Took me 2 years to realize I was feeding my cat wrong

I always just left a full bowl of dry food out for my cat Milo, until my vet asked me how much he weighs vs how much I scoop. Turns out free-feeding was making him pack on pounds (he's 15 lbs now) and I'm supposed to measure portions. Has anyone else had that wake-up call about portion control?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_mia13d ago

God, yes. I had the exact same thing happen with my cat Oliver. I thought I was being a good owner just keeping his bowl full so he never got hungry, but the vet gave me that same look when she weighed him and asked how much I feed him. He was 14 pounds and she said he needed to be around 10. It was honestly embarrassing because I had no idea free feeding was such a problem for indoor cats. I switched to measured portions twice a day and it's been a game changer, but the first few weeks he acted like I was starving him to death. He would sit by his bowl and cry at me like I was the worst person alive. Now he's down to about 11 pounds and the vet is happy, so it was worth the guilt trip.

amymiller13d ago

That part about him acting like you were starving him to death really hit home. It's funny how we do things thinking we're being nice and it ends up being the opposite. I feel like this happens a lot in life, not just with pets. We fill up the bowl because we don't want them to feel hungry, but really we're just teaching them bad habits. It's the same with people too, like how we let kids have too much screen time or give in to every request because we don't want them to be upset. Sometimes being a good owner or parent means making the hard choice that feels mean in the moment.