How much/often do you feed your cats?

Maybe this belongs in the food forum, but...

As some of you may know from my other post "Should I adopt a cat?", that well...I adopted a cat!

He's 4 years old and about 10.5 lbs. As per the instructions on the cat food (Royal Canin), I feed him 1 cup per day. In addition, I give him some treats throughout the day too. But Bogart always seems to check his bowl for more food every once in a while and yesterday I gave in and gave him a little more.

I don't want to get him overweight or anything, but should I not give him more? Do your cats do what Bogart is doing and look in their bowls for more food every once in a while like they're still hungry?

Thanks.

I feed Monsieur le chat twice a day , as per instruction in the bag too, 2/3 a cup per day. He usually leave some in his bowl. He's 12 pounds.

I feed my two in the morning and at supper time. They split a 156g can of wet food a day and I put 1/2 cup dry in their bowl twice a day which they share.

BTW, Royal Canin is not a very good kibble to feed. I would switch to Orijen, Felidae or Innova.

Oh ok thanks rainbow. Royal Canin was what he was eating at the time. I was looking to switch it to Nutrience (maybe holistic?), but I guess I'll look into those brands you mentioned since you've had cats longer

Nutrience isn't any better that Royal Canin. Look at the ingredients on the Royal Canin bag then look at the ingredients here:


Orijen:

http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/products/CatIngredients.aspx


Felidae:

http://www.canidae.com/cats/chicken_and_rice/dry.html


Innova:

http://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=2


Innove EVO:

http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1500

My cats are free fed their dry.And they get canned twice a day.I have them on a holistic dry.And my cats are 3 and 3 1/2 and 6.

My 2 get 1/2 cup in the morning which they free feed on and share for the day, when I get home from work I give them each a heaping tablespoon of wet food, then usually before I go to bed they get another 1/2 cup which they share for the night. There's usually some left over in the morning. I'm not sure if it's too much, my female Finn is nice and slim and sleek while my male Angus is definitely big and solid, he could probably stand to lose a bit of weight. Not so much for the dry food, but for the wet I make sure that Finn gets her share cause Angus would push her out of the way to get her portion. But I guess you won't have to worry about that since you only have one kitty. Congratulations by the way!!

My cat gets a big tablespoon of canned (Merrick) for breakfast and about 1/4-1/3 cup kibble (Innova Evo) for dinner.

I feel cats should be "free fed". It also depends on the individual cat since they all have different requirements based on activity, size, age, metabolism, and what they did that day etc. They tend to eat when hungry unless they've been restricted a lot, which can lead to binging and weight gain/slowed metabolism. I think wet twice a day as the main meal and a good quality crunchy for snacking regularly is a pretty good guidline.

[edit]To add I always took checking the bowl to mean "still a bit hungry" must need a little more, and my kitties were all quite lean. I think its possible some cats will over eat if they just don't have enough else going (or once in a while when they REALLY enjoy a meal) but otherwise I think they do mostly eat only when hungry.:) If excessive eating did start happening I'd look into medical reasons before considering restricting anyway.

All of my cats have been free-fed and have never been overweight...Okay Minnow was a chub-chub for a year but she's skinny now!:p I still free-feed her, I just took her off RC Siamese!

I think it really depends on the cat.
Some cats eat more then others.

All 3 of mine are free fed, they have a huge bowl which we only fill when it gets empty and none of them are very overweight. (I thought they were, but I just had them in at the vet and she said they look excellent!! PHEW :D )

They get treats usually once a day, and canned food MAYBE once a week.
I kind of weaned them off the canned food, I found it was making them chubby.

Maybe just try filling a small bowl for him and leave it there and see if he makes a piggy of himself or if he grazes at it. If he is a grazer (eating periodically throughout the day) then I would free feed him.
But if he tries to gobble the whole bowl maybe he'll need some restrictions.

