Changed my mind about free feeding my cat after vet visit last week

I used to think leaving a bowl of kibble out all day was no big deal, my cat seemed fine with it. But the vet told me she gained 2 pounds in 6 months and that's a lot for a 10 pound cat. He explained that cats in the wild don't graze, they eat meals, and free feeding messes with their natural hunger signals. I switched to measured meals twice a day and she actually eats more enthusiastically now instead of picking at the bowl. Plus I noticed she stopped begging at 3am because she knows breakfast comes at a set time. It took about 4 days for her to adjust but now she sits by her dish 10 minutes before feeding time. Has anyone else had success switching from free feeding to scheduled meals?

3 comments

3 Comments

veraj5316d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, same thing happened to me! My vet read me the riot act too when my cat packed on a pound and a half out of nowhere. I honestly thought free feeding was fine because she was a grazer, but apparently that's just not healthy for them. Now she gets wet food in the morning and dry at dinner and she acts like it's a party every time. The 3am drama is totally gone too, she used to paw at my face and now she just waits by her bowl. It's crazy how much better her energy levels are too, she actually plays more now instead of just sleeping by the food bowl all day.

alice_hart15d ago

idk, sounds like you traded a midnight furry alarm for a breakfast bell, at least she's polite about it now.

alex30715d ago

Nah, I kinda disagree. The 3am wakeup calls are annoying but my cat just switched her schedule. Now she starts the breakfast routine at 4am instead. Pacing, meowing, knocking stuff off the nightstand. Used to be I could sleep until 6 before the pawing. Now I'm up before 5 every day. At least with the midnight chaos I could roll over and ignore her.