How much Food?

[HappyS]

Not to go a little off topic, I didn't want to create an entire new thread. On average how much dry food do savannahs eat during the work day? Kittens and adults? If I'm going to buy this I want to make sure we are leaving enough food for them.

Since we have two, I'm guessing we will have to double whatever answer we get.

 

[AmyAndSimba]

I think most people will say leave food out for them to eat when they want, however much they want. I would leave out a large measurement of kibble first and see how much they eat, then leave that much (maybe a little more to be safe) every day.

My new kitten will ONLY eat wet food, so I have no idea what an estimated amount is.. I guess I will have to go dry food shopping to see if I can't find one he likes and incorporate it into his diet.

 

[HappyS]

Yeah, we plan to experiment as well but we want to buy a food bowl that holds enough dry food for them to eat while we are away at work.

The food bowl we want to leave out all day says capacity 1cup. I'm wondering if that's enough or Savannahs will definitely eat more than that during the work hours. We would obviously continue to replenish their dry food and have other bowls to give them either raw or wet morning and night.

We may just have to have a temporary cheap bowl and then depending on how much they eat while we are gone, buy it then.

 

[WitchyWoman]

I recommend leaving 1/4 cup of food each in two separate dishes. Make sure the dishes are very shallow and not bowls -- helps with whisker stress and also helps them keep their chins cleaner. Sometimes cats can develop blackheads on their chins from coming into contact with food and if I remember correctly, plastic dishes especially contribute to the blackhead problem.

Doesn't matter if they choose to eat from one dish but I'd offer two. My F2s weighed 4 lbs each when they came home and they rarely finished 1/4 c during the day. Each one is different though so if all that food is gone when you come home, increase it to 1/2 c.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Oops forgot to add, this is a personal prejudice of mine but I don't advocate free feeding. Once the kittens are old enough to eat 2-3 meals per day of whatever canned or raw food you'll be feeding, you can dispense with leaving down the kibble all day.

 

[HappyS]

Thanks for the response Deborah! I currently have two very low profile dishes for each of them but thought to only bring it out at meal times and have one bowl for them out all day. But perhaps I'll rethink it.

Yes, I'm not sure why I wrote adults but I've met animals who I initially thought were extra large seat back cushions... But turned out to be super huge obese waddle cats who had free reign of their nonstop feeding barrel of food. But I wonder exactly when i will know the right time of kitten phase of having food always available should stop.

As kittens is it important to have their food elevated as well or for their size I assume it's comfortable to eat off the floor until bigger? That's the biggest reason we were thinking of getting the third that's higher and it'd be something more lifted off the floor.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Cornell Vet School recommends 3 meals per day up until a kitten is 6 mos. then you can cut back to 2 meals per day. What worked for me was to feed them their raw before I left for work, left 1/4 c kibble out while I was gone but took it up when I got home, fed them raw when I got home, and fed them raw again before bedtime. My guys just gave up the kibble on their own about 2 wks after they got here. They just preferred the raw and boy did they eat! I'm still amazed at the amount of food that could fit into those little bodies. But then, I swear I could also see them grow as they slept so I know where all that fuel went.

 

[WitchyWoman]

I don't know whether elevated dishes are important for cats who don't have a medical condition like IBD or chronic vomiters. Maybe ask Per about that in the Vet section. I never gave it much thought since in the wild they eat hunched down close to the food.

 

[Kristine]

Not to go a little off topic, I didn't want to create an entire new thread. On average how much dry food do savannahs eat during the work day? Kittens and adults? If I'm going to buy this I want to make sure we are leaving enough food for them.

Since we have two, I'm guessing we will have to double whatever answer we get.

I free feed my cats and kittens dry and also feed raw meat twice a day. The kittens can consume quite a bit, four kittens can easily eat 7 lbs of food a week and that is just dry, they also consume a pound of meat a day! But they are 6 weeks old so in a full growth period. I am not sure how much my adults eat in terms of dry, I know they eat a lot of raw, eat cat easily consume 1/2 pound a day.

 

[HappyS]

Hmm! Kristine, have you found any issues with weight when free feeding adults?