I wanna try an experiment but I’d also like others experience here.

I’ve noticed certain cats eat tok fast and also go back to extra food. I feel like if the overeaters/gulpers were let to eat last and then all food leftovers were removed afterwards we might have less instances of vomiting afterwards.

What say you, cat-owning Lemmings?

  • BlackEco@lemmy.blackeco.com
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    9 months ago

    I’ve got two cats, Mochi who takes his time and eats by small amounts through the day, and Soba who eats quickly and will always hunt for more food once her ration is over.

    After multiple iterations with help from veterinarians, I’ve now landed on this:

    • I feed my cats twice a day: in the morning and in the evening. I try not to do it right after I wake up or come home from work, so they won’t learn to wake me up in the morning or nag me as soon as I arrive.
    • Mochi has a Pet Safe Smartfeed, it’s a bowl with a flap that opens only with his identification tag, so only him can eat his food.
    • Soba has a slow feeder mat for wet food and a food maze for dry food. Helps her eat slower, though she won’t stop eating until it’s over. I also have a Pipolino for dry food, makes her eat even slower.
    • I feed Soba “Diet” food. It’s less caloric, which allows me to give her bigger quantities of food so that she feels like she ate more while keeping the calories intake in check.

    The Smartfeed bowl is a bit expensive but there is a constant flow of second-hand units on the market where I live, so you could get one on the cheap that way. I was reluctant at first because of the price but it’s been a real game changer, I previously had to put Mochi’s bowl up on the kitchen counter, which only worked because Soba cannot jump high enough.

    Edit: forgot to mention that wet food takes up more space in the stomach that dry food. In the case of diet food, wet food is less caloric than dry food, so you can give your cat more wet food (and less dry food) to trick their stomachs.

    • QualifiedKitten@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      To add to your coments about calorie content of foods, in the realm of wet foods, pates tend to have the most calories per ounce, while “extra gravy” foods often have the fewest calories per ounce, since the “gravy” is mostly water.
      I’m sure there’s some exceptions to this, but I’ve spent a lot of time creating a spreadsheet comparing foods on a variety of aspects in an effort to find the most affordable foods that work for both of my cats’ needs & preferences. If in doubt, the cans should list both kcal/ can and kcal by weight.