Gourmet by nature, cats owe many of their habits to their Egyptian ancestors and domestication.
Originally from the desert, it had few opportunities to drink and had to be satisfied with the meager prey they often hunted, which was essentially mice.
FEEDING RYTHM
Cats have maintained this sobriety in terms of water (even though in actual fact they drink more than we think) and have stayed in the habit of eating many small meals in a twenty-four hour period. Thus, cats eat ad libitum and may eat as many as 15 to 16 meals, consuming an average of eight grams per meal. The time spent eating is always very short to 15 minutes total per day. But the frequency with which they come to their feeding dish, which is generally when the owner is nearby, leads one to believe that all they do is eat!
Some cats prefer to eat at night, others spread their meals out over regular intervals and still others prefer to eat during the official mealtimes of the family.
As the ultimate nibblers, cats come back to their dish often to savor a small mouthful. Note that their digestive system is perfectly adapted to this eating pattern and that cats generally do not tolerate being fed once a day very well, unlike dogs. The ideal system, both in terms of cats' pleasure and their health, seems to be to distribute dry food ad libitum along with fresh water, and to give them paté or croquettes twice a day.Cats are only moderate water drinkers. They drink nine to ten times a day, drinking about 12.6 ml each time. They are highly sensitive to odors and they hate plastic dishes that retain bad odors. They prefer glass or heavy porcelain dishes by far.
Some unconventional cats like to drink directly from the tap, sometimes using their paw. Others are particularly fond of bath water, but the main source of water should always come from the owner!
AN "INFORMED CONSUMER"
The cats assumedly control their food intake according to their needs. Statistics show in fact that only 6 to 12% of the feline population is obese as opposed to 20 to 30% among canines. Nevertheless, it is necessary to be reasonable and to limit the overall amount of food a cat consumes in a day, even if the food is distributed in self-service style.
As for the variety of food to give the cat's palate, your cat will let you know! Reputed to be difficult by some of the advertising agencies, some cats do prove to be loyal to a certain brand, texture or even a certain flavor throughout their entire life.
It is clear nonetheless that unlike a dog, a cat would rather starve to death than eat something he does not like. Therefore, you are not giving into the cat's every whim by buying different flavors and varieties. That being said, a kitten's palate can be trained. This is done by first giving the mother and then later the kittens food that is varied in texture (patés, canned food and dry food) and in flavor when the litter is weaned from the mother. This practice will make for easy-going cats.
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