Eating Issues

I have one cat and am currently taking care of a friend's cat.
My cat is a skinny little tabby and his is an overweight grey furry thing. I'm not too sure of his breed, but he's a really sweet cat.
My problem right now is that he eats almost all of the food. I can't get him on a good diet. My cat won't eat food out of the bowl anymore...she will only eat it if it falls out on the floor.
I would take them to the vet, but I'm only 19 and living on my own. I can't really afford it right now. I just fed them about ten minutes ago, but she only ate a few bites. She doesn't seem really unhealthy, but I'm worried that she may become that way.
I've tried putting her food in places where he can't reach it, but she will only eat the food if I put her up where it is. She only started doing this last week. I'm not too sure what I need to do.

Can you put them on a feeding schedule(in seperate rooms), and give your skinny cat something he really likes, like mixing canned catfood in with his regular dry (I'm assuming here, that you are feeding dry)? How long will the other cat be with you?

I know $$$ are tight try here ... www.carecredit.com if your area vet particiapate it would allow for payments on time

It sounds like she is stressed by this new cat's presence. Did you go through an introduction process? Can you give her some time each day when the other cat is locked in a separate room so she can have free access to the food?

I would also suggest trying to get them in different rooms for eating. How long will you have your friends cat?

They've been properly introduced. In fact, they totally love eachother. They're always playing, cleaning, and sleeping together.

I don't think she's at all distressed by his presence...he's been here with us for about four months. She only started this eating problem recently.

I had been taking care of my other friend's Siamese, but she's gone. Smokey [the fluffy one] and Mana [my tabby] hated Lacey [the siamese], so I don't think she's depressed about her being gone.

I would feed them at different times, but I rarely have the time to do that since I work so much. Since I only have one litterbox, I hate to put them in seperate rooms. They've both gone to the bathroom in places they shouldn't have...which is probably because they hate sharing a litterbox.

My friend has been telling me every day for the past two months that he was going to come get his cat, but hasn't yet. I'm not sure when he will actually follow through and get him.

As for mixing the food with wet, she actually really loves the dry food. She just won't eat it out of a bowl. It just tends to cause a big mess on my kitchen floor.

I guess I'll try maybe washing the bowls out tonight and putting some food in them. They might not be clean enough or something.

Ah...I didn't realize that the cat staying with you wasn't a recent change. Have there been any changes since you noticed her new behavior? You can also try putting her food on a platter or cookie sheet. She may be bothered by her whiskers touching the bowl. Since this is a new thing, I would also look her over for signs of injury to her face--maybe she got scratched when they were playing? If she'll let you, check out her mouth as well. If only cats could talk so we wouldn't have to guess why they do the things they do!

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

If only cats could talk so we wouldn't have to guess why they do the things they do!

Click to expand...

That's the answer!
I wish it were so! I'd love for my cats to talk. I'd also love it if they would understnad what I say when I tell them they are on a diet for their health, for I love them so and want them with me for many years.

Just a thought.. But I would feed the cat that you think might not be getting enough "Kitten Food", It has a much higher nutrition content. Do this behind closed doors before going out to work and again when you come home. Big kitty would free feed perhaps on a "Lite" variety of senior type food.

All of you had very good suggestions. Thank you.

I ended up putting her food on a small storage container lid. She seems to be eating.

I actually just took her off kitten food a month or two ago. I made sure to stick with the same brand. The cats seem to love Purina. I've tried Meow Mix and a couple other brands...but they'll only eat the Purina. I'm using the blend for indoor cats since the big one used to be an outdoor cat. He likes it better than the other kind we had.