Three cats. Two males and a female. The three split 3/4cup of Evo in the AM and at supper the Female gets 1/4cup of Evo dry and the two males get usually 2/3 can of Evo wet. the female wont eat the wet :frustrated:

I free feed, fill the dish up when everit runs low, Pubert isn't over wieght at all, he eats Medical and gets tones of treats, and some tiny bits human food. (What can I say - he's old and begs more then our dog does!!!) It does drive the dog nuts that the cat always has food and seems to eat it when she has none...LOL!!!

I have two male cats (1year old and a 12 week old) and one female cat (2 yrs). Right now I'm feeding Orijen (although I also feed Felidae dry as well). The boys get 1/4 cup each am and pm and the girl gets 1/4 in the am and 1/8 cup in the pm. They also get wet food (right now Merricks), half of a can a night amongst the three. All three cats are thriving and are at their optimum weight, but everyones cats are different.

The dish is always full.:shrug: No one is over weight, Mia is getting a bit chubby, but nothing major:shrug:
I have to fill the bowl up after 2 days if i let it go, but I usually add more and stir it up every day.

If I free-fed my cats, Annie would be HUGE! I did free-feed them for awhile, and she gained so much weight, so I resorted to 2x/day feedings which has helped. Annie eats everything in sight and fast, she would eat so fast she would throw up sometimes. Micki picks away at her food slowly, but still was gradually gaining weight, about a pound a year, so the vet advised having feeding times. It has helped, except after Annie got sick last summer and lost a pound, I started giving her a little more and she gradually gained much of the weight back. Could have also had something to do with switching her food. They are both now on Felidae and seem healthy, but did both gain a little weight when I switched them from the Science Diet food for their teeth. Those were bigger pieces and I probably was giving them more of the Felidae without realizing it too. Anyway, they both get 1/2 cup per day, split into 2 feedings. It is a little too much for them probably so I need to give them a little less. Annie is fairly active and young, about 4 years old, and Micki is 11 and inactive, both are females.

I bought Felidae today. Nobody on the island appears to carry Innova or Innova Evo. Also got some Merricks wet food which I hope Bogart will like. I know he likes the Felidae...he tried to eat it out of the scoop before I could even put it in his bowl.

I don't think I can free-feed Bogart...he would just eat it all and ask for even more when I return home from work.

I'd also keep in mind that if you restrict too much you will likely get the binging that kristin7 is getting with her cat. It is an extremely common mistake that premotes weight gain by slowing down the metabolism. Seems logical to keep restricting if your cat binges but the restricting is usually the cause of over eating in the first place. The majority of cats self regulate unless they've gone without for too long at some point in thier lives. Dogs appear to be much more prone to over eating and something i've noticed on this forum is that many of the "dog people" make the assumption that cats do the same. Good luck with it, hopefully you will be able to find a comfortable balance for him so he doesn't have to feel hungry all the time and then scarf down his food when he's allowed to eat.

I was a free feeder for years, but then Fagan hurt his leg (partly because of his weight) and Buddy got very very heavy. Overweight cats, like us, are more prone to certain health problems so unless they are like some of mine who regulate their intake well, free feeding can be a problem.
So now my house looks like a farm at dinner time... my dad got a real kick out of it when he was here one day.
I now feed only once a day in the evening (vet said this was more natural cause thats when they would hunt if hunting). I have 6 so I put about a cup and a half of dry food (Calif. Naturals Herring and Sw. Pot.) in each of two big glass bowls. Then Buddy and Fagan split a half a can of wet food mixed with warm water(merrick cowboy cookout).
And they are all doing really well, throughout the day they follow me to the living room and 'remind' me that the bowls are empty. The food is left out all night and just a few scraps are left in the morning. The big boys have slimmed down a bit, and my skinny girls are maintaining their weight just fine.
All cats have different eating habits so you just have to figure out what works for yours.

