this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2026
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Thats the thing tho, she isnt free fed. I feed her about 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, and night) and its only 1/8 a cup each time. But I should play with her more, I know I haven't been doing that enough lately.
She doesnt need to eat 3x/day tho. It might be a process for both of you to adjust but she's better off 2x/day and up the fun making. Also, what I have found helpful to reduce begging or harassing for food is to have a ringtone that only plays every 12 hrs so she learns yo associate feeding as being preceded by that tone rather than an ad hoc thing she can endless renogotiate you over chronically.
Does she have a cat tower/tree? Those are helpful to keep them active and jumping up and down and shit
The ringtone is a great idea. Classic operant conditioning.
The question then is whether to scale back the third meal bit-by-bit, or to switch straight to a twice a day feeding schedule.
I actually set mine to the sound of the fire alarm so if there’s ever a fire (hopefully never) rather than freaked out I hope my cats will run to the food bowls.
I would just switch immediatey to every 12 hrs do it for your wakeup time and 12 hrs later. Maybe be more generous with how long you leave it out the first week (maybe like 30-45 mins vs 20) but try to get that down.
She will eat to satisfy her hunger first. Anything after that is likely boredom or just something to do. You have to make and enforce that choice for her health
Slow and steady on the weight loss: try using a little scale to weigh the usual portions you give her (you can include the scoop as long as you always use the same one) and after you have an average over a day or two, start making her new portion size just a few grams less. Between that and more playtime she'll slim down without being too mad at you.
If you have only been doing dry food you could also try changing one of her meals to wet food, keeping the same amount by weight. Dry food is more caloric per gram because water is heavy. The extra hydration will help her feel satisfied and be good for her kidneys.