How often should you be feeding your pet? There are a couple different ways to approach this topic, free feeding vs. scheduled meals. In this blog I’ll help you decide what is best for you and your pet! Please note I am not a medical professional so please talk to your Veterinarian before making any radial Decisions.
Free Feeding
Free feeding is a method in which you leave a bowl of food out for your cat or dog at all times. They have constant access to this food bowl and can graze all day.
While free feeding is definitely a convenient and easy method of feeding, it has its disadvantages. For one, it can quickly lead to obesity. If you have multiple pets, one may become dominant and not allow your other pet(s) access to the food bowl.
Another downside to the free feeding method is that it really only works if you feed dry food. Wet food doesn’t stay fresh for very long if left out, so it isn’t well suited for free feeding. Free feeding also makes it more difficult to monitor your pet’s eating habits; e.g., you won’t be able to determine how much food your pet is eating at one time, or if they get sick, how soon after eating the symptoms occurred.
Pros of Free Feeding
Convenient for Busy People
Cons of Free Feeding
Can lead to obesity
Lack of nutrients
Inability to monitor pet’s eating habits
Scheduled Meals
With scheduled meals, you feed your pet portioned meals at set times throughout the day. Each meal has just enough food for your pet to eat in one sitting. The amount of food you feed at each meal varies depending on several factors, such as the species (cat or dog), breed, age, size, activity level, number of meals fed per day, and other health factors. Your veterinarian can help you determine how much to feed your pet at each meal.
The meal schedule also depends on several factors, but the primary consideration is whether you have a cat or dog. Because of a cat’s natural predatory instincts, their ideal meal schedule is to have 3-4 small meals per day. A dog doesn’t need quite as many meals and does just fine with only 2 meals per day. Again, you should consult your veterinarian to come up with the healthiest feeding schedule for your pet.
While feeding scheduled meals isn’t as easy and convenient as letting your pet free feed, there are several benefits that come with this feeding method. With scheduled meals, you are able to control your pet’s food intake, monitor their eating habits more closely, bond with your pet, and you have more freedom with the kinds of foods your pet eats.
Pros of Scheduled Meals
Monitoring and Control of Diet
Variety and nutrients available
Resembles your pet’s natural eating instincts/habits
Cons of Scheduled Meals
Availability to feed at scheduled times
What’s Best?
Most pet-care professionals will also agree that feeding scheduled meals is the healthiest option for your pet. There are some great products out there that can help make feeding scheduled meals easier for those who aren’t home during the day. If you would like to try scheduled meals with your pet but don’t have a work schedule that allows it, I suggest trying one of the many automatic timed feeders that are on the market. Or you can hire a pet sitter to stop by and feed them for you.