I bought Felidae today. Nobody on the island appears to carry Innova or Innova Evo. Also got some Merricks wet food which I hope Bogart will like. I know he likes the Felidae...he tried to eat it out of the scoop before I could even put it in his bowl.

I don't think I can free-feed Bogart...he would just eat it all and ask for even more when I return home from work.

You'll get to know what's best for YOUR cat quickly. Don't free-feed then until you know how Bogart really eats (when you can be home one day to watch maybe). Also be aware of how active Bogart is.
Definately develop a feeding routine that your cat will come to recognize and adapt to, whatever that may be. Luna gets 1/2 cup of EVO once a day, when I get home from work... she's learned that is when the food comes, and if she eats it all early, she just has to wait for more. Usually she eats most in the first 6 hours, then keeps about 10 kibble bits (like a 'what-if' reserve!) for later in the day.

My couch-potato cat is overweight (14lb.) and its a REAL bugger to try get the weight off an indoor-only-cat! I hope for you Bogart doesn't gain. :)

By the way, THANK YOU for adopting a cat in the first place! Especially an older one. :)

Keep us all posted, hope everyone's 2 cents helps you!

Our two 1 year olds are free fed (appx 8-9 lbs each). They split about 2/3 cup of kibble that I put out each morning. Every night for supper they split half a can of wet food (so a 5.5oz can lasts two days). The brand varies from day to day.

Maya - my cat Annie gained the weight while being free-fed. I free-fed Micki for years, so assumed I could do this with Annie too. However, Micki was also slowly gaining weight. Therefore, I disagree that all cats should be free fed. Annie should most definitely not be! After I adopted her from the humane society, she ate and ate and ate, all while being free fed. As far as I can tell, she had plenty of food in the shelter as well. I brought her to the vet because she would ocassionally puke up everything all over the house to the point of dry heaving. They wanted to give her Rx food for stomach issues, but I decided not to do this. Then, I switched them both to the Science diet food for their teeth, which had much bigger pieces. At least Annie would chew it... but knowing it wasn't the best quality and also annoyed that I needed a prescription for them to buy it, I switched to Felidae, still keeping the 2x per day feedings. Annie does chew this because of the shape of the pieces, but if I give her too much, she does gain weight. Micki still picks away at her food slowly, so I just shut her in a room until she seems full. She is not starving or deprived, nor has this made her eat any faster. She also hasn't really lost any weight, but she is getting older and sleeps more, plus, hides a lot from Annie who is kind of mean to her. And the last but not least reason for not free feeding them is that Annie eats much faster than Micki, and she will eat all her food, plus Micki's if I don't limit her.

Maya - my cat Annie gained the weight while being free-fed.I understood that.
After I adopted her from the humane society, she ate and ate and ate, all while being free fed. As far as I can tell, she had plenty of food in the shelter as well. So you're not 100% sure if she got enough at the shelter or before she got there? If she did go without food for too long at some point then it would be natural for her body to go "okay I better eat fast better eat lots and must store fat because I don't know when I'm eating again". This would be a very tricky cycle to break. Then there are other situations of course where injury or illness etc will cause weight gain. I'm just trying to point out that binging and weight gain is the most obvious sign that there was or is food deprivation. If anyone has ever dieted or overcome an eating disorder this should make sense. No one has to believe me of course.:)

Maybe Annie needs to get on the treadmill like this kitty:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLD2vlxRM0 :D

Omg, funny video! Luckily Annie is fairly active, but once she starts slowing down, I'll have to start jogging her :laughing:

To answer your question about the shelter, I did go in and visit her many times before adopting her over the course of a couple weeks (I have a hard time choosing my animals). She was in the cage with another cat and they always had food in their bowl. She was thin then but was young, like under a year. She didn't seem deprived nor did she scarf up all the food. I just don't think free feeding works for all cats. The cause of their eating habits doesnt' matter to me, they are what they are. I did not deprive them before and no, I don't know what happened to Annie b4 the shelter. Maybe she was a stray for awhile. I don't think so, though, she looked great, and was fixed and declawed and young. I would gladly be free feeding mine as it is TONS easier. I honestly don't like the feeding times as it is more work for me and takes time (for my slow eater), but that is just what I have to do with them so I do it. My vet recommended doing the 2x per day feedings because she said that cats wouldn't normally be eating all day long anyway. I'm not sure if that matters but it does make some sense as good hunting times are in the morning or at dusk. Also, it helps me monitor how much they are eating and then if one of them is off their food, not eating as much, I know right away.

