[Autumn.Movement]

I like to recommend feeding a couple times a day. I also find if you feed a couple times, they eat a little less because they aren't starving by the time of their meal. Since you have multiple cats you may want to feed them in separate rooms so that they don't finish theirs and go for the other cat's food. Cats are very smart and will learn the new system quickly.

Also! Cats will learn how they can manipulate you for more food! Don't let them train you into giving them more food. They might cry, or sit by their bowls or by the food. Food doesn't equal love, it equals diabetes! Fat cats are very prone to diabetes later on. It's best to keep them at a healthy weight for their whole life to prevent it.

What are you feeding them now? Any particular amount or just a bowl full?

 

[Autumn.Movement]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vegbunny83

I feed my cat a measured amount only once a day, but she is usually pretty good at conserving food throughout the day instead of eating it all at once. Twice a day, portion-controlled feedings versus free-feeding are a really good idea though.

To figure out how much they each need, look at the nutritional info on the back/side of the cat food bag. It should have a chart that has amounts in cups according to the cat's age and weight. Once you figure out how many cups of food each cat needs per day, divide this amount by two, and that's how much you should feed at each feeding. For the overweight one, if she does not slim down on this regimen, then you can decrease the amount of food she gets slightly.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Julie

The back of the bag is a good start, but it should be used as a high number usually. The amounts there are for intact (not spayed or neutered) cats that are already at a healthy weight. If you want them to lose weight, try making that amount a little smaller. Weight them weekly to see if you need to adjust their portions. It's important to have them loose weight slowly because they are prone to something called hepatic lipidosis. It is caused by not drinking enough water (which cats don't drink a lot to begin with) and the breakdown of fat essentially flooding the liver and somewhat poisoning it. To avoid it, make sure your kitty has plenty of fresh water and you should aim for a loss of 0.5-2.0% of its body weight per week.