What do you feed your indoor cat/how often?

[hollytheteacher]

We have a kitty who is 2.5 years ish. He was hit by a car several months back and required intense (EXPENSIVE) surgery. He recently had his pins taken out and is very happy and healthy again.

We have decided to keep him indoors now and he has actually made the transition very well. The poor thing is probably scared to go outside anyway.

The only thing is, ever since we've kept him inside he's gained a LOT of weight. Some of it has to do with his lack of movement while he still had the pins in, but I do think he tends to eat more often because the food is always there.

We have been buying the Costco brand dry cat food and just always keeping his dish full. If we saw it get low or empty we just filled it up. It worked fine when he was an outdoor cat because he sort of scheduled himself when he would eat and now he just eats all the time.

I'm wondering if I should adjust his diet. A friend of mine was recommending an all-can-food diet. She just switched her indoor kitty to it. What are your thoughts? My mom warns me that an all can diet can be bad for kitties teeth (?)

SO i was curious what you feed your indoor cats and how often you feed them or if food is available all day?

[Smidge]

We feed our cats Diamond Naturals Active Cat. They get fed at breakfast time and dinner time around here

I wish we could afford Taste of the Wild, but we just can't.

[hollytheteacher]

Originally Posted by Smidge

We feed our cats Diamond Naturals Active Cat. They get fed at breakfast time and dinner time around here

I wish we could afford Taste of the Wild, but we just can't.

Wet/Dry or both?

[Smidge]

Just dry. Wet is expensive and all the cans are very wasteful IMO

[stardogs]

I feed Kirkland dry as well - Pi gets meals in the am and pm and has a very nice figure. He's 11lbs which is right in the middle of ideal according to our vet and he gets 1/3 cup at each meal.

To make his food last longer, I do use treat dispensing toys like the Door Danglie and Eggercizer - both also keep him moving around more.

[broodymama]

We usually feed Kirkland dry also, though occasionally Science Diet (if we're not stopping by Costco on that shopping day). We free feed our 5 indoor cats, one of them is fairly hefty but two of the others will "scarf-n-barf" if we have set meal times.

[babygirlie]

Kirkland dry is the cheapest healthiest cat food out there, however it gives my cats the runs sometimes? Iams may not be popular but it regulates the poop immediately. I noticed they changed their hairball formula to healthy indoor weight and hairball formula. You might want to check that out. All of my cats are indoors and none are fat. Most likely it's the breed. They find ways to be active no matter how old. I free feed also.

Have you gotten a kitty toy on a stick? We do have a feral who never moves and looks fat but when I weighed him he was only 9 pounds. Just has a big head and a lot of hair. I was playing with the stick toy with a rattle and feather on the end and the feral actually ran out and smacked it a few times then hid again lol. he does better and better every day

[treeoflife3]

currently blue buffalo because it is the easiest/cheapest healthy option for us to get. The specialty food store is too far away and I refuse to feed her anything you can buy at walmart and such. bb isn't my FAVORITE, but it works for her.

She can't do wet food (or treats) because it upsets her tummy too much so only dry for her. She gets food out all the time (she tells me when to fill it actually) but she also is very good about only eating what she needs. She doesn't over eat or I'd start feeding her meals that get picked up.

[akwifeandmomma]

Iams dry, free fed. Indoor only.

[Sol_y_Paz]

Wet food is actually really good for cats due to the high water content. My holistic vet recommends an all canned diet of high quality canned cat food. Cats are prone to not drinking enough water and canned helps keep their system properly hydrated so to avoid UTI's and other uro issues. You might enjoy this article: http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=...needcannedfood

Many cats do well on raw as cats are carnivores, there are pre-packaged raw diets at many high end pet stores. I have fed/feed: Go Naturals, Taste of the Wild, Chicken Soup for Cat Lovers Soul, Nature's Variety (these people make raw, canned, and kibble), and Fromm.

Some cats cannot be free fed. Sounds like yours is one of them. Mine could until they hit a certain age. Sounds like that could be what happened to your cat also as 2.5 is young in cat years and your cat has been recovering for months. Measure out what you feed your cat and hope your cat recovers soon. You might need to play with your cat more when you can, a big hit here is a Da Bird toy, get a cat tree (ebay has good prices for large nice trees), and some fun cat toys to help stimulate kitty's mind and keep the weight in check.

Thanks for taking such good care of your cat, helping him recover, keeping him indoors, and wanting what is best for him. I love reading posts like this from thoughtful owners.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by hollytheteacher

My mom warns me that an all can diet can be bad for kitties teeth (?)

The value of kibble as a dentifrice is frequently overstated. Some cats don't even really chew the stuff, and for those that do, there's still not much in the way of mechanical effect at the gum line, where trouble actually starts. On balance, I suspect that a diet of all wet food beats all dry, but--like actually brushing their teeth--it's not something I've managed to pull off. So, I free-feed with Iams for the little one (who likes to chew corrugated cardboard, which actually might help) and Hill's c/d for the older.

[karaleigh]

Originally Posted by Otto 

Originally Posted by hollytheteacher

My mom warns me that an all can diet can be bad for kitties teeth (?)

The value of kibble as a dentifrice is frequently overstated. Some cats don't even really chew the stuff, and for those that do, there's still not much in the way of mechanical effect at the gum line, where trouble actually starts.

I agree. I know my cat doesn't even chew her food at all, she swallows it whole.  I feed her raw meat (chicken and beef) occasionally which she does chew, and uses her back teeth very well on it, and her teeth are nice and clean. 

Wet food is very important in a cats diet in order to get them hydrated.  From the way it sounds, your cat is to the point where a free fed diet is not working for him anymore.  Try looking on the package and see how much you should feed him at certain times.  I feed my cat Solid Gold Indigo Moon cat food, which suggests 1/4c twice per day.  That's what she gets, and most of the time she doesn't eat it all.  She is very good at regulating herself.  She also gets 2/3 of a large can (1/3 twice a day) of wet food each day, usually Wellness.  

I would suggest trying to go toward measured feeds and see what happens.  Good luck!! 
 

[Magelet]

we feed a measured amount (estimated not weighed on a scale) of raw meat/organs/bones twice a day. he eats it all in about 2 minutes but at first, he'd tried to eat some and come back to it, so I would shut him in the bathroom with the food, so he couldn't get distracted, and then take the food after 30 minutes. it is raw meat, and I'm not having him dragging it all over the house, or leaving it.  I also had to sit with him at first to keep it fairly contained but now he doesn't drag it off the mat I put his plate on.

(We have recently decided to add pinkies to his rotation, because it's too hard to track down a sufficient variety of organ meat and that will help ensure he gets every part of the animal he needs. I'm kind of icked out about it, but when I adopted him, I commited to feeding him the diet he needs as an obligate carnivore who requires raw meat. since I can't get him a varied enough diet with meat I'm used to, he needs this as well. DP has expeirience feeding pinkies and I'll get used to it. he'll still get mostly chicken and beef, and loads of heart, but some pinkies.)

[Mittsy]

We feed our 8mo kitten 1/2C raw food(with supplements) 2x/daily. If I had to go with dry food I'd find a high quality holistic/herbal brand, like Wellness.