I will be out of town for 4-1/2 days. I have an automatic waterer and a gravity feeder...How much dry food should I leave for 3 piggy cats to ensure they have enough...but don't gorge themselves.

Any suggestions? :think:

I would set out extra bowls of water and food too. I was really little...so I don't remember what happened, but my family went on vacation and either the food or water feeder malfunctioned. I could see it happening more easily with the food.

Recently when my family left for 4 days, they set out a bunch of water containers. My cat drank her normal one till it was bone dry, and refused to touch the others. Poor kitty!

Do you usually measure their food?

In the past, I've left the amount they would normally eat in the amount of time I'll be gone + a day just in case I got delayed. Without fail they never eat more than half of the food left. I suppose the stress of me being gone kills their appetites.

But I'm blessed to not have "piggy cats". :lol: It's possible your may gorge themselves the first couple days then have little to eat.

My cat only eats what he needs. I just leave 2 cups for a week. It is rare that he eats more than that. If you leave too much, you'll invite ants, if you don't leave enough, the cats will be mad at you. See how much they eat in the next four days and judge it off that. Maybe give them a little more just to be safe too.

I'd leave bowls of food all over the house -- just in case.
Is there anyone you could have stop by and check on them?? Just in case? I was supposed to be gone two nights this december, and I was going to just leave out a bunch of food/water for my boys (I tried to get a timed feeder but it didn't work out), but my coworker offered to come by and thank GOD she did because I ended up leaving them for a week because my appendix burst on the drive to where we were going and my boyfriend, the only other person with a key, was WITH me! They would have been all alone and starving and thirsty!!

1/2 cup per cat per day is the recommended amount for most cats. That'd be 6 cups, so I'd leave 7 cups.

I second the recommendation of lining up someone to stop by just in case something should happen to delay your return.

If I'm gone for more than overnight I get someone to check on my kitties too. Cats can handle themselves, but just in case of emergency. :)

vggiegirl, I'd be happy to check on your cats while you're gone. :)

I always have someone come and check on my cats, every other day or so. I have large automatic water dispenser and feeders too, that help.

I wouldn't leave your cats for 4 and a half days without someone coming to check on them at least once. Probably a cup of dry food per day per cat would be sufficient but it will get really dry and stodgey after a couple of days so I would really suggest having someone drop in and give them the second half of it. They should also give them a bit of attention while they're there (depending on the temprament of your cats). Of course about a cup would feed my cat but yours might be giants for all I know. You should try to figure out how much they eat in a day as suggested above

i've left mine for up to 5 days with 2 bowls of dry food and 2 bowls of water. usually when i get back he's only eaten 1/2-3/4 of one bowl and not touched the other. he just doesn't eat much when we're gone. so i like to hide treats around the house for him to find. i like to imagine that he comes across them randomly through the weekend so he's at least getting something to eat now and then and maybe they'll spark his appetite. hubby always says "you know he'll find them all as soon as we leave". meh, either way.
also because he only gets dry food normally, canned is a bigtime treat for him. so sometimes when i go away i'll leave him half a small can of wet food. i KNOW he'll eat that :P then when i get back he gets the other half. so even if he didn't eat the rest of the time i feel better knowing he for sure ate that much to keep him going plus whatever dry he picked at.

if they're picky about water bowls like mine, put a plug and a bit of water in a sink. cats like to find their own water hence why they lick taps and drains etc. that way if their feeder goes dry they have another source they'll actually use