How common is it to need to restrict a cats eating? I always just keep dry food constantly available for my cat. She is around 14 years old and is a dainty little thing. I've never had any issue with her overeating or anything. When I'm away from home for a couple days, I'll just fill a really large bowl and leave it for her and there's usually a bunch left when I get back. Is this terribly unusual?
Some, like yours, will just eat as hungry. Daintily. One of my cats is like this.
Some cats tend to be chubby. They will eat on cues, and eat often. I have one of these cats as well. He's also a somewhat finicky eater - he'll eat lots or refuse to eat. He's been a bit large since he was born, but I don't have a need to restrict food yet.
And some cats will just eat until they throw up. Sometimes it is because of food insecurity, sometimes just personality. For these cats it is pretty vital the food is regulated.
Sidenote: There are other reasons to regulate food as well. I once had a cat with allergies and was fed prescription dry food, twice a day, as per vet instructions. Sad that I had to put that cat down due to health.
It's not unusual, but the cause is unfortunate. If she's 14 years old and you feed her dry food, she probably has bad teeth. Does she have 'cat breath'? When they have bad teeth, it's a balance of the pain from hunger vs the pain from eating, and tend to be skinny. It might be time to add some wet food to her diet.
Bad teeth aren't a problem for cats in the wild because they live on average 3-5 years, but the majority of house cats will have teeth problems as they get older.
