Feline Feeding Behaviour and Welfare-Positive Feeding Practices

Cats are obligate carnivores with specific feeding behaviour needs that modern feeding practices often fail to accommodate adequately.

Key Facts

Wild cats make approximately 10-20 small prey catches per day eating frequent small meals
Ad libitum feeding leads to obesity in the majority of indoor cats given unlimited food access
Cats prefer to eat alone without competition from other cats
The hunting sequence of stalk-chase-catch-kill-eat provides motivational satisfaction beyond nutrition
Single daily feeding causes hunger stress incompatible with normal feline feeding behaviour

Welfare Considerations

Modern cat feeding practices that provide one or two large meals of highly palatable processed food fail to meet cats' feeding behaviour needs. Cats evolved to eat multiple small meals requiring effort to obtain. Ad libitum feeding satisfies hunger but prevents the motivational fulfilment of hunting-like behaviour. Puzzle feeders and scatter feeding that require effort to obtain food provide both nutritional delivery and behavioural enrichment simultaneously, improving welfare through two pathways. Multiple small daily feedings or continuous puzzle feeding availability is more aligned with natural feline feeding behaviour.

What You Can Do

Feed multiple small meals daily rather than one or two large meals
Provide at least part of the daily ration through food puzzles requiring effort to access
Scatter dry food for cats to search for rather than providing it in a bowl
Monitor body weight and adjust provision to maintain ideal body condition score