eat kitten food. Best wishes to you and your kitten!

Yes, it's absolutely fine to feed your cat dry food only, it can be left outside for up to 24 hours. the amount differs form brand to brand, it should be written on the food label of the food you are using.

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.

Some cats are grazers and like to eat little bits throughout the day. My own cats eat sporadically during the day and night, so I leave food out for them at all times. You may try doing that for Bella.

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.

Great question! You have two options with feeding Uli. There will be a daily allotment of food to be fed on her food bag, and you can either leave the food out all day for her to eat whenever she wants, or you can divide it up into two equal portions. Give one of the portions in the morning and one at night. At her age, she should still be on a kitten formulated food. Once she is 12 months of age, you can switch her to an adult food. Good luck, I hope this helps!