How To Feed Your Cat:
3 Different Styles To Choose From

By Teri Champigny

If you have ever owned a dog then you'll understand just how protective dogs can be of their food.  They are also very routine type of animals.  In other words, they respond better to having the same meals at the same time everyday.  Cats on the other hand, are not very protective of their food and typically share with other cats without any problems.  They can also get used to many different feeding schedules.

Here are three standard choices of setting up your cats feeding schedule:

1. One way to go about feeding your cat is to always have food out.  Adding a bowl of dry cat food to have available 24 hours a day is probably the easiest way of feeding your cats. This is especially suiting for the busy person who may not be home often.  Even if you are home most of the day, you may want to give this approach a try.

And if your cats like it that it is something that you can stick with.  However, if you have more than one cat then you may risk the possibility that one dominant cat will guard the food and keep the other cats away all day. This would be an obvious troublesome situation and is a sign that keeping food out all day long will not be the best choice for you.

2. A second strategy to feeding your cats is to serve up individual meals.  For example, I have four different cats and as odd as it sounds each cat has a specific taste.  Of course this is probably the result of me spoiling my cats all of their lives by giving them different foods that they like, but they are worth it.  So if you face a similar situation then it is quite suitable to pull out four different dishes for four different cats two to three times per day.  Again, let me remind you that this is not the easiest way of feeding your cats but it does work and your cats will appreciate it.

3. A third strategy for feeding your cats is what I like to call the “cat buffet”. A cat buffet is when you keep dry food out all the time but offer up some special treats and wet food multiple times during the day.  They get the constant choice of feeding from their dry food and the nutrition that it offers, while at the same time enjoying whatever wet foods and treats you have available throughout the day.

Perhaps this means that you simply open up a can of wet cat food and share a few bites with all of your cats.  Or maybe you want to serve up a small bowl of milk that they can share.  Just be careful not to spoil them too often throughout the day with these tasty treats.  The reason for this is because they may become addicted to the treats and ignore their normal food altogether because they are waiting for you to see them something that is much tastier.