Do you have any suggestions on how to get Annie to stop being such a pig? I am afraid to free feed her because I am afraid she will eat and eat and eat until she is 20 lbs!!!

If you broke up what she eats now into five or six tiny portions throughout the day her metabolism would speed up and start using the food energy more quickly (not storing as much). As that happened you could then slowly increase the serviing sizes and or frequency. This would teach her body that there is no threat of "famine". What the vet said is true but what she probably didn't mention is that weight storage is a throwback from when animals had to survive if food became scarce. In the wild she would be getting way more exercise to off set the "hourding of fat" so it wouldn't be an issue. Its time consuming and i'm not sure how long it would take to adjust or how far you'd get at this point but I think you would slowly see an improvement.:) I can see how you wouldn't want to risk her becoming 20lbs though and that at this point it isn't safe to let her free feed.:( The key would be trying to speed up her metabolism slowly and in a controlled setting, if you were able to find the time.

I agree with Maya,all the cats I've ever had,eat canned morning and night,free-feed on good quality kibble through the day and of course always fresh cold water.
Cats are usually nibblers and like to eat small amounts ever now and then.
Often,Chico for instance will just eat a little canned and I put his dish away for him to eat later and I watch Rocky eat his,because of his pill and also because Vinnie will be more than willing to finish all the dishes:laughing:
My cats have never been overweight on free-feeding,except Vinnie,I need one of those threadmills:laughing: Hilarious!!

Yes I agree chico2, and it is so important to feed that good quality wet food. Kibble is generally much higher in carbs than wet which can lead to unwanted weight especially if there is a "starving" binging cycle taking place. Another point to remember is that the body will adjust to burn calories based on how much is fed so the less you feed the less is burned. Its a shame because it puts so much stress on the animal especially if they are active.

Kristin7, 1/2 cup of dry kibble a day split in two for an active cat is not enough.:shrug: Why not try some wet food as well? It is healthier and will likely fill her up so she doesn't have to binge. Cats are not "pigs" there is a good reason why this kind of eating habit forms(even if you are not interested as you said).:P

I guess I can't convince you but I was hoping that my experience with this might be of use to you or anyone else that is following. I just don't like to see hungry overweight pets.:sad:

I honestly hate to see any cat living on only kibble and the same kibble day in and day out.
1/2 a cup split in twos is just not enough,if your kitty is a piggy,it probably is because he's starving,but that's only my opinion.:cat:

I honestly hate to see any cat living on only kibble and the same kibble day in and day out.
1/2 a cup split in twos is just not enough,if your kitty is a piggy,it probably is because he's starving,but that's only my opinion.:cat:

This is about what I feed Luna - once a day, 1/2 cup of EVO kibble... sadly the only wet food she'll eat is Nutro - most now recalled - don't want to 'trust' the non-recalled as it has rice gluten. :(

I thought the 'jury' was still out on wet food being better than dry... dry is better for teeth I know... can anyone offer anything further? I would like to change up Luna's diet some, and DEFINATELY get her to drop her extra 2 pounds!
Open to suggestions... hope I'm not hijacking here! :)

Scary,the jury is still out:laughing:
I am looking at it from a cats perspective,the same ole,same ole every day...:sad:
To every cat I have ever had,the biggest excitement is when I open a can of food..the dry is there if they want a snack.
From a medical point,neutered males are also less likely to get crystals or UTI,I rather have their teeth cleaned than deal with UTI.
Not all cats drink a lot of water,mine do,but if they don't,only dry food can cause problems and it is not only my opinion,an old honest vet I once had,said the same.

