question about food

i have the older cats food in the kitchen. They eat nutro for inside adult cat.

I got the kitten food in the spare bedroom. Nutro for kitten.

Yesterday I let her out for the first time. NO FIGHTS. couple hissing but thats over. They get along just fine. (my male adult cats are gay or something, didnt put up a fight)

But now, they eat some of her food and she eats some of theirs....is that OK? I dont know how to make them stop. Not sure if it is all that bad? I know the kitten food has more protein and such for her growth but is it that bad?

btw this is what happened after i gave them their wet food tonight. After the second day of being together.

and btw the two cats eating together is the kitten and the hisser. he was the one who hissed a couple times

No it's not ok! Feed them in separate areas (even if only 6' away) and when each has had their fill, remove the bowls and put them away. Then bring them out again (same bowl=same cat) an hour later (before the food gets yucky) and let them finish up, then clean up any remaining crumbs and put the bowls away til the next meal. Free feeding is only a good idea if you have either just one cat, or two who respect each other's bowl all the time, otherwise your kitten (who really needs to eat more often if anything) is getting deprived, and when they do eat, supervise - keep them away from her bowl (and each other's if necessary).

but how much food do i give her (dry)?

and how much do i give them? They have always had a bowl full of dry food that they share. How do i do it now?

They eat a little all day long.

My 3 cats eat 3 times a day - first thing in a.m., then 3-4 p.m., and again at around 8 pm. I give them each 1/3 of a 6 oz can (same size as 'people' tuna can) of canned food in the a.m. and about 10+ crunchy (dry) pieces each, and the same again at 3:30. At 8 p.m. I divide a little (Fancy Feast) can, plus 5 Temptations crunchies each. But you have a kitten too, so give her/him 2 snacks also - one around noon and another ~6 pm, or 10-11 p.m. and it could be the equivalent of 1/3 or so of the little cans plus a few crunchies. Don't worry - they won't get fat! It sounds a bit complicated on paper here, but once you get a routine going (like we've had forever) it's easy.

My problem is that nobody is home from 7 -6 . thats 11 hours they are alone. I can feed them twice a day with supervision. But during the day i cannot come home or feed them....

But that kitten (how old?) needs to eat more often! You shouldn't have taken her in if you couldn't take care of her, or at least left her with someone til she was older. The older ones can go all day, no problem, but unless the 'kitten' is 9 mos. old, it really needs better care.

As long as she is still eating her own food, I would not worry about it.
A kitten needs to eat as much as they want.
It would be better though if you switched the adult food over to the non Indoor formula for the time being.

The baby really should be getting her canned kitten food three times a day and dry available at all times.

I also wouldn't worry about it. Yes, a ktten need more food with special additives, but you can give her that in the morning & evening when you are around to make sure the others don't eat it all (as they may if unsupervised). Then leave out the dry as you usually do. Lucky you!, your adult cats don't eat it all at once (as one of mine would do ). You might want to leave a bowl of kitten food in an area you know your kitten goes to during the day. At some point they will all be eating the same food and your life will be much easier

Maybe you can keep the kitten in a room while you are away and leave his food out.

I really wouldn't worry about it either. As long as the kitten eats mostly her kitten food and the adults are eating mostly their adult food. Youcould also buy a food for all life stages. But if the kitten is over 6 months I wouldn't worry about it, it really isn't the end of the world if she sneeks in and grabs some of the big cats food or vice versa. I don't think you menitoned how old the kitten is. If it is still a tiny thing then she really should have food available all the time and should be mostly seperated from your cats.

Originally Posted by Ihave3cats

My problem is that nobody is home from 7 -6 . thats 11 hours they are alone. I can feed them twice a day with supervision. But during the day i cannot come home or feed them....

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I missed this reply the first time I read this, I would keep her seperated during the day with dry food left out for her all day. It really depends on how young she is though.

She is about 4 1/2 months old.

I will be switching from dried food to barf pretty soon. They already all love wet food. I will be going home for lunch everyday to make sure she gets 3-4 meals a day. Once in the morning/lunch/as i get home and maybe a late night snack. Once i get them all on the same food plan it should go pretty smoothly.

I am monitoring now making sure they stick to their own bowl. It's hard but i catch them most of the time.

Barfing will help alot

Barf? Barfing??? Isn't that slang for vomit?

I'm confused...

BARF used to be Bones And Raw Foods, now it is Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

BARF used to be Bones And Raw Foods, now it is Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods.

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LOL...thanks for clearing that up for me!

No problem
I had the very same questions as you the very first time I'd heard the term BARF.

I have a kitten and an adult cat. I was told by my vet that it's ok if they eat each others food as a matter of fact, I just mixed the kitten and cat food and they both ate it. In my opinion, cats eat when they want and I can't imagine either of them eating when I want them to.
The vet also said that it's better to feed them BOTH adult food then to feed them BOTH kitten food since it would be too much fat for the adult cat.
I started with a mix and now feed only adult food and the kitten is growing just fine.