Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Knoxville, TN, USA.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
J Feline Med Surg. 2022 Aug;24(8):e281-e288. doi: 10.1177/1098612X221105046. Epub 2022 Jun 28.
The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) to determine if a feeder system providing individualized food access and automatic dispensing of meals makes weight-loss programs in multi-cat homes easier for cat owners; and (2) to assess if feeding six meals daily reduces food-seeking behavior and increases calorie requirements vs two meals per day.
Adult cats with body condition scores (BCSs) of 7/9 or greater underwent a weight-loss plan for up to 6 months using a traditional feeding bowl with two meals per day (B2) or an automatic feeder with two meals (A2) or six meals (A6) per day. Cats were weighed at weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22 and 26 and food intake was adjusted to maintain weight-loss rates between 0.5% and 1.5% body weight per week. Owner questionnaires were completed at each study visit.
Twenty-three cats were included in the study. Cats fed from the automatic feeders were more likely to reach ideal body condition ( = 0.006), with 83.2% of cats in A6, 40% of cats in A2 and no cats in B2 achieving a BCS of ⩽6/9. Owners of cats fed from automatic feeders reported the weight-loss plan was easier vs owners of cats fed from bowls ( = 0.01). Owners using the automatic feeders also reported fewer incidences of certain food-seeking behaviors. Neither percent body weight lost per week nor calorie intake per kg differed between groups.
Feeding six instead of two meals daily did not result in faster rates of weight loss or the need to increase calorie intake to maintain appropriate rates of weight loss. However, use of an automatic feeder that provided separated, portioned meal feeding made the weight-loss program easier, reduced food-seeking behaviors and improved the overall success of the weight-loss plan.
本研究旨在实现两个目标：（1）确定提供个性化食物获取和自动分配膳食的喂养系统是否使多猫家庭的减肥计划对猫主人更轻松；（2）评估每日喂养六餐是否比每日两餐更能减少寻食行为并增加热量需求。
体况评分（BCS）为 7/9 或更高的成年猫接受为期长达 6 个月的减肥计划，使用传统的每日两餐喂食碗（B2）或每日两餐（A2）或六餐（A6）的自动喂食器。猫在第 0、2、4、6、10、14、18、22 和 26 周时称重，调整食物摄入量以维持每周体重减轻 0.5%至 1.5%的速度。在每次研究访问时都完成了主人调查问卷。
本研究共纳入 23 只猫。从自动喂食器中喂食的猫更有可能达到理想的体况（ = 0.006），A6 组中有 83.2%的猫，A2 组中有 40%的猫，而 B2 组中没有猫的 BCS ⩽6/9。从自动喂食器中喂食的猫的主人报告称，减肥计划比从碗中喂食的猫的主人更容易（ = 0.01）。使用自动喂食器的主人还报告说，某些寻食行为的发生频率较低。每周体重减轻的百分比和每公斤摄入的卡路里在各组之间均无差异。
每天喂养六餐而不是两餐并不会导致体重更快减轻，也不需要增加热量摄入以维持适当的减肥速度。然而，使用提供分离、分量式喂食的自动喂食器使减肥计划更容易，减少了寻食行为，并提高了减肥计划的整体成功率。
