retraining cats
 

I have 2 cats, aged 9 and 5. They are both on low calorie food as they aren't the most active cats. I leave a self-filling food dish down all the time (along with fresh water), but I think this isn't helping with keeping their weight stable. They are not overweight at all, just a bit lazy! They don't eat wet food except as the occasional treat (someone suggested using that to help train them). I want to know if there is an easy way to train them to eat at certain times of the day (eg. am & pm). When their bowl is empty, they cry and I'm afraid this will aggravate our neighbours. If I remember correctly, an adult cat should eat between 1/2 - 1 cup of food per day...is that right?? Any suggestions would be great!! Thanks!
^..^~~

Cat food
 

This is a simple one.

Stop using that automatic machine, and just start feeding them 2x per day. They will get used to it REAL quick.

Make sure it is EXACTLY the same time each day and NEVER feed them outside of these times. If the neighbours complain, just explain to them that your are retraining the cats and the crying should stop soon.

In terms food quantity, just read the bag. Different cat foods require different portions depending on the weight of the cat.

I am not convinced your cats (especially the 5 yr old) needs to be on a low cal diet if they are not overweight, I would talk to my vet about this.

If you want your cats to be less lazy then get them some good safe cat toys for them to play with by themselves and try playing with them more often. Any pet store has good cat toys that will make your cats jump and run after you.

Good luck

B6