"Attempting to make my desk off limits" - heh heh, yeah, you have fun with that. Just remember, what you see as training, they see as another game.
As for the regimen, we have three, which complicates matters. Putting down huge amounts leads to one cat overeating and the others complaining. (We have one cat at 7.25k and the others are 3 and 4. So we try to feed them only when they demand it and relatively small portions when they do. We have a scoop that's about 5cc and they get about three of those a day. (All dry food for ours.) One late at night, one first thing in the morning and one somewhere in the middle. The important thing if you have multiple cats is to have food available on a regular basis, but not to dump large amounts of it. (Some will eat themselves sick, and they will not eat what's been lying out too long as their sense of smell is a strong determinant in what they'll eat.)
The most vocal of our cats is Mingus (in the icon above) and he has been designated speaker by the others, annnouncing when it's time to eat. He comes to me, makes a loud announcement, I get up to feed him and the others follow behind the two of us. I'm not sure whether Mingus's position is pro tempore, or he is elected to a fixed term on a regular basis, or if it's a lifetime appointment. Feline parliamentary procedures are not my specialty, I'm afraid.
i'm glad you have affirmed the small portion regime. i naively followed the instructions on the dry food packet which said to put all the food out in the morning and the cats will self regulate their eating during the day... yeah, right, self regulate themselves to obesity. ruby has turned from a lithe (emaciated) stray to a lushed out pot-bellied queeen in couple of months. i would try taking her for walks if she were remotely amenable - she also finds my flowerboxes more accessible for urinating than the trek downstairs - this morning i noted one of my fave herbs turning yellow. the turk is highly active, but ruby is always closest to the bowls. three feeds a day - oh dear, just as well i mostly work from home.
Condolences to the herbsludwig_primantiJune 15 2005, 07:41:11 UTC
Three feedings aren't that logistically difficult, even for those with a 9 to 5 job. One in the morning, one immediately upon return home and one before collapsing in a heap at night. They're often least interested in the late night feeding, but that's the one on which they just graze, so making it smaller is no problem. It only gets tricky if, like me, you have completely different schedules from day to day - home all day some days, gone from early morning till late night others. Having two humans can also complicate things, as keeping track of whether someone else did a feeding is easy to forget.
Not to take a conspiratorial tone, but the bag is also probably telling you a bit more than they really need to be happy and healthy anyway. I'd put down half as much, in smaller increments, and wait for them to complain. Depending on their sizes, they may not do so.
As for the regimen, we have three, which complicates matters. Putting down huge amounts leads to one cat overeating and the others complaining. (We have one cat at 7.25k and the others are 3 and 4. So we try to feed them only when they demand it and relatively small portions when they do. We have a scoop that's about 5cc and they get about three of those a day. (All dry food for ours.) One late at night, one first thing in the morning and one somewhere in the middle. The important thing if you have multiple cats is to have food available on a regular basis, but not to dump large amounts of it. (Some will eat themselves sick, and they will not eat what's been lying out too long as their sense of smell is a strong determinant in what they'll eat.)
The most vocal of our cats is Mingus (in the icon above) and he has been designated speaker by the others, annnouncing when it's time to eat. He comes to me, makes a loud announcement, I get up to feed him and the others follow behind the two of us. I'm not sure whether Mingus's position is pro tempore, or he is elected to a fixed term on a regular basis, or if it's a lifetime appointment. Feline parliamentary procedures are not my specialty, I'm afraid.
Reply
yeah, right, self regulate themselves to obesity. ruby has turned from a lithe (emaciated) stray to a lushed out pot-bellied queeen in couple of months. i would try taking her for walks if she were remotely amenable - she also finds my flowerboxes more accessible for urinating than the trek downstairs - this morning i noted one of my fave herbs turning yellow. the turk is highly active, but ruby is always closest to the bowls. three feeds a day - oh dear, just as well i mostly work from home.
Reply
Not to take a conspiratorial tone, but the bag is also probably telling you a bit more than they really need to be happy and healthy anyway. I'd put down half as much, in smaller increments, and wait for them to complain. Depending on their sizes, they may not do so.
Reply
Leave a comment