My cats are also free fed a good quality kibble and they get canned food, also on demand morning, afternoon and evening (they let me know when it's time for breakfast, lunch and dinner), None of them have weight issues, if they did I'd have to control the canned stuff a little better. They all have their likes and dislikes, I agree with chico2, cats prefer variety I think, so changing up the kibbles and variety in the canned foods keeps the kitties nice and picky and me good and broke :laughing: , especially feeding 4 of my own and the neighbours cat. I wouldn't have it any other way. :D

Cindy

I thought the 'jury' was still out on wet food being better than dry... dry is better for teeth I know... can anyone offer anything further? I would like to change up Luna's diet some, and DEFINATELY get her to drop her extra 2 pounds!
Open to suggestions... hope I'm not hijacking here! :)
This article should be helpful:http://www.catnutrition.org/catkins.html

Also more about obesity:Reducing or eliminating carbohydrates--a good idea for any carnivore, overweight or not--is absolutely essential for safe and lasting weight loss. That is why there is no way to safely reduce an obese cat's weight using a diet that contains any dry food. Ever. Dry food doesn't help a cat safely lose weight and never will. Rest of atrticle: http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.html

I am in agreement with most of this. I think it makes a lot of sense.:)

That video is hilarious! But goes more like this one at my house. I've been trying to train Buddy to get on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg1oszADX04

Dahmer,:laughing: :laughing: that's exactly what my Vinnie would do:laughing:

:laughing: Cats are awsome.

This article should be helpful:http://www.catnutrition.org/catkins.html
Also more about obesity: Rest of atrticle: http://www.catnutrition.org/obesity.html
I am in agreement with most of this. I think it makes a lot of sense.:)

Thanks sooooooooooooooooo much for this, it explained quite well some things I didn't know! I want Luna to definately have more wet food in her diet. She only got it as a treat a few times a month - until her food was recalled! :yell:

Do you recommend I do with Luna what the second article suggests below? (if she doesn't like the grain-free wet foods, and so far she won't touch them):

"You MUST stop free-feeding dry food. After you've established set meal times for a few days or a week, begin setting out meals of ONLY good canned food. If your cat refuses to touch it, take up the food and try again a few hours later. Yes, it takes some patience to get a cat off of dry food and onto something healthier..."
Thenk lower down it also says:
Ideally, your feline weight loss client should eat at least a little something every 12 hours. It really is okay to let her go 12 hours without food; hopefully a bit of hunger will help as an incentive to get her to eat healthier, non-dry, food.

Does anyone think though that grain-free kibbles are ok for at least part of their diets, that maybe this was written before they were available or known????

Yes I did read the whole article, but your thoughts on trying this would be so helpful everyone... to me that system seems a bit harsh, to make her eat wet food she doesn't like... but I want her to have the best too... :confused:

Scary,I did not read the article,but a cat can be very stubborn and if he does not like his food can make himself sick from not eating,I do not agree with keeping the food and let him go hungry for 24hours.
I have been free-feeding dry for many years and my cats will take a few bites in between their canned meals,they do not pig out.

