While it’s not a strict requirement, I recommend measuring your cat’s daily food intake, especially if they struggle with weight regulation or have multiple cats in the household. Although it might be challenging, it’s beneficial for their health.
I personally use a hybrid system for feeding my cats, which includes measuring their food twice a day and utilizing an automatic feeder toy. The Petsafe Simply Feed is a great tool for this, as it dispenses measured portions at set times.
I adjust the amount of food given to each cat at different times of the day based on their individual eating habits from the feeder. For instance, one of my cats doesn’t seem to eat from the feeder, so I plan to change the food type to see if that encourages him to use it.
There are several reasons why measuring your cat’s food intake is important:
1. To avoid weight gain: Cats can easily gain weight if allowed to eat freely or given unlimited access to food. Measuring their food intake helps prevent excessive weight gain.
2. To prevent binge eating and vomiting: Some cats tend to overeat and then vomit due to overfilling their stomachs. Measuring their food portions can help avoid this issue.
Slowing down a cat’s eating, such as with a slow feeder bowl or toys like the Catit Design Senses Food Maze, can prevent rapid eating and subsequent vomiting. Additionally, using timed automatic feeders or measuring out food portions helps ensure that the cat’s stomach is not overwhelmed.
Catit Design Senses Food Maze – Amazon / Chewy3.
One thing to note is that if you free feed your cat or give it as much as it wants, you may not realize when its appetite is low and it’s not eating enough. This can be a symptom of various medical issues. If you don’t measure your cat’s food, you might miss an early symptom of a medical problem. Having food left over at the end of the day is usually not a big deal if a cat is eating as it should. But if your cat leaves food that should have been eaten because you measure its daily intake and it hasn’t finished, it’s easy to tell there’s a problem.
I don’t think measuring out food is vital in all cases, but the reasons I can think of are important enough that I personally measure the food I give to my cats each day. To make measuring easier, use a measuring cup instead of a miscellaneous scooper when getting cat food. Or fill a dedicated jar with the right amount of food once a day and give it out throughout the day. This is a good system, as mentioned in my article about feeding your cat more than once a day without overfeeding accidentally. Whether or not you measure is up to you! Your Thoughts on Measuring Cat Food? Do you personally measure out food for your cats each day? For each feeding? Do you think this is a good idea to do? Love to know your thoughts in the comments section down below!
