A Few Words About Feeding Your Cat

Being a cat owner for a few years, I can say I have seen many interesting things about cat behavior. One of these is how cats eat. Feeding your cat is not as simple as putting down a dish of tuna whenever they meow. If you do this, you will have a few more problems than knowing how to feed a cat. So, here are a few tips to know about feeding your cat that I've learned from my own cats.

Cats and Sound

You may not think it's possible, but your cat can hear you almost from any location in your house. Cats have excellent hearing by nature. I found this out when I would walk into the kitchen and open food. It doesn't have to be canned food either; they'll come running if they hear a box opening. You could be completely alone when you get the food out; but open it, and then turn around, and there they are waiting for their share. Feeding your cat doesn't require you to call them, just open a can or box. And you will notice that cats run to get to the food almost as if they won't eat if they don't get there fast enough. Another part of understanding how to feed a cat, is that cats are impatient and its normal for them to make noise until the food is down in front of them. Which brings up the next section.

Overfeeding

Understanding how to feed a cat means knowing when you are feeding your cat too much. Domestic cats will not stop eating if there is food set in front of them. While they may stop eating for the moment, your cat will eat the entire bowl. This is a problem when you follow the theory that you can simply put a bowl of food out and let the cats eat at will. Even with healthy food, cats can gain weight if you are feeding your cat an "unlimited amount" of food during the day. Cats should never eat more than 6 ounces of food per day.

Watch What the Cat Eats

When feeding your cat you must watch what the cat eats. Jack, my tuxedo cat, rarely eats anything but cat food. Bandit, my other cat, will eat almost anything you give him and sometimes will snatch food away. Examples of what Bandit eats includes baby food, dog food (hard and wet), SPAM, and he loves to climb up on your lap and make a sneak attack on your dinner. He's also been known to go after Rambo's recreational bones because there is meat on them. Rambo is the dog of the house. Jack used to eat Rambo's food when he was a kitten. Alley, a loveable Orange Tabby I had, ate yogurt, Chinese food, scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes. I'm not a good one to ask about healthy cat diets; but I do know that feeding any animal too much people food will affect their health. So, watch what your cat eats and try to keep control of it. Which brings up the next item on the list.

Milk

Milk is NOT good for cats. Cats are lactose intolerant; meaning they cannot digest it properly; you will notice this when you see the muddy mess in the cat litter. The problem is that cats love milk because it is sweet. Trying to figure out how to feed a cat milk is something which takes awhile to do. There is cat formula which is sold in stores, and is rather expensive for the amount you get. A trick I found is to use condensed or sweetened nondairy milk such as Carnation or Eagle Brand. Don't feed this too much because it is rich; I only use about three tablespoons per cat and only give it to them maybe three times a week as a special morning treat after breakfast.

Natural Instinct

When feeding your cat don't get concerned when they start hunting. You are not starving them, it is in their natural instinct. Indoor cats will hunt mice and bugs; outdoor cats will hunt squirrels and birds. My Jack loves spiders until he steps on it and the game is over. Alley used to bring me mice and I was told more than once about a rabbit or squirrel someone saw her leave behind. This is normal. And yes, they will bring the "kill" to you often as a sign of respect or love.