Question:
I am one of the only people I know that feeds free choice around here (for Hank, Cub & gps). I leave a constant supply of pellets or kibble. I have friends who think this is wrong & pets should only get kibble/pellets @ "mealtime". What is your opinion?


Answer:
I have always free feed all my animals never had an overweight pet yet. I feel its not like they can go to the fridge and get themselves a snack when they want, so I leave it avaliable at all times. Now Grizzly if his bowl gets empty will come bark at me and walk to his dishes and wait for me to refill them lol.


Answer:
I free feed mine because my schedule is erratic, it's more convenient for me, and no one is overweight. It was a big concession on my part to feed canned food to Enkidu, so I'm not giving up on the free feeding!
I also give Moxie T. Dawg her portion of kibble each morning. She grazes on it throughout the day. She'll even fast herself sometimes (but I think that has more to do with how much people food she gets from my partner....)


Answer:
I give my cats & dogs their portion in the morning also.. the cats like to nibble thru out the day. I think there is a difference between leaving food out so they can munch when they want & filling their bowls to the top. Some pets just don't know when it stop eating and that's when they can get over weight.


Answer:
everything here gets fed in the evening and for the everybody but the dogs get enough to last almost 24hrs. i have one dog that is a piggie so thats why food isnt out all the time.


Answer:
Hey Neuro, we discussed this with regard to chinchillas if you want to take a look.
http://www.pets-on-the-net.com/forum...pic.php?t=2733
My dog and cats get meals. Taz (my dog) has a thyroid condition and the vet advised that this would be the best way to feed him. Max, my cat, would end up obese if he got free choice. Syd could be free fed because she knows when to stop eating.
The chins are sort of free fed. They get a ration that is a bit more than what they typically eat in a day. That way, I can still monitor their intake but I know they will always have pellets.


Answer:
Thanks for all the input!!
Hank used to get meals because my former roommate had a disgustingly obese cat that would eat anything & everything. Hank was underweight @ that time. Now she is so big & muscular that she looks more like a tom than a female.
I can understand feeding meals in some cases but I think I prefer free-feeding hard kibble, w/ moist food meals 2x a day, for Hank.


Answer:
we always free fed joey and never had a problem with him being overweight, he would pick at his food and eat a little at a time, i never saw any problem with it, but now we have feeding times for the both of them due to the food aggression he was showing around pippin.


Answer:
I prefer to free feed, but this isn't always practical. Some animals will make themselves sick eating too much. I have 2 cats that are total opposite. One cat nibbles all day and is thin, the other cat eats everything in site immediately and is fat.


Answer:
For the most part, my rabbits are mostly free-fed (completely full dish...some eat it all in a day, others do not), especially during the winter. During the summer, I have to cut back on the feed of some or they get fat.
My dog and cat get food twice a day. The cat, especially, will get fat if I do not feed him that way. The fact that he always sneaks bits of the dog's food does not help.