Does anyone think though that grain-free kibbles are ok for at least part of their diets, that maybe this was written before they were available or known????Well i'm not an expert so I won't act like one.:) However my opinion is that a high protien kibble "free feeding" is okay. I totally must have skimmed over that when I read the article but I think you are right and that they may have wrote that before better quality kibbles were available. When my kitty was on just dry and wouldn't eat the wet I didn't have the heart to take it away and never did get as far as a switch as he was ill etc..:( I would have tried harder to switch him though now knowing what I know. He was on Medi-cal which was high in carbohydrates so if you are using a good kibble it is probably not as urgent a situation that you get the wet in right away. I would imagine there has to be a happy medium in the switching stage so they don't make themselves sick like chico2 mentioned. Have you tried many of the wet foods yet? Maybe try to offer different wet foods always before the dry and try to hold out and keep trying the wet. If there is a real hunger strike maybe try a little wet on top of the kibble and slowly adjust to more and more wet. I've found sometimes a compromise will get them eating what they should.:p Ahh okay they suggest sprinkling the dry food on the wet in the article as well, i'm going back and forth.:p

Thanks again you two... :D

Chico2 - just FYI and to be fair, the article does mention that too (thanks though!), and just so everyone knows I would never let it go that long.

Maya - thanks again for so much input! I agree with everything you said (easy answer, but true too!) I may add some unpopular wet food with or near her kibble so she gets used to the smell, maybe the taste...

Luna likes wet food and gets very excited when she knows its coming... but if its not a Nutro one that she's had for years, she sniffs, maybe tastes, and always walks away. :( I have tried about 4-5 grain free kinds so far with no luck... would love to find one and will try a couple more.

Her 1/2 cup of EVO (grain free) kibble per day - she's been off of the Nutro higher-carby-stuff 2 months only now - will stay on the floor. I may cut it down as I encourage her to try more wet foods. I know cats lose weight slowly so will be patient with that, but at 14 pounds I don't want her gaining! Vet says she's healthy at 12lb.

More chat welcome, I'm back Monday... :D Sunny weekends to all!

Forgot this! Like my post wasn't long enough...:laughing:

I do know - from occassional tastes - that Luna loves real chicken... I do NOT cook at all, but I know you can get pre-made 'meat-only' foods - thoughts? (I'm not interested in exploring/learning/feeding raw at this point.)

OR is it really as easy as buying some chicken pieces and boiling them? Would that help if she won't eat canned wet food?
Given what's fed to chickens though, I don't know if its even safe anymore... I hate industrial farming and myself am going more and more veggie.

Holy run-on posts today! :crazy:

Thanks for the suggestions, unfortunately, though I probably can't start feeding 5-6x per day, since I'm not home for a long enough time. And please don't think my cat is starving, she most definitely is not! I do give my cats other brands of kibble mixed in with the Felidae, trying to give them variety. I also have tried giving them wet food and Annie has some type of food sensitivity that I haven't figured out yet. She will, more often than not, puke up all her food if I even give her a bit of the wet stuff. She drinks plenty of water, is active and very healthy with a nice shiny coat. I'm also not sure about experimenting w/ other types of wet food until this recall thing is over. Maya, when I say i don't care how she got to be a 'pig', I mean, it doesn't matter now how it happened. That is how she is and I have to deal with it. You seemed to be saying it was my fault for depriving her of food, when in fact that was not the case. She was free fed for awhile after she came home with me. Micki was also free fed for about 10 years and did slowly gain weight that way. She has not always been eating the same brand and has went through periods during which she got wet food regularly. Now, I feel bad giving it to her and not Annie, because Annie knows when I open a can and gets very demanding. I think the main point to my first post was that I don't think all cats should be free fed... Annie is not the only cat I have had that eats a lot and very fast (which is why i say 'pig'), but the other one was a stray for a short period so I always attributed it to that. For some perspecitive, Annie is not very overweight (12 lbs), nor is Micki (11 lbs). Still, every time I go to the vet, I get scolded.

My cats

Annie
25147
Micki
25148

Kristin,your cats look beautiful and healthy,if the vet is scolding you,because of their weight,just let it in one ear and out the other:cat:
Often,at least my vet,will say the cat is overweight and then try to sell you their Hills or Medi-Cal food,luckily many people are now better informed.
My vet wants ALL cats to weigh 12lbs:shrug: but cats are different,just like people,some are bigboned some are dainty.
My Rocky used to weigh 16lbs and was never fat,his paws are twice the size of my other cats,now he is down to 12lb's because of Hyperthyroidism and definetly looks and feels skinny.:sad:
As for free-feeding,it's the same,some cats will pig out,others,like mine won't.

