Dear Sinéad and Siouxsie (and Thomas, too, if they let you answer),
I share my home with three cats right now, and we all have our ups and downs with each other, but in the end, we're happy. The cats are very much, "Grab and eat it all NOW," cats (I understand that -- I have the same problem), so I have to feed them at a set time each day. I tried leaving food out for several weeks and went through four times the amount of cat food during that month. I was worried they would get sick, so I started feeding them twice a day.

Then I moved in with a third cat, and she only ate once a day, so we switched my cats to the same schedule of once-a-day feedings. We've been feeding them daily at 7 p.m. (we used to feed them half the amount at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.), but they will start meowing for food hours early. I don't want to start feeding them as soon as I get home because I thought it seemed like a bad idea to equate "She's home!" with "DINNER!!!!" but my partner suggested that it might be a good idea so as to stop our frazzled-ness (it's very difficult to be meowed at and berated for 1-3 hours every day).

Do you think we should stop being mean and making them wait until 7pm for dinner? We chose 7pm because we can have an erratic schedule where we're home at 5:30 one day and 8 p.m. the next. Since 7 p.m. is a time when we're usually home, it seemed safest.

Thank you so much for sharing your advice with us all.

Sincerely,
Ourika

Siouxsie: Meal time is a very important subject for cats!

Sinéad: Especially if you're a food-monger like Siouxsie!

Siouxsie: Hisssssss!

Thomas: Grrrrrrr! Be nice to my girl!

Siouxsie: You're just asking for a Claw Sandwich, stripey-head!

JaneA: Come on, everybody. Behave.

Sinéad: As we were saying, meal times are of great importance to your cats' happiness. And finding a feeding schedule that suits them all can be rather difficult.

Siouxsie: Most cat experts, including ourselves, believe that a twice-daily feeding schedule is best. It keeps our blood sugar levels more balanced so we don't get grumpy, and regular feeding keeps us from bothering you when we want breakfast or supper.

Thomas: Mama feeds us twice a day. She gives us half of our daily ration in the morning before she eats her breakfast, and the other half in the evening before she eats her supper. Sometimes she gives us little treats like catnip crackers, too.

Sinéad: She started feeding us twice a day because at first, when she just left a big bowl of food out, Siouxsie ate it all up and didn't leave me any, and then because she ate too much she threw up, so all the food was wasted!

Siouxsie: Hey, I'm not the only one who pigged out when Mama put down big bowls of food!

Sinéad: Well, of course! I had to keep up with you if I wanted any food at all!

Siouxsie: Grrrrrr.

Thomas: Rrraowrrr! Hisssssssss!

JaneA: Am I going to have to separate the three of you?

Sinéad: As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted....when you live with cats that tend to eat everything at once, twice-daily feedings are the best method to keep your cat friends happy.

Thomas: Mama has had jobs where she's worked a weird schedule, too. Some days she'd be home before it got dark, some days she wouldn't get home until very, very late. But we don't mind eating dinner late if we get breakfast.

Siouxsie: Speak for yourself!

Sinéad: As you probably know, Ourika, we cats spend most of our day sleeping. It's not a big deal to us if you're gone for less than 24 hours at a time, and it really doesn't matter all that much whether we get our supper at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m.

Thomas: Once you get home, it is OK to take a few minutes and get yourself combobulated before you feed us. You don't have to take out the food before you even get your coat and hat off.

Siouxsie: Don't worry too much about your cats getting all over you the minute you get in the door. They'll probably do that anyway, whether they learn to associate your arrival with dinner or not. Mama usually stops and pets us for a couple of minutes as soon as she gets home, so for us, "Mama's home" equals "loving petties." And we all like it that way.

Sinéad: Mama says she prefers to feed us before she eats her own breakfast and dinner because she says we "beg" if she doesn't do so. We don't beg! Only dogs beg! We simply make it known that we wish to be given some food.

JaneA: Yeah. By crying and meowing and trying to trip me on the way to the table. And if that doesn't work, I get three pairs of eyes giving me the Forlorn, Abused Kitty look!

Thomas: Mama! Don't you talk like that to my girl!

Siouxsie: Do you see what we go through here? Somebody call the ASPCA!

Sinéad: Oh, stop being such a drama queen! I suppose we could be a bit less obtrusive at times.

Thomas: What it all comes down to, Ourika, is that we think the twice-a-day feeding schedule is best.

Siouxsie: It doesn't matter that much if the times of the feedings vary by an hour or two each way, depending on the day or your work schedule.

Sinéad: By feeding twice daily, perhaps about half an hour after you wake up and about half an hour after you return home (unless you only work half a day or something), you can get your kitties used to a schedule that has some kind of consistency, even if the exact times change.

Thomas: We hope this helps, Ourika. We're sure your cats will appreciate being fed twice a day, and you'll certainly find this reduces the amount of guilt-tripping and berating from your feline friends.

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail Sinéad and Siouxsie at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the advice in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.