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feeding

(19 Posts)
ninathenana Fri 19-Jun-15 18:15:07

Our cat has dried food and water available 24/7 and we give her wet food usually between 4.30- 5.30pm each day.
She does like the dried food and will feast on it two, three times a day. She will often start pestering for her wet food about 3pm. I tend to make her wait, telling her "if your hungry, eat your biscuits!" grin blush DS says I'm cruel.
Am I ?

Marelli Fri 19-Jun-15 18:19:14

However, because she's a cat, ninathenana, she won't eat her biscuits and will torment the life out of you until you give in and give her the wet food! wink

tiggypiro Fri 19-Jun-15 18:32:18

You seem to have forgotten nina that it is dogs which have owners and cats have staff. She is just trying to remind you of that fact.
In the same vein Purdy Puss is very adept at asking for milk at bedtime.

TriciaF Fri 19-Jun-15 18:47:40

They certainly know the time - ours even knows the day!
She has her croquettes all week, water and a little milk, and on Friday and Saturday she also has wet food in the evening. And she knows when it's Friday and Saturday somehow, starts crying for it etc.
No you aren't cruel Nina, it's just the way we train them.
I think that wet food is rubbish anyway.

nightowl Fri 19-Jun-15 19:24:36

Raw food is the way to go, fills them up for longer and much better for their health (and teeth). They still nag but not so much.

I think the problem with commercial cat food, wet or dry, is that it's full of additives which are addictive - like junk food for humans.

soontobe Fri 19-Jun-15 19:30:41

Which sorts of raw food nightowl? Raw meat?
I have probably been a bit dim and not thought of anything other than shop bought food for our cats.

ninathenana Sat 20-Jun-15 07:17:04

Fussy thing doesn't eat meat, only fish. We don't eat much fresh fish, occasional bit of smoked haddock. Have offered it to her whilst prepping. She looked at me like I was trying to poison her grin

nightowl Sat 20-Jun-15 08:07:03

Yes soontobe, raw meat. You can buy it ready prepared for pets, even in pouches for convenience, but it's not widely stocked. Some people prepare their own but it's important to make sure it contains everything cats need. There's a lot of information on the Internet.

soontobe Sat 20-Jun-15 09:06:16

Apart from scraps of whatever, the occasional tin of tuna is all I have deviated from shop bought tin and dried cat food. I will ask local butchers if they sell meat for cats.

I would let her wait too ninathenana.

shysal Sat 20-Jun-15 10:08:44

I feed my cats the opposite way round, wet food in the morning and Dental dry at tea time, when they pester me. They were both over weight according to the vet, so I measure the dry according to their desired weight . I used to leave a bowl-full down permanently, but now when it has been eaten I don't top up. I am pleased to say that they do look slimmer. The downside is that Saffron, my Bengal, starts bothering me as soon as it is light in the morning, about 4ish these days!

Anne58 Sat 20-Jun-15 11:28:48

Mine have tinned food around 7.30am and again at 5.30pm.

Digby isn't that fussed about tinned food, but he does like licking the jelly. There is a bowl of biscuits available, and water of course.

However if THEY are out when I go out, it's hard luck, as we don't have a cat flap. Despite these terrible deprivations, Digby still weighs over a stone blush. Oliver Sprout is much "leaner" than Digby, and seems to be perfectly happy and healthy.

merlotgran Sat 20-Jun-15 13:41:14

Since our younger Jack Russell has learned to spring up on top of the tumble drier, where the cat likes to eat her food, I've had no probs with a fussy moggie. It's a case of eat what you get....NOW before that pesky dog appears to finish off any leftovers.

She does have a special place in the outhouse where she can curl up in peace and enjoy treats. We've put her 'igloo' on top of an old filing cabinet which is used to store junk that won't fit in a normal drawer hmm

She's the most affectionate cat we've ever had and I love the way she waits on the work top when she hears me fumbling for the back door key and greets me with a 'high five' and a loud purr that sounds like a squeaky fan belt.

Charleygirl Sat 20-Jun-15 13:47:44

Tara has been on a prescription diet for years for tummy problems. The food comes wet or dry but she will not look at the wet, will only eat the dry but is very fond of it. I do not think I would be too impressed if I was given the same food every day for around 8 years. She has a bowl 24/7 I just top it up.

I do not have designated meal times for her because I have this worry that I may have an accident, hopsitalised and Tara would be starving.

apricot Sun 21-Jun-15 20:05:19

My cat won't eat ANYTHING except Felix cat food, which I know is absolute rubbish, and a snack of Iams dry food to get him in at bedtime.
I've tried fresh human meat, he won't touch it either raw or cooked and he won't eat anything fishy.
Nobody can make a cat eat what he doesn't want to.

annodomini Sun 21-Jun-15 20:40:40

OMG - human meat?

shysal Mon 22-Jun-15 09:08:12

grin

apricot Tue 23-Jun-15 19:04:39

Meat FOR humans, not FROM humans, though perhaps I should call round the back of the hospital and ask for some scraps to try him on. Tonsils and adenoids on Mondays, leg and toes on Tuesdays etc.

LuckyDucky Sun 25-Oct-15 08:11:34

Hi ninathenana, generally wet cat food isn't a complete food.

Bozita (no, no shares in the company), is a complete food without cereal. Cat's shouldn't eat cereal. If a roaming cat eats a mouse at a time, it/they will only contain 1% cereal. It took hours of online research before I found Bozita. So good luck.

Pet food companies bulk their food by adding cereals and other c##p, which shouldn't form part of their diet. Was about to type that cats don't eat veg, yet, a previous cat of ours, used to nibble the tips of carrots smile.

There have been a few cases when cats had allergic reactions to cereal when added to kibble. Those reactions meant a trip to a vet. sad

ninathenana Sun 25-Oct-15 09:30:48

generally wet cat food isn't a complete food
Which is precisely why as I said in my op I give her both wet and dry food.
I wasn't asking for advice on what to feed, just a census of opinion on whether others allow themselves to be pestered into feeding.