I have a question about feeding Cats…?

We have a total of 11 cats. We rescue them from the local kill shelter, and as long as they are spayed or neutered and have their vaccines, in my county there is no limit to how many you can have. I have 3 cats that are 10+ years, 5 kittens that are going to be a year old in march, and 3 cats that range in age from 5-3 years. All Cats are healthy, up tp date of vaccinations, fixed and are NOT fat, they are about perfect weight. None of these cats have any medical problems, fleas, mites, ect.. they aer all totally litter box trained we have 6 litter boxes which get CHNAGED not scooped everyday. Now, my question…. I "free feed " my cats, meaning they have access to foor all the time, and i nelieve that as long as they are not overweight or unhealthy, they SHOULD have access to food when they want it. I have a 4 quart (one gallon) container that i fill once in the morning and once at night with a quality INDOOR cat food. and i also provide them with treats once a day, tons of toys and TONS of love.. Each cat has its own personality… I love these cats like they are our own kids, since my hubby and i cant hae kids.. and he feels the same was about them also. However, the youngest cat we have (almost a year) SCREAMS anytime the food bowl is empty. i can literally drop one morsel of hard food is his bowl at night, and he is fine.. until a cat eats it. I have tried feeding this cat 3 times a day in a seperate location, to make sure it wasnt getting bullied out of food, but he refused to eat but maybe once. So with 11 cats, im feeding them appproximately 2 gallons of hard food a day. Is this cat just one that needs to know the food is there? Ir should i make sure to continue feeding him seperatly, even though he isnt eating when i do? He isnt underweight, and is actually one of our friendsiest, loveable, cats with the best personality. So what do i do? Im out of ideas here!! Thank you in advance for you help! BTW.. our cats names are Bootsie, Big head, food stamp, light switch, Big D, Runt, Stripe, Guilly, Little B, Moe and Tucker.. and we have 3 small dogs (which we feed seperate, where they cant get to the cats food, and the cats cant get to theirs.. and a snake.. which has nothing to do with this.. but we are lovers of all animals. and we just lost our rat, Lucky, 3 months ago to old age he lived to be nearly 5 years old. all of our dogs and cats sleep in our bed… (dont ask.. hubby and i rarely have a chance to turn over.. lol… they are totally spoiled just as our kids would be.. and they even each have their own snuggie, jammies and "go out" outfits.. i have 2 children from a previous marriage and the love these animals so much, one cat in particular, when my daughter comes home from her dads every other weekend.. he actually climb onto her and wrap his paws around her neck and "hugs her" and wont let go.. she sleeps with him like that.. these animals are SO spoiled.. which is why i think he is doing this… but any other suggestons would help! (sorry for any typos.. i have the hiccups! LOL)
they have plenty of catfood, and we also have the cat toy where they have to work for their food… thats what we put their treats in… im totally lost here at what to do about this ONE cat who MUST have food is his bowl at all times.. i dont want them eating out of boredom while im sleeping. I even take up all dog food when im sleeping. The only thing thats left out is water,
i also have tried a "self feeder" where u fill it up and the food keeps coming out bit by bit until its empty, but i was having to fill it 3-4 times a day.. we have a watering "trough" like that, which i fill twice day, needing it ot not, an im going to get rid of it tomorrow because there are places you cant reach to clean, and i dont like that. If i wouldnt drink ot of it.. i wouldnt expect them to! im just going to get a very large bowl i can wash everyday.

Cats are like potato chips, you can’t have just one.
I had a cat named Mickie that would hunt you down and paw and mew at you until you filled his bowl up. I think cats are like people and have their own little weird traits so I’d assume the cat just isn’t happy with change and gets upset when the bowl is empty? I’d continue just letting them eat when they want and if he cries fill the bowl up. About the not eating thing, maybe he doesn’t like to be watched? Like I said, cats have their own weird traits. Hope this helped.

My cat got slight hiccups, one eye with 3rd eyelid, not that active, what’s wrong with her?

I only noticed that recently coz I saw she’s not that active, and monitor how she sleep, saw she having slight hiccups, not a lot, just once a while she’s being wake up with a "slight move", no sound out from her like human’s hiccup, just a "slight move", I think that’s making her not sleeping so well. Her bowels and diet are still normal and she’s still eating like before, just not active and playful like usual. Her third eyelid is not very obvious but I can see the difference compared to the other normal eye. I would be booking a slot for her to see the vet today, but would like to hear if any one got the same experience with their cats? Thanks!

It’s good that you’ve taken her to the vet. What did the vet have to say?

Can my cat get the hiccups?

Yes, I have had many cats in my lifetime, and all of them have had hiccups at one time or another. It’s perfectly normal, just like you or I would get them. Nothing to worry about, the cat will get rid of them on their own.

Can cats and dogs get the hiccups?

hiccups can be obtained by most mammals. It is an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm, and if you’ve got one, you can potentially get the hiccups.

how come my cat gets the hiccups?

I was wondering why my cat gets the hiccups and how my cat can get rid of the hiccups?

COuld be drinking or eating too fast

Can cats get the hiccups?

Apparently, yes they can, although i’ve never witnessed it, who knew?

Check out the web-sire –

http://ruralroute2.com/kitten_hiccups.php

Could it be hairballs or something else?

At first I thought my cat Selina had the hiccups, but after an evening of it they didn’t go away, then she threw up while I was asleep. It’s been a week now and it seems like she is trying to hack something up but is unable to get it up. It makes her jerk and it seems like it hurts because if she is laying down she can’t get comfortable. I wasn’t sure if it could be hairballs because she is a very short haired cat and hasn’t had this problem before, she is 6 months old.
Have any of you been through this with your cat?

Oh yes.try a 3ml dose of either mineral oil or olive oil.Just a squirt or
two down the throat should clear up the problem.I have three long
hairs and one short haired.This works everytime.

Can animals get the hiccups?…?

my cat was making a noise yesterday for a few minutes and it didnt sound like a hairball or anything and i was wondering if anyone knew if it could have been hiccups or if its even possible?

Yes

Why does my cat do this gulping thing?

My cat sometimes makes this weird gulping thing, where it looks like he’s in a cartoon, when the character gets scared and does one of those overexaggerated gulps.Either that or it’s a hiccup, I can’t tell. It’s really weird. None of my other cats do it, but now my one cat has started doing it too. What is this?

Your cat may have one of several things going on. He may be having a reaction to something in the food, or he may have a blockage in his throat.
You first said none of your other cats do it, bu now one has started. It now appears to be something that needs to be looked at by a vet. Cats do not mimic each other.

If it is something in the food, it can cause additional medical conditions in your cat if not treated. If it is a blockage in his throat, it can also cause additional problems.

good luck