Multiple Cats

[abbyneo]

Hi all...I know that some of us here have multiple animals/cats/dogs/other, so I'm looking for some advice. My sister's fiance has moved in with us, and she will be moving in with us in a month or so. They have 2 cats, Lolo and Xxeus (he got to pick the name... ) For now, only Xxeus is here with us. Dude (my cat) eats Fromm grain free, which is around here pretty much the best kibble money can buy. Sister's cats are eating Cat Chow. To Dude, Cat Chow is like potato chips to someone who has never had junk food and he is all over his food. Fromm's kibbles are super small and Xxeus has a problem chewing small kibbles, so they don't want to transition him onto Fromm. I don't want Dude eating Cat Chow.

Is there anything that I haven't thought of to try to keep Dude away from Xxeus's food? It's not like keeping a dog away from cat food because generally my dog doesn't jump onto counters . Aside from watching 24/7, the only thing I can think of is to find another high-quality food (Acana, Orijen, etc.) that has larger sized kibbles and getting everyone to eat that one.

Any ideas?

[Ari_RR]

Do your cats have free access to food all day long? Perhaps they shouldn't?.. My cat-girl doesn't, she has her breakfast/dinner at certain times, and she is usually hungry by then and demands her meal with loud angry meowing, so when she finally gets the food - she is focused on it and eats it quickly... So, if your cats were fed at predetermined times, in different separated places, then why can't each of them have the food of his/her choice?

[abbyneo]

Dude has always been free fed. He has never had a problem overeating and just eats when he feels like it. Sister's cats eat a set breakfast and dinner. Switching Dude over to a schedule would probably be fine, but with one especially irritating and whiny dog before dinnertime, I enjoy having a laid-back, non-whiny cat who gets to eat whenever. Guess I've been spoiled.

[Erica]

Not all cats get whiny...Emmy was very quiet and patient for her food, even though she'd been free fed for 10+ years before I switched to scheduled feeding. I did feed her three times a day, though; if that's an option, it might help? And feeding last thing at night will help there be less morning-wake-ups...You could play around with it and see how it goes. But I do agree that setting a feeding time will be the easiest way to handle this!

[minkee]

Ummm, I'm sure I just replied to this, but now I can't see mine or Judy's reply, so I'm going to add it again. Apologies if this appears twice!

All I can tell you is my setup - which is to freefeed all day long. We feed them Applaws, which is very good quality (I use it for dog treats too!) and, having 3 cats, it's the only way I can be sure that each is getting its fill without standing over them watching the entire time they eat. I've also found that it reduces the chance of them kicking off over food because it's less valuable to them (they don't tend to feel the need to guard it like dogs would!)

I also feed them from 'enrichment' type toys, like this one and this one




Which means they can't gobble it all down, they have to work for it and think about what they're doing, and I think it means that they stop when they're full rather than just eating more because it's there (big orange cat would do this, the others wouldn't).

I think another alternative would be to feed them wet food at regular feeding times, because they are more likely to eat all that straight away - but I'd still want to either supervise or separate them while they did.

Also remember that it's really important that cats keep hydrated - they're not very good at choosing to drink water, because they're 'meant' to get it from their food (ie. small, whole wild animals). I supplement their dry food with chicken wings, tinned fish, liver - and also I see all of mine regularly drinking. Infact Stripy Cat will jump in the sink and ask for a drink everytime you go anywhere near one! They can get in real trouble later in life if they don't have that fluid regularly, so worth keeping an eye on them.

Hope that helps!

[Suzette]

I also free feed and have my whole adult life with many cats. It works well for me too and with a multiple cat household, I agree that feeding at designated times would be too difficult and time consuming to make sure each cat was getting their fair share. Since free feeding has worked well for you too, I would say that the answer here isn't how to divide and conquer (at feeding time), but to get the new cats in the household onto the food you are feeding.

When you say your sister's cat doesn't do well on tiny kibbles, I wonder if you mean he doesn't chew it, but swallows it whole. I have one cat who has always done this (he is now 6 years old, I've had him since he was a 6 week old kitten). It used to frighten me to watch him eat. He takes huge mouthfuls of food and just swallows - little to no chewing. But I can't change this, so I had to get used to it. In six years he's not had a choking incident, so I guess somehow this method of eating works for him. (My cats are on grain free Taste of the Wild. The kibbles aren't teeny tiny, but they are small.)

All this to say, that if it were me, I'd be asking your sister to put her cats on the type you feed. Her cat will adjust to the smaller kibble and not only will it solve your problem, but her cats will benefit from a much better diet.

As an afterthought, perhaps another answer is to switch all the cats to another premium, grain-free food that has larger kibble.

[JudyN]

Ummm, I'm sure I just replied to this, but now I can't see mine or Judy's reply, so I'm going to add it again. Apologies if this appears twice!

