we should feed our cats small meals throughout the day at scheduled meal times.
and if we can make our cats hunt for food, that's even better.
hey friends it's jess and jericho here to teach you how to feed your cat better.
so first we need to discuss how cats eat before we talk about how often to feed a cat.
according to veterinarian liz bales a cat's stomach is about the size of a ping pong ball.
it is designed to hold no more than one to two tablespoons of food at one time.
this is an amount equivalent to the edible contents of their typical prey.
this is a pack of adult mice. there's five mice in this bag.
and i'm gonna put it on the scale. so it weighs a little more than four ounces.
which is equal to about 115.8 grams.
cats hunt at both day and night. and cats hunt somewhere between nine and 20 times a day.
typically a cat needs to eat seven to eight mice a day to maintain its body weight.
the cat's stomach is about the size of a
ping pong ball so they can't really eat that much food at one time.
so instead of feeding large meals twice a day,
it might make more sense to feed smaller meals more frequently throughout the day.
this is much more natural to the cat than grazing on food all day.
or eating large meals all at once.
this can help prevent the scarf and barf. and it can also help the body digest food more properly.
so take everything that you're currently feeding and portion it out.
and create a feeding schedule that works for you and for your cat.
i created this feeding schedule chart printable as part of my cat binder printable
you can check the pinned comments for how to buy.
so when you're determining your scheduled meal times you have to be home.
there's no more 24/7 buffet.
on top of the fact that grazing on food is not natural to cats,
it's also unsanitary to leave food out all day.
and yes even kibble is at risk for growing bacteria.
in addition to mold and rancid fats.
polyunsaturated fats in all types of food oxidize very quickly.
so as soon as oxygen hits the food the fats start to break down. and they oxidize.
this turns them rancid. and that can damage your cut.
another reason that we need scheduled routine meal times is that cats are creatures of habit.
if we think about our cat's wild side...
i mean think about how it would be like if you lived outside.
if you had to fight for your survival.
if you had to hunt for food and find clean places to drink.
and find safe areas to sleep.
you wouldn't want your day full of surprises right?
you'd want to have the same routine.
and you want to do the same things every day. that way you survive!
and even though our cats live inside we still need to have routines in place.
because these instincts have been ingrained in cats for thousands of years.
so when we keep these routines it makes our cats
feel safe and comfortable in their territory aka your home.
jericho eats three main meals throughout the day. once in the morning and twice at night.
and then i also have him hunt for treats in the middle of the day to kind of break it up.
i hide little pieces of freeze-dried minnows on top of glass
jar lids for jericho to hunt around the apartment.
i use the glass jar lids for jericho just because it's a little more sanitary
than just placing treats around on the condo or window perch.
so you can use the glass jar lids or you can use
feeder mice or treat release toys to have the same effect.
dr liz bales created these feeder mice. you put food
inside the mice and hide them around your home.
and then the cat has to paw at the mice to expose the food.
the feeder mice toys I have used with clients.
and their cats absolutely did use them.
just kind of pawd at them and roll them over and then the food or treats are exposed.
and that's a great way to replicate the hunting experience indoors.
the con to using feeder mice or other treat-release toys is that they're plastic.
so even with regular washing plastic traps bacteria.
you're gonna want to clean them after each time you use them and replace them frequently.
here are some common frequently asked questions. one. how long can a cat go without food?
so the general consensus is that cats should not go longer than 12 hours between their meal times.
number two. what if i work long hours?
i had an email once from somebody in the movie industry that works 12 to 16 hours a day.
where are you going?
if you work long hours there are these timed feeders. this one has a 48 hour timer.
so you set it and there's a battery on the bottom.
once the timer goes off the tray opens and here's your food.
and then there's also a place here for an ice pack.
so that comes in handy with wet food because help keep it fresher longer.
and especially since this is closed until the timer goes off that'll help prevent the
oxidation that i was talking about before.
i couldn't use this one for jericho because he just knocked it around
and trying to get the food out.
and of course the con here again is that it's made out of plastic.
and you can't really use it for raw food.
so if you work long hours then i'd suggest
feeding raw in the morning when you're home. cleaning it up before you leave.
setting those feeders with air dried food or wet food.
and then when you come home before bed you can feed more raw.
and i think that would be a good way to kind of balance
what your cat is eating and when he's eating.
there is another automatic feeder that has a stainless steel plate option as well.
number three common question. what about multiple cats?
so if you have multiple cats you can get these automatic feeders that
register on your cat's microchip.
so when the cat comes over to the feeder it'll open and when the cat walks away it'll close.
and it'll only open for the cat whose microchip is registered for that feeder.
and another common question is what about kittens? how often should i feed kittens?
so kittens need to eat even more frequently and even smaller meals.
you should be feeding your kitten the amount of food
that's recommended for their adult projected ideal weight.
so even though your kitten may not weigh 10 pounds
the projected weight for his adult life will be 10 pounds.
so you'll be feeding your kitten as much food as required as a 10 pound cat.
and obviously you don't want to feed all of that food at once.
so even more frequent feeding times are appropriate for kittens.
and to figure out how much to feed your cat check out that video right over meow.
thanks for watching!