Quote:
Originally Posted by RickyMaveety
The dry bins are gravity fed, so there are always four very large bowls of dry food available at all times. I put about 40 pounds of dry food in the feeders each week (10 pounds per feeder).
The cats, even the starving and/or feral cats, figure out pretty quickly that the dry food is just always there. I have some cats who prefer the dry food, and that's all they eat. They don't show up for the buffet. There are about 4 of my cats that are that way.
The rest of them, well, there are always more bowls at the buffet than there are cats in the room. That means there is always a spot at an open bowl. In fact, there are always a few left overs for about an hour after breakfast and dinner. I wait until all the bowls are empty before I pick them up and stick them in the washer.
All of the cats seem to have a weight at which they are happy and healthy. I have one or two "chunky" cats (but, oddly, they are not the wet food eaters), and a few that are more sleek. The only ones I have that don't eat all that much are cats like my Morgan, who was always very small (I don't think she's ever weighed more than 5 pounds), and is now approaching age 20. So, she nibbles the wet food she wants, and then just curls up and naps. I put her bowl down for the rest of the gang to finish off after she is done.
There are never any squabbles over food. About the only time there are any thing approaching snit fits are when one cat wants to play and another cat wants to be left alone. All those take is a simple loud "Knock it OFF!! Don't make me come in there!!" and quiet immediately ensues.
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hm, oddly enough, although i've had these cats for almost 10 years now (i can't remember if i got them in 2000 or 2001) and bast was probably only about 8 months at the time (she wasn't quite fully grown ; i think she got pregnant at her first heat), she still hasn't figured out that she's not in danger of starving.
as for the fat ones who don't eat wet food... i used to feed my cats dry food and they both got really fat (even the bug, who never eats much). i switched them to wet food only and they both got much sleeker very quickly. now i give them a little of both because the dry food will clean their teeth, and bast is getting a bit fat again but i think that's also partly because 1. she's a glutton, like i said, and 2. she's getting very lazy with time... i should chase her around the house a few times a day so she could get some more exercise !