Yeah, she makes me feel bad, and because I want them to be as healthy as possible I feel guilty. However, they are not starving. And no way am I going to feed some Rx diet food! Micki is rather inactive and only picks away at her food, so she gets multiple chances to eat it all while I'm home. Annie is the trouble. Honestly, I have been trying to mix in grain-free high protein kibble and before the recall was experimenting with different wet foods. It is just hard with her because of her puking problem. I am very interested in learning more about raw feeding and trying that out, however, I fully expect Annie to puke some of that up too. It is really not fun to watch or clean up after. I think part of it is because of her fast eating, and part is that she has some food sensitivities.

Annie eats everything in sight and fast, she would eat so fast she would throw up sometimes.This sounds to me like a "starving" binging cycle. I didn't say you were actually starving your cats, I was explaining how binging and slowed metabolism are usually caused by food restrictions either past or present. Annie does look healthy and I wouldn't be concerned about a little extra weight. Looks can be deceiving though becaused my kitty looked quite well till he was about 15 and he was mostley eating Medi-cal dry. The fast eating could also have to do with the food intolerance, that can cause less absorbtion of nutrients in the gut leading to excessive hunger.

My 15 lbs cat gets only 1/2 a cup a food a day with natural balance, He eats in the morning, and by lunch it is gone.
Works well for him. But the only activity this lazy bum gets, is, playing with the dog, LOL:D
He is not overweight at all, just a huge cat, LOL

I posted this last week:


Luna likes wet food and gets very excited when she knows its coming... but if its not a Nutro one that she's had for years, she sniffs, maybe tastes, and always walks away. :( I have tried about 4-5 grain free kinds so far with no luck... would love to find one and will try a couple more.

On Friday night we had a breakthrough - Luna will eat Wellness's grain-free chicken flavor pate! She ate all of the offered 1/2 a small can Friday night, and gobbled the second 1/2 can last night - licked the bowl clean! I'm so relieved... now I just need to determine how often to feed it.
The very informed store rep where I shop feels kibble alone is just fine, especially when feeding EVO or Origen (feeds his own cats EVO dry only). So I'm still unsure about how much wet to give her - but at least the 'what' is answered, if not the 'when' part.

I have two other wet foods to try too, so maybe we'll luck out on a second flavor and she'll get some variety yet! Thanks to all that helped. :)
:thumbs up

Hmmm... a few posts here, not just yours, do mention at 1/2c per day, my cat is probably starving and that this is not enough for an active cat. Looking at what some others are feeding theirs, I'm not sure mine are any more deprived than other's cats. Several do feed theirs 1/2c per day. And now you say it sounds to you like she is on a starving/binging cycle. fyi - she has always eaten fast, including when she was free fed. That is just how she is. She is a very enthusiastic and loving cat, and does everything with gusto. Likewise, Micki eats really slow and is overall a more slow moving, low-key cat. I believe the puking had more to do with her food sensitivities, because when she is on a brand that is right for her, she still eats fast, but does not puke. She doesn't seem to be hungry other than at mealtimes, but of course, if I were to give her several 1/2c meals per day, no doubt she could easily polish more than her usual rations off. Though she would not eat and eat until she explodes, she would gain weight. I think her weight is ok now, but I worry about her gaining more. Her food sensitivity issue has made it more difficult for me to incorporate wet and raw food into her diet, though I plan to keep trying. Unfortunately, I can't remember the one brand of wet food we tried that she seemed tolerant of...

One thing I do like about having feeding times, is that when one of them is not feeling well and is 'off' their food a bit, I can easily tell. Like last summer, I realized Annie was not feeling well because she actually left a few pieces of food in her bowl...