Eating and Drinking

Eating and drinking is a very important habit for cats, as in humans and any other animals. Some people may have the “habit” of eating whenever they like, and simply pick up the food that is already stored in the house, and they may free-feed their cats, leaving food all the times for the cats to eat whenever they feel like it. This is not a good way of eating.

Scheduled feeding is beneficial in two ways. First, it increases the value of food as rewards during training. Second, it is a way of building and keeping routines, which is usually what the cats want for the sake of security and certainty. See “6 Daily Nutritional Requirements for Cats” for information about scheduling on daily basis and cats’ age.

As briefly mentioned in “6 Daily Nutritional Requirements for Cats“, cat food is available in dry food and canned food or wet food. Sometimes cats may have their preferences in choosing particular food, but we should bear in mind that what cats want may not mean what they need. If they are not losing appetite because of illness, then we should do train them to eat different kinds of food in order for them to grow and stay healthy.

Of course, if we suspect that they may be ill and lost appetite, then we better consult veterinarians’ help. (See “How to help a cat which won’t eat?“ for more information.)

Temperature and Smell – To begin with, we will have a look at how to train cats to eat, in general. Cat lovers may find that cats are “fussy” or picky in eating. One reason is the food temperature. The food may be too cold for the cats. So, try to warm the food to their body temperature, which is around 38 to 39.2 degrees Celsius (or 100.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

Warmer food makes its smell stronger, which is one way to make it more appetizing. Remember cats’ sense of smell is 40 times more power than ours (see “Why do cats stop using litter box?“). Dry food usually takes a bit longer than wet food, whether we use oven, microwave or steaming.

Another way to increase appetite is to mix tasty canned food with the cats’ usual food. The canned food can be fish, such as tuna, salmon or sardines, which should increase cats’ natural appetite.

Time Limit – Another way to increase cats’ likelihood to eat more is to set a time limit for their meals. Suppose we set ten minutes as the time limit for a cat’s meal, if they do not eat any food during that period of time, take away the bowl or plate of food. When we do this, it is more likely for the cats to eat more because they start to learn that food is in short supply and is only available at a short period of time.

Means – Sometimes it is easier for cats to start to eat when we feed them with our hand at the beginning of a meal. After a first few bite, they will continue to eat on their own, without our hand’s feeding.

Location – As mentioned elsewhere, cats regard quietness quite much. Therefore, place the food in a quiet and traffic-free (very few interruptions or distractions from us) area of the house.

Amount and Frequency – Apart from the normal feeding schedules listed in “6 Daily Nutritional Requirements for Cats“, some cats may have preference for more frequent and yet smaller meals within a day. In fact, most cats only require small amount of food. This will not only help overfeeding problems (which leads to obesity), but also prevent the cats from seeking food elsewhere.

Besides regular feeding, treats of food as reward in training or games can also help training cats in food and drink.

More about Dry Food, Wet Canned Food

As mentioned in “6 Daily Nutritional Requirements for Cats“, water occupies much in cats, and wet food is ideal for cats for their urinary systems as well as other functions. Sometimes, however, cats may find dry food more appealing (as kids may like chips more than salad?), or, for a pure sake of convenience, some cat lovers may simply get to the habit of feeding dry food. It is not as simple a matter as giving them more water with dry food to call it the end of the day, and in long run, wet food is more preferable.

Cats recognize food by its smell and texture. If the cats have been used to nothing but dry food, it would take some weeks for them to get to a new routine of the smell and texture of the wet food. This can be done by a few steps.

Step 1 – Hide a tiny amount (around one teaspoon) of wet food under the cats’ usual dry food in a small bowl or plate. Make sure the wet food is spread even on the bottom of the bowl or plate.

Step 2 – After around 3 to 4 days, increase the amount of wet food by 1/4 can and decrease the amount of dry food by 1/4 can. Serve it in the morning.

Step 3 – After around 3 to 4 days, do the same by 1/2 can of both wet canned food and dry food a day, with 1/4 can of each food in the morning and another 1/4 in the evening.

Step 4 – Repeat the process after around 3 to 4 days, by 3/4 can of wet food (1/2 in the morning and 1/4 at night) and 1/4 of dry food (1/8 in the morning and 1/8 at night).

Step 5 – Stop giving dry food. Feed 1/2 can of wet food in the morning and 1/2 can in the evening. In case the cats are not fully used to it and look pitiful, try to giving them 4 tablespoons every few days.

As a treat or reward, we can mix the food with tuna, boiled chicken or deli turkey without flavourings or preservatives.

Our ultimate goal is for cats to have healthier diet. If for some reason we cannot reach the zero-dry food, then perhaps we can keep the dry food : wet food ratio of 10:90 or 20:80.