Need advice on food schedules... Four cats!

1685 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by laurief, Dec 29, 2011

Lilabootz

Discussion Starter · Dec 28, 2011

Hi all,

So I have a question about feeding my cats and I am hoping someone can help me.

I will be moving in with my boyfriend in the next 6 months and I have 2 cats and he has 2 cats.

-My cats are feed twice a day and given a 1/4 cup each time. (My cats are 3 and 4)

-His cats are feed once a day and are given 1/2 cup each time. (His cats are 9 and 11ish)

The problem is that one of his cats is on a prescription diet due to his urinary stones. So he feeds both his cats this food to make it easier. This is obviously going to be really expensive if we feed all four cats this food so I am at odds what to do. One of my cats LOVES to eat and is highly food motivated while the other isnt so much. My cats are both of normal weight while his a severly obese.

I would like to feed the cats twice a day, but he is adamant on staying at once a day. He has been trying to get his cats to loose weight for the past few years with no luck. Do you think feeding them twice a day would speed up their metabolism?

Ahhh, has anyone else had a similar situation? I would like to have only little kitty (urinary stones) on the prescription food while I keep the others on Natural Balance. I would also like to feed them in the morning and at night. I feel like my cats really looks forward to food time and cutting it back to once a day would make her sad.

Any Ideas, concerns, comments are welcome!!

Thank you in advance

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marie73

· #2 · Dec 28, 2011

I've fed my cats separately at different times in their lives, for different reasons. This might work for you, except for the cat that's not food motivated, because that cat won't eat right away, leaving the food for the others to finish.

Not sure if I'm reading this right, does he give each cat 1 cup of dry food a day???

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my5kitties

· #3 · Dec 28, 2011

I had to read it a few times, but it looks like he only feeds each cat once a day and it's only a 1/2 cup for each. Doesn't sound too healthy to me.

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marie73

· #4 · Dec 28, 2011

You're right. "Each time" kind of threw me off.

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Lilabootz

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 28, 2011

Sorry, that is kind of confusing. He feeds each cat 3/4 of a cup once a day. I feed my cats twice a day 1/4 of a cup each time.This is of course for each cat. My cats have behavioral issues so they are fed in different rooms and actually live seperatley in different parts of the house. All of the cats diets and portion sizes have been referred by our vets. Maybe I should go see my behavorist about what would be the best way to transition this part of the move. I was just seeing if anyone else had similar experiences or advice.

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laurief

· #6 · Dec 28, 2011

First, I would NOT feed a prescription urinary diet to any cat for whom it was not specifically prescribed. Urinary diets alter the urinary pH, and altering the urinary pH may cause urinary crystals to form in the cat who previously had no problem with urinary crystals. Your boyfriend is foolishly playing Russian roulette with his cat who didn't have a urinary problem to begin with.

Second, your boyfriend is obviously feeding too much if his cats are obese, regardless of whether or not the portion amounts were prescribed by his vet. The obese cats' food portions should be gradually decreased to achieve steady weight loss, and that weight loss should be closely monitored to keep it at a slow, safe pace. I strongly advise buying a digital baby scale and weighing the cats every two weeks to chart their weights and weight loss progress. That's the easiest way to make appropriate dietary adjustments while maintaining slow, safe weight loss.

Cats, esp. older cats, do better on at least two meals a day. It helps prevent acid build-up in the gut and digestive upset. But it sounds like your boyfriend is stubborn in that regard. If that's the case, don't sacrifice your own cats' health just to accommodate his stubbornness. Keep feeding your cats the way you're feeding them now (unless, of course, you want to improve your cats' diets by switching them to canned food instead of dry). Feed your cats their appropriate portions of their non-prescription food separately twice a day so that they can't access your boyfriend's cats' prescription food.

Laurie

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tghsmith

· #7 · Dec 28, 2011

I currently have four cats in the house, one on urinary diet, feeding is twice a day around 1/4 cup each cat, each time. the smaller measures twice a day insures that each cat eats their food and only their food.. in 15min or less the feeding is done and any cat that had to isolated is let out.. as said above individual care can be given to each cat this way.. if your other thinks this is more work tell him about the time involved with the care of a diabetic cat.. plus I get to see them run around all excited two times a day..(they also seem to cause less trouble during the night, evening feeding time 8:30 to 9:00pm)

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Lilabootz

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 29, 2011

Thank you everyone for the advice! tghsmith, I really like your method and it sounds like what I want to do.

Laurief, everything he has been doing such as feeding, medical related and weight loss has all been directed by the veterinarian. I will have him speak with the vet again to make sure it everything he is doing is ok and also if we change the feeding schedule. He definatley would not be feeding his cat (without urinary stones) the prescription diet if the vet hadn't said it was ok to do so. Thank you for your advice, I have been heavily debating switching them to wet food.

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MowMow

· #9 · Dec 29, 2011

Lilabootz said:
Laurief, everything he has been doing such as feeding, medical related and weight loss has all been directed by the veterinarian.

I think that Laurief was was referring to this comment:

Lilabootz said:
The problem is that one of his cats is on a prescription diet due to his urinary stones. So he feeds both his cats this food to make it easier. This is obviously going to be really expensive if we feed all four cats this food so I am at odds what to do.

If his OTHER cat doesn't have UT issues then it probably shouldn't be eating that food and irregardless of expense neither should yours if they don't need it.

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Lilabootz

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 29, 2011

Gotcha, I should of looked at that twice.
The only reason he is feeding his cat (without urinary stones) the presciptrion food was because he the vet said it was OK to do so. Trust me, I am sure you guys have had experience with urinary stones and that is why you have a lot of insight but after spending THOUSANDS of dollars on surgerys and food, I think the last thing he would want to do is but his other cat in harms way. That being said, I know there are a lot of incompetant vets out there ( I have had the pleasure of meeting many) so i will ask him to get a second opinion.

I will be feeding my cats the same food as they are eating now. But since I am bringing two cats with behavioral issues into a home with a cat with urinary stones (who is extremely anxious and sensitive to change), I would like to go with the easiest, less stressful method.

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laurief

· #11 · Dec 29, 2011

MowMow is correct. I was referring to the cat for whom the prescription food was NOT prescribed. Most prescription food is crammed full of high-carb fillers that offer no nutritional value to a cat, so even if it won't immediately kill the cat for whom it's not prescribed, it sure isn't offering him optimal nutritional, either. And, of course, your BF's vet is making a tidy profit off of every bag of food he sells.

It's also difficult to give credit to a vet who has been offering dietary advice regarding an obese cat who has not managed to lose the extra weight over the course of several years. Either the vet's been giving bad advice, or your boyfriend hasn't been following his good advice. In either event, your BF needs to start seriously questioning the dietary advice his vet has been giving him.

Laurie

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