Oh good, it's not just me going doolally then

My suggestion was that if there's no health risk with Xxeus eating the Fromm, and he and Lolo won't overfeed, then they could be fed their food on a schedule and Dude could still be freefed. Then you'd just need to shut them in a room for their regular mealtimes.

My cat is freefed and doesn't overeat. I'm rather tempted by Minkee's cat toys though, as he has rather a boring life now he keeps out of Jasper's way as much as possible.

[minkee]

Mine are all housecats so I try and keep it as interesting for them as possible! :3

[WufWuf]

Minkee I've been eyeing up the top cat feeder on zooplus for ages now but still haven't taken the plunge as I'm not sure how sturdy it is. One of my boys is a beast, he's huge and I'm sure it's cats like him that start the "panther sighted" stories . So I've been wondering if he'd just bash this over anytime he tried to get food out of it? How heavy is it, do your gang knock it over at all and if so can it take a few knock without cracking?

I know that the little guy (Casey) would love it as he's a very pawsey cat and a clever little sod too but I think that Curry boy (Dizzy) would just sit and stare at it in the vauge hope that the food might just jump into his mouth and then go back to shouting at the humans instead .

Like yours mine are all fed a variety of foods but I'd love to be able to leave this set up at night (or possibley in the bedroom during the day) to give them a bit more fun in their lives (and maybe reduce the amount of time Casey spends throwing stuff of tables).

I don't free feed as my cats don't seem to understand moderation and Curry boy would eat until he puked (and then eat that) and so would Wylie. However I think with something like this they would do better as I seriously doubt Dizzy would be @rsed working for dry food and I'm 50/50 on whether Wylie would over eat from it. Casey is a little titch and doesn't get fed by the neighbours so he could afford a little extra food esp if I reduced his other meals.

Sorry for hyjacking the thread and I've no other suggestions for you Abbyneo

[minkee]

Hmm, my boy cats work at it sensibly, but Pod the little blue cat (she's tiny!) is just.. well, lets say she's 'special'. She has a habit of just standing up on her back legs and sticking her whole head in the top and using it like an oddly shaped bowl. She also has a ridiculous habit of getting her claws stuck in EVERYTHING possible and then panicking and trying to run away while attached instead of just retracting her claws like any normal cat. So yes, she's got her paw stuck in it more than once, and then run away, bringing the whole thing tumbling down from the top of a bookcase. It's still working so far! You could probably fill the underneath with something like plastercine to weigh it down, too, if you felt it were necessary.

On the other hand, you could try the flat one. They still have to work hard because they can't just shove their face in to get the food - it seems to be a bit harder for them to work out but at least they won't be knocking it over. It's not cheap at the moment but I think it is one of those things that regularly goes on sale.

[abbyneo]

Those food toys are awesome!!! I think we will stop by the food store this afternoon and see what size the other high-quality kibble is so we can free-feed everyone something high-quality. I suppose if we have some over-eaters we can go to a schedule..I'm confident Dude won't but I can't say about the others. I will definitely be looking into some of those toys as Dude doesn't go outside either; he normally does just fine entertaining himself but I'm sure a little more mental stimulation won't hurt

Re: hydration: Dude drinks out of the dog's water bowl which is always full. I suspect he thinks he's a dog as Abby was his "mommy" when he was a tiny baby. He used to have his own separate water dish but I'm positive he never drank out of it as I always saw him drinking from Abby's bowl, so I just abandoned that.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and stories! Should there be a separate board for Positively: Cats... ???

[WufWuf]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and stories! Should there be a separate board for Positively: Cats... ???

Ooh that would be sweet! I've had cats a lot longer than dogs and I've learned so much from them, esp. Curry boy, he's the kind of cat that other cats just love and respect as he's got the most amazing body language. My big boy (Wylie) adpoted him as his Mammy when we got him and even though he's now twice his size he still follows him around and cuddles up to him any chance he gets . He's the defender of the territory and can pass by cats that my other guys get beaten up by as he's too cool for skool . We didn't "get" him he just moved in with us about 7 years ago as he knew he was on to a good thing .

Hmm, my boy cats work at it sensibly, but Pod the little blue cat (she's tiny!) is just.. well, lets say she's 'special'. She has a habit of just standing up on her back legs and sticking her whole head in the top and using it like an oddly shaped bowl.

Thanks Minkee. My big boy is also, eh, special in his own way (starved wormy feral kitten that the vet did not think would survive) and I have a feeling that the flat toy with the head constantly down would give Casey too much of a chance to bully him. The tall feeder is the only one I've seen that I think he'd manage (though he's learned to Kong quite well ). I think next time I'm ordering from zooplus I'll take the plunge though I'll have to put something over the top or they'd all want to stick their heads in at the same time.