Feed your cat on a schedule...

How do you feed your cat? Do you leave his food out or do you feed him at scheduled times? The one factor that will determine feeding patters will be the type of food you feed your cat. If you feed your cat dry food, you more than likely leave the food out for him to eat when he pleases. If you feed your cat canned food, you know that your cat likes his food fresh. Canned food almost forces you to measure and place your cat's food out on a schedule. This isn't a bad thing.

Depending on your cat and her dietary needs, "free feading" or scheduled feedings can work. In my opinion, scheduled feedings are the way to go for most cats; here's why:

My vet told me about a really neat trick that you might want to try to switch your cat from a "free feeding" to a scheduled feeding program. The night before your first scheduled feed day, remove all of your cat's food from his bowl. Don't put out any food the next morning. In the evening, put some food out for your cat and leave it there for about half an hour. If you have more than one cat, you might want to supervise the feeding to make sure that both cats are eating enough food. Once your cat or cats are done, remove the food and follow the same procedure in the morning. In a couple of days, your cat will get used to a scheduled food regimen.

If your cat isn't adjusting to a scheduled feeding, talk to your vet about other options.

If you've had positive or negative experiences with either "free feeding" or scheduled feedings, post a comment below and share your story.

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