To feed or not to feed?
Hello everybody! For context my partner and I are new to being cat parents and we have a 2 year old Maine Coon mix named Azula.
She used to be strictly on kibble with an automatic feeder that feeds her 3 times a day as a kitten (6am, 2pm, and 7pm). She then got 2 bigger meals as an adult (7am and 7pm)— not much mealtime interaction from us there.
Before her 2nd birthday we’ve transitioned to feeding her wet food only, which she loves! Our schedule for her right now is 7:30am for breakfast and 7:30pm for dinner (one can each feed: she is around 13 pounds and not super active but still playful).
My partner and I are in disagreement about her behavior in the early mornings/dawn (around 5:00-6:00am). This is when Azula gets the cuddliest and purriest… for food. She snuggles up to me and licks and gets in my face and I welcome/allow it because 1) she is too darn cute and 2) she only does this at this time of day (even if for a nefarious intent)! But of course, in exchange, my sleep and my partner’s sleep are disrupted. My partner believes I should ignore her and that I am enabling her bad behavior by petting on her and then being woken up enough to feed her. I worry when she is hungry. My partner on the other hand just ignores her and moves away from her. She has resorted to cozying up to me because she knows I will pet her and feed her.
What is the best solution? Should I have some kibble feed at around 5:39am and then we feed her canned food at 7:30an and 7:30pm?
Any m help tips or insight is welcome thank you so much for reading!