Two small meals or a big one?

More research institutes finalized some studies that determined the reevaluation of recommendations regarding the way adult healthy cats should be fed. Animals from the group of Felis, a group that includes our domestic cat, usually hunt little animals, birds and amphibians which are the main meal of they day.

Such a hunted specimen, weighting almost 30g, gives about 2 kcal/g (about 60 kcal/animal). To cover the daily portion of calories, a cat has to hunt 5 such animals, in a natural environment, and this quantity will be consumed in several meals. Basically, it has been pointed that most cats are active evenings and nights, feeding themselves respectively with small portions during these periods.

Indigestion appeared at some animals from the study group and it was manifested by small skin spots. Further tests proved that it is better for a cat to eat several meals a day rather than one big meal. It is assumed that a rich meal that fills up the stomach at maximum capacity won’t be completely processed because the gastric juice is not enough to cover it, so part of the food says in the stomach until more gastric juice is secreted. The aliments left in the stomach will start to degrade until they cause skin eruptions.

During the daily test, each daily portion of 100g was split up into two meals, one in the morning and one in the evening. Previously, the cats ate one single portion of 100g in the evening. This portion included: veal meat, lam meat, rabbit meat and chicken.

After the first day, with two portions, no indigestion symptoms appeared. The feeding process was officially followed for two month and give good results, but still the Institute Feline Future feels that in a house with one or two cats the food should be split up three daily meals.

Still, the three daily meal programs were not implemented for the healthy adult cats. This is a way to feed sick or old cats to allow them to properly ingest the food they are given. If your cat is a young adult, you can feed her twice a day with no problems at all as long as the meals are properly split and they contain just what a cat needs, not more food because if two big portions are given daily to a cat then the risk of getting her sick is double.