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Animals that have delicate health would probably do better with 2 small meals
More research institutes finalized some studies that determined the re-evaluation of recommendations
regarding the way adult healthy cats should be fed, in order for them to be less likely to suffer from indigestion.
Animals from the group of Felis, a group that includes our domestic cat, usually hunt little animals,
birds and amphibians which are the main meal of their day.
Such a hunted specimen, weighing almost 30g, gives about 2 kcal/g (about 60 kcal/animal). To
cover the daily portion of calories, a cat has to hunt 5 such animals, in a natural environment,
and this quantity will be consumed in several meals. Basically, it has been pointed that most
cats are active evenings and nights, feeding themselves respectively with small portions during
these periods.
Indigestion appeared in some animals from the study group and it was manifested by small skin spots.
Further tests proved that it is better for a cat to eat several meals a day rather than one big meal.
It is assumed that a rich meal that fills up the stomach at maximum capacity won’t be
completely processed because the gastric juice is not enough to cover it, so part of the food stays
in the stomach until more gastric juice is secreted. The aliments left in the stomach will start to
degrade until they cause skin eruptions and other signs of indigestion.
During the daily test, each daily portion of 100g was split up into two meals, each of 50g, one in the morning
and one in the evening, in order to test for the possibility of indigestion. Previously, the cats ate one single
portion of 100g in the evening. This portion included: veal meat, lamb meat, rabbit meat and chicken.
After the first day, with two portions, no indigestion symptoms appeared. The feeding process was
officially followed for two months and gave good results, but still the Institute Feline Future
feels that in a house with one or two cats the food should be split up into three daily meals to reduce indigestion still further.
Still, the three daily meal programs were not implemented for the healthy adult cats. This is a
way to feed sick or old cats to allow them to properly ingest the food they are given.
If your cat is a young adult with no indigestion problems at all, you can feed her twice a day as long as the
meals are properly split and they contain just what a cat needs, not more food because if two
big portions are given daily to a cat then the risk of her getting indigestion or her getting sick doubles.
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