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How long do you let it sit out? I googled this and came up with everything from 15 minutes (My cats have been used to free feeding and no way are they going to eat this fast at this point.) to 12 HOURS (Yuck! What self-respecting house cat would eat that?) Since they always say human food should be refrigerated after 2 hours, that's what I'm going with so far.
Ours were dry kibble free feeders as well. It was an "experience" changing them to an all wet diet. Lots of trial and error! I truly feel the most difficult part was getting them to break the habit of being able to eat allllll day and night long... if they so desired.
At first, they didn't eat much in one sitting. Like you, I worried about food being left out too long. So I fed them a bazillion small meals a day. That got old fast.
I changed to three meals a day. Picked up their bowls after 2 hours-ish. They started eating more at each sitting. I did weigh them all often, to make sure the non-fatty ones weren't dropping weight and the fatties weren't dropping weight too quickly.
They were a little pizzy about not being able to eat when they wanted, but their attitudes did improve with time.
I still feed 3 meals a day. "They" say two meals a day are good, but I have no desire to rock the boat any further at this point. lol I don't pick up their empty bowls until the next meal, because they assume if their bowls are being cleaned... the bowls will also be refilled.
Also, I noticed NONE of our cats eat the recommended amount stated on the can. They eat much less. And the non-fatties have maintained their ideal weight and the fatties have s l o w l y lost weight.
I soooo wish I would have known that cats are obligate carnivores, before I had ever fed them dry kibble (a totally non-appropriate diet)!
I also feel a mistake I made was trying to slowly transition them from dry to wet. Allowing them ANY dry made them maniacs, because they knew dry was available.
Good luck!
PS You will be pleasantly surprised at all the changes in your cats that you will see. We no longer have any medical issues. No one has dandruff. No one has greasy hair. NO THROWING UP (So many think that is normal??) No fatties. No runny eyes. No matted fur. The only downfall is that they are so much more active... no sleeping 20 hours a day. lol
I don't know but I did forget to pick it up the other night, (I'm new at this) and what was left sitting there after maybe 10 hours looked pretty disgusting. And dried out, which defeats the idea of getting more moisture into your cat.
I feed wet and dry food so my cats eat when they want to. I have one bowl full of dry kibble, and I open a small can of food once or twice a day. I know when he wants the wet food because he will meow at me. But he seems to like the dry kibble as well. I think he likes a change in his diet.
I have feral barn cats and they have constant access to dry kibble, and I give them a large can of wet food about twice a week in the winter. In the summer, they catch mice and are seldom around. The dry kibble remains in the barn for them if they need it.
I've been putting canned food out twice a day, about 12 hours between. Yeah, that sounds a little bit yuck. Usually it is gone before then. If not, she generally stops messing with it after while. Although I have seen her eat at some remaining wet food several hours after it was put out.
I don't know but I did forget to pick it up the other night, (I'm new at this) and what was left sitting there after maybe 10 hours looked pretty disgusting. And dried out, which defeats the idea of getting more moisture into your cat.
Lola has a lot of good advice in her post. I think it would behoove you to take some notes. Oh, yes, it is different to become accustomed to wet only diet. But in time, you will get in the habit of how to feed your furkids.
I, like Lola, feed my cats 3 times a day. Breakfast is kind of goofy here because I have a certain cat who is on her own feeding schedule and will not eat with the rest in the mornings. When she is ready to eat, she lets me know, believe me. And then, the "second" breakfast begins. It is so not easy when I have so many different personalities in this house to stick to a strict feeding schedule.
My dinner meal is the most ideal one, and that is what I recommend to you. I put down the dishes, walk out of the kitchen (I have some cats that are skittish with me around when they eat) and I return in about 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour. At that time, even if there is food left over, I clean up all the dishes.
I don't recommend leaving food out for over 2 hours. I myself don't always follow that rule, but I do have an unusual situation here.
And as Lola mentioned, the difference you will see in your cats will be amazing. My cats don't throw up usually unless that cat ate too fast (I have one famous for this!). Occasionally and I mean occasionally, mine will vomit fur balls, but only during shedding season, and no, I don't give them anything for hair balls. And because I have some cats who are dealing with life threatening diseases, I do see problems with their coats still, BUT that is ONLY with those cats who are ill. Other then that, their coats shine like no tomorrow!!
How long do you let it sit out? I googled this and came up with everything from 15 minutes (My cats have been used to free feeding and no way are they going to eat this fast at this point.) to 12 HOURS (Yuck! What self-respecting house cat would eat that?) Since they always say human food should be refrigerated after 2 hours, that's what I'm going with so far.
Any wet food my cats don't eat is picked up in less than an hour. Sooner in summer. But I know just how much to feed them to be assured it's all gone in 30 to 45 minutes.
I could pick up sooner in the evening I guess but most mornings I put the food down and have to head out the door and be gone for several hours. Given that, I just do the same thing on both ends. I suppose I could train the cat better by always picking it up, but I don't really want to do that because in the interim she'll be hungry and I'll be wasting more food. It's not possible for me to space out evenly more than 2 feedings; any feedings in the evening would be too close together, too close to bedtime to clean up anyway, whatever.
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