How to feed a cat (second course!)

by Dr Joey Goldthorpe

​In a  previous article we discussed that while of course what we feed our cats is very important, the how, when, and where we feed them is equally important. There are certain established guidelines for all these factors, but there is no one ‘right way’ that works for all cat families. 

Generally, these guidelines recommend feeding cats in a way that most closely emulates their normal feeding behaviors in the wild. This often involves feeding multiple small meals (up to 6 to 8 times a day if possible) provided in their own space or ‘feeding station’ and in measured/limited amounts. 

The majority of cat families have two or more cats in their households. As previously discussed, every cat has different eating styles, food preferences, and weight/health factors. This often requires that we find creative feeding solutions to best meet everybody’s needs making sure each cat eats their own food the correct amount and prevent food sharing/stealing! 

Given the busy lifestyle that many of us lead and the fact that many of us live in multiple cat households, sometimes the most effective solution involves using technology to help us feed our cats. These options can allow us to feed multiple small meals, feed limited amounts, and to feed different diets to each individual cat if this is desired or indicated. 

Here’s an example of how I used technology to best meet the needs of my three cats:

For the majority of my life with cats, I have lived with rescued cats who were elderly, sick, frail, injured or a combination of the above. The crux of this was that the vast majority of them were underweight and so the solution to this was having multiple food options readily available to them at all times. This worked well for that population of cats, who needed as many calories as they would take in. But, now I find myself for the first time with three healthy boys, two who were overweight, two who required specific and different diets, and one who is a previous feral cat and semi-shy eater. 

Once I realized that for weight and other health reasons that I would have to find a new way to feed my three boys I decided to try SureFeed, the microchip activated feeders. Generally this requires that each cat have their own feeder. The feeder is programmed for each particular cat by pairing their microchip with the feeder. The feeder has a bowl which is covered by a plexiglass barrier. When the assigned cat approaches and sticks their head under the archway above the bowl (which reads their microchip) the bowl will open which makes their food accessible. 
The feeder has a ‘training mode’ which allows the cats to learn how to use this feeder which of course looks a little different that your standard cat bowl. I set up my three feeders, one with diet food, one with allergy food, and one with a basic maintenance diet, and set them all to the training mode. Within about a week, two of my cats were readily using their feeders, and we were able to ‘advance’ from training mode to normal use. 

But, even after a month in training mode, my shy semi-feral cat was too anxious to use this feeder and would not stick his head far enough under the arch to get his bowl to open. (Of course I fed him in a normal bowl during this time when he would not take his meals from the microchip feeder to make sure he got the nutrition he needed). 

I realized another option was needed. Enter PortionProRx. This feeder has a large hopper which holds kibble and can be programmed to feed 6 meals daily. This feeder is not microchip activated but the user needs to wear an RFID tag on their collar which will open the bowl when they approach. It is a more open bowl with no ‘scary arch’ to stick your head under so I thought this would work better for my shy kitty. But, the problem with this feeder was that my shy cat absolutely would not tolerate wearing the collar with the RFID tag (he was just beside himself with this set up). 

This feeder allows you to set either an ‘open’ or ‘closed’ mode. In the closed mode, the food bowl is covered at all times until the assigned cat (or dog) approaches with their tag and then it will open for them. The open setting allows the assigned pet to eat from the bowl without needing to wear an RFID tag, but will close if any ‘intruders’ (who must be wearing RFID tags) come within 3 feet of the feeder. So, since the intended cat would not wear a collar, I set the feeder for the open mode and put tags on the other two ‘intruder’ cats. This was the solution that worked for us, as both my other boys are tolerant of collars with the tags and so they are designated as the intruders. 

All feeding information was entered in the HPC app so it could be shared with my veterinary team and tracked over time to follow trends.

So as stated above, there is no one right solution that will work for every family, but there is always a solution! There are many other tech driven feeders out there including some that can feed canned food meals. It may just take a little trial and error to see what works best for your particular cats and lifestyle.

Dessert anyone?!


Joey Goldthorpe, DVM

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