Just one meal a day, and your pet cat will feel less hungry and lead a healthier life. This is what a Canadian study carried out by animal nutrition specialists at the Ontario Veterinary College (Ovc) and the Ontario Agricultural College (Oac) at the University of Guelph in Canada has found. Based on the data gathered, the researchers discovered that feeding cats a single large meal a day can help better control hunger and, in turn, avoid problems such as obesity.

Fewer obese cats with one meal a day

The study, published in the journal Plos one, revealed that cats eating just one meal a day were more satisfied, and this also led to less "begging" behaviour around food. The findings also suggest that reducing feeding frequency could help lower the risk of excess weight by controlling felines' appetites and, at least potentially, making them eat less. This is a discovery that could prove significant, given that obesity is the most common nutritional problem affecting these animals.

The study involved eight subjects of normal weight and under five years of age. Each cat was exposed to two different feeding regimes for a total of three weeks. The ingredients in the bowl, as well as the quantity of food, were the same, but the first group ate one meal only in the morning, while the other divided its daily portion into four separate servings. The two groups then swapped diets. Food intake was recorded daily and body weight was measured weekly. The researchers also measured the cats' metabolism through breath and blood samples.

What was observed was that felines eating only once a day had higher post-meal levels of the three key hormones that regulate appetite. This, according to the researchers, suggested that the subjects examined were more satisfied. And that was not all. The cats also showed a lower fasting respiratory quotient, meaning they were burning their fat reserves — which is key to maintaining lean mass and not gaining weight. Felines eating just one meal a day also showed a greater increase in amino acids in the blood. This meant they had more "building blocks" available to construct proteins and, consequently, muscle. This is a very important finding given that many cats lose muscle mass as they age.

Every cat has its own particularities

Previous research before this Canadian study had examined the effects of meal frequency on cats' behaviour, but this is the first study to analyse its effects on the hormones that suppress appetite, on physical activity, on energy expenditure and on the use of energy sources. Furthermore, a single daily meal leaves the cat more satisfied and eliminates, at least in part, many problematic behaviours — small thefts, constant begging, desperate meowing for food, and so on — that can mislead owners and prompt them to overfeed their feline, with consequent damage to its health.

Further studies will nonetheless be needed to confirm the findings of the Canadian research, and the researchers are keen to stress that it is always necessary to assess each animal's individual situation, taking into account the lifestyle of both the cat and its owner. So, while this approach may be useful for promoting satiety in some cats, it may not be helpful for others. The advice and opinion of the attending vet therefore become, in this case too, essential.