Answer: Adult cats fed one meal a day can be trained to eat all their food within half an hour simply by removing any which remains at the end of that period. They are also more likely to finish to their food quickly if there are other cats nearby (competitive eating). But as we have seen the cat’s natural preference is to take a number of small meals a day, often consuming only part of the meal at once and returning to eat the remainder over a parried of several hours. Provide that the food doesn’t become spoiled (e.g. in vary hot weather or due to the attention of flies), there is no reason why it shouldn’t be left out for up to twenty-four hours. Foods with a high moisture content are more likely to go stale quickly; commercial dry foods and semi-moist products can usually be left down safely for ad lib feeding.
Care full observation of each cat’s behavior is helpful. If it found that after a certain length of time fallowing feeding any remaining food is rejected, then clearly it would be referable to provide smaller meals at more frequent interval.
