Cat Feeding Research.
 

I stumbled on this article and found it an interesting read,and if you have a cat or two it might be of interest.

[url]https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/catastrophe-canadian-study-says-cats-are-not-fed-enough-times/[/url]

That [I]is[/I] interesting! I'd like to see the results replicated, though. It's sort of sad, though--both JD and Dusty do so much better on multiple meals (it cuts down on the barf rate dramatically :o), so I'd likely not change, but I'll feel sad if it means they're more likely to feel hungry all the time!

Further to my previous post, this is the Abstract from which the article was taken. I just came across this a short time ago and haven't had time to read it yet.

Perhaps this will shed more light on the article.



[url]https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0238522[/url]

It would be interesting to see a comparison to feral or barn cats that catch their own meals, in an area with plenty of prey & are not supplemented with cat food, to see how often they eat.

I don't like the idea of feeding only once per day especially if the humans in the house are eating multiple times a day, the smell of food would start producing enzymes in the gut creating the feeling of hunger.

Since there is always another side to each theory, according to this article a cat's stomach is only about the size of a ping pong ball, therefore they should be eating several times a day [url]https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2018/12/20/how-to-stop-bad-cat-behavior.aspx[/url]

I tend to agree with you growler ..........I would like to see what would happen under normal living conditions rather than sterile lab setup.

Case in point...........this morning I was making cat food from scratch ...........I had my Cornish Hens sitting on the counter ready to be cut up and I grabbed my butcher knife and the steel to sharpen the knife. On the third pass I had my crew of 3 supervisors waiting for treats already........ so it's not just the smells that draw them, it's the sounds of food prep that they relate to as well.

That video on feeding the cats that you posted would be a great idea if it was designed to work with wet foods. If you happen to see anything that would work that way, let me know.

Hazel ...........in regards to JD and Dusty...barfing, have you tried raising their bowls a couple of inches off the floor? I had the same trouble years ago with our late Shadow. He would suck up his kibble so quick that before he had emptied the dish, he would deposit everything back into the dish and walk away disgusted.

I spoke to a vet about the problem and he said that cats are not designed to eat the way we feed them. Their physical being does not allow for them to stand up to eat......mostly they are in a squat position or laying down...to devour their prey. By raising their food dish up a couple of inches off the floor, produces the required stance, so that food doesn't have to go uphill - so to speak - in order to reach the stomach.

It stops the action of food building up in the throat - the asophigus - spelling. This worked for me so I have been doing it for years now.........all kitties have their food dishes elevated and very seldom do we have an upchuck.
What I use is a small plastic food saver container with the lid...which is about 2 inches high....and put some washed gravel in it for weight. Put the dish on top of that and it works great.

Sorry for the letter, but hope it is a useful one.

I think with Dusty, she still eats like she's starving, so everything she eats, she gorps down like it's going to disappear magically in the next 5 seconds. I found out that pate and finely ground is better for her than anything chunky--chunks [I]always[/I] come back up... We're managing her pretty well just with smaller, multiple meals, so she never overtaxes her tummy.

JD, on the other hand, prefers chunkier foods, actually [I]chews[/I] his food, and eats slower, so why he throws up, I don't know. Now that he's on the 3-meal-a-day plan, he's been better, but maybe I'll try elevating his bowl a bit. We have very shallow stainless steel bowls for the kitties--about 3/4-inch deep--but I think I can elevate his bowl a little without the rim getting in the way. Thanks, Ev!

[QUOTE=Reg;1081441]That video on feeding the cats that you posted would be a great idea if it was designed to work with wet foods. If you happen to see anything that would work that way, let me know.[/QUOTE]

[B]Reg[/B] Dr Becker says she's used it with raw, might be a bit more messy & probably not ideal for full carpet lol. Dr Bales, the inventor, says she's working on something for wet food :fingerscr :D


[B]Hazel[/B] how close together are they when they're fed or are they in separate rooms?

Separate rooms. Dusty is paranoid that someone will steal her meal, so we've always fed them in different places.