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Comment by skizm | Hacker News Reader

Wonder what would happen if you just gave the cat unlimited access to a large bowl of unguarded food all day every day. Would the cat eventually self-regulate the amount it ate? Or would you just end up with a really fat cat? Or both to some degree?

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Depends on the cat. Some will self-regulate and maintain a healthy weight but many will over-eat.

This is correct. I had some cats who self-regulate and some who will overeat. The overeater was a stray cat initially which explains the behaviour.

This is very true.

I have two cats, male and female. They are from the same litter, and have had the same upbringing. One is quite chubby, the other stays fairly thin. The chubby one is also naturally lazier.

Different cats have different histories with food security too, which probably plays a role.

This is exactly what we do with our cat. We just refill the bowl when it starts to get empty. I would say his weight is average to slightly below average. We have done this since he was a kitten so perhaps that's why it works quite well.

I have (too) many cats.

We just leave a bowl with kibble out for them during the day. Most of them self regulate. Two (out of six!) don't, and are a bit overweight.

My old neighbour had two cats (siblings) with unlimited food supply. Interestingly one of them was normal sized and the other one was extremely fat.

I do that to my cat. At first he sometimes ate until he throws up, but now he learned not to eat too much at once and prefer to eat little by little throughout the day.

His sibling on the other hand would eat quite a lot, but only if the food is fresh out of the bag, so ultimately she doesn't eat that much throughout the day.

Knowing cats... It would just end up with a really fat cat.

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