More feeding essentials, from hydration to treats
By Midge Raymond
Last month we covered the myriad types of food available to cats — but feeding felines is never simple (these are cats, after all). In my experience, as soon as we find a food our cats love, we buy a case of it — and then they decide they hate it. (Note: Any and all food rejected by your felines make great donations to local rescues! Check in with Friends of the Animals, Feral Cats Advocacy, The Crowned Cat, SoHumane, C.A.T.S., Melly Cat Rescue, the Ashland Community Food Bank or other local organizations if you have any extra cat food to share.)
What we’ve found works well in our house is to have a variety of foods on hand, since our cats have very different tastes. One of our cats loves dehydrated raw food and kibble but dislikes many wet foods; the other prefers wet food but turns her nose up at most kibble. (And yet, despite these preferences, they are each obsessed over what the other is eating.) We found a high-protein kibble they both adore, and we always have this on hand for anytime they get fussy; it’s helpful to have one thing everyone agrees on.
Note that while many cats do like a bit of variety, you’ll want to avoid switching their food too often, as this can cause stomach problems. And if you find something they love, by all means stick with it — if they’ll let you.
What about when and how to feed? Mieshelle Nagelschneider, author of “The Cat Whisperer,” recommends “free-feeding,” which means keeping food available to cats at all times. “Cats have small stomachs that empty out in a couple of hours,” she writes. “Cats in the wild and those allowed to set their own feeding schedules eat quite frequently — from nine to 16 mouse-sized meals per day.”
Nagelschneider notes that cats who get fed only twice a day, on a human schedule, can get agitated, cranky and even aggressive if in a multi-cat household. “For cats who can regulate their intake and for whom obesity is not an issue (75 to 90 percent of cats), I would go as far as to say that feeding them only twice a day is inhumane,” she writes.
However, free-feeding is not without its issues. Indoor/outdoor cats often do very well with free-feeding, as they have lots of stimulation — that is, they don’t eat out of boredom, as many indoor cats will if they don’t have enough enrichment. Yet most cat rescues recommend (and some require) that cats be indoor-only, which is far safer for your cat, and also for our region’s bird population.
But many indoor cats can’t handle an all-you-can-eat buffet, and you want to be sure your cat doesn’t become obese, which leads to myriad serious health issues. “If a cat is not able to regulate her food intake … I do not recommend free-feeding,” writes Nagelschneider. “You may create an obese cat.”
We attempted free-feeding when introducing our three unrelated male shelter cats to one another; our main concern was that they didn’t become territorial and fight over food. Well, the good news is that they all got along. The bad news is that they all put on a bit of weight, and then we had to switch to scheduled feedings. We also added in more wet food, which has fewer calories and keeps them hydrated. (As we covered last month, wet food is ideal, and essential if you’re feeding kibble.) With their new feeding schedule, more wet food than dry and lots (and lots) of playtime, our chubby cats all slimmed back down. But as anyone who’s had to put their cat on a diet will tell you, it’s so much easier to prevent weight gain than to get a cat to lose weight later.
If you must feed kibble or dehydrated foods, look at the nutritional content (see last month’s column for tips) and check the calorie counts. For example, many freeze-dried raw cat foods (like Feline Natural and Vital Essentials) have half the calories of high-protein kibbles like N&D and Carna4 — and they also offer more protein. And for indoor cats, it helps to have fun things other than food available to them: toys, cat trees, scratching posts and humans to play and snuggle with. If cats have plenty of stimulation, they will be less likely to eat as an activity. You can also try a “food puzzle” (any container with holes in it in which you can place kibble) — cats will have to coax out every bite, and it’s fun and also prevents them from eating too fast.
But for those who are at home during the day or who have flexible schedules, you can easily feed your cats several small meals as needed, and this is ideal — especially for multi-cat households, in which free-feeding can be problematic because you can’t be sure each cat is getting his or her fair share. (In our house, we feed four small meals a day, and we keep a close eye on our plus-sized panther, who will try to steal his sister’s food.)
And what you serve the food in matters, too. Cat food bowls should be made of stainless steel or ceramic — not plastic, which causes facial acne. In multi-cat households, be sure to have one food dish per cat, as well as several water stations. Food dishes should be washed daily, and fresh water should be available at all times. You might consider a fountain — cats love water fountains because “cats prefer moving water,” says Billie Jo Vinson of Ashland’s Wellness Pet Supplies. “There’s no genetic difference from their wild counterparts, so usually your wild cats are drinking from streams. You’ll often see (housecats) do a scratching motion near their water — they’re trying to get the water to move.”
Water fountains are high maintenance and require commitment — they need to be thoroughly cleaned once a week, at the very least — and you need to avoid any plastic parts because they harbor bacteria. “They’re making better water fountains now that don’t have plastic, that are stainless steel,” says Vinson. “You have to make sure you clean them often, but it’s always the best.”
If your cats don’t drink a lot of water, consider getting a fountain to encourage them, as well as working canned or raw food into their diet. “The more dry food they get, the more taxing it is on their system, hence kidney disease,” says Vinson. “It’s one of the top three reasons they get kidney disease — eating dry food without enough water.”
Our cats drink lots of water, so we’re fortunate; it may help that we clean the water bowls twice a day (cats are sticklers for cleanliness). Adding a little water to wet food might help if you have a cat who doesn’t seem to drink much.
We’ve also had cats who love drinking from the kitchen and bathroom faucets. Aside from making it hard to wash dishes or brush teeth, it’s great for the cat — but not for the water bills or our drought-prone region. If your cat loves it, though, try capturing the water in a container under the faucet so you can use it for another purpose and let your cat enjoy and hydrate.
Last but not least, what about treats? You can’t go to a pet supply store without seeing dozens of options — but again, you don’t want an overweight cat with health problems (and high vet bills). So treats should be given sparingly, if at all. We have some high-quality, high-protein treats on hand for special occasions — when we trim our cats’ nails, for example, and need to reward them for letting us do it. Humans who are introducing a new feline or canine family member to the household might offer treats to the animals to help ease the transition and make everyone feel loved. If treats are given only on rare occasions, they’ll go a lot further as bribes.
When it comes feeding, cats can be a constant mystery, but that’s one of the many reasons we love them. The key to success is doing your best to understand all of the many options out there, to provide the highest quality food you can — and listen to your felines. Cats rarely keep their opinions to themselves, and our most important job is keeping them both healthy and happy.
Questions? Comments? Email me at [email protected].
Ashland resident Midge Raymond is co-founder of Ashland Creek Press and author of the novels “Floreana” and “My Last Continent” and co-author of “Devils Island.” Email suggestions and questions for Catty Corner to her at [email protected]
