one cat eats everything!!!!!! the other starves...

celerystalksme

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ok...here's the situation...

i have had Angel for 13 years...she's now a 16 year old senior cat with chronic renal failure. she's so sweet to me...but super grumpy to most other people and all other cats. having CRF, she eats prescription food that is low in protein.

now...i have just adopted a new cat from the human society. she's a 2 year old. she was VERY shy at the shelter...and took many days for her to warm up at my home. it's been about a week and she's doing very well...but is still skittish at tims.

they are currently living in separate rooms. my first question is...how can i best assure a smooth transition when they are introduced to each other? how long should i wait before i introduce them?

here's the TOUGH QUESTION. ok...so my old cat angel eats her CRF food...and she's a grazer. she eats a teeny bit here...teeny bit there...and has never overeaten in her entire life. she eats to contentment and just nibbles at her food all day and night long. my new cat inhales food! when she first came home, she was so skinny and wasn't eating well at the shelter so i just filled the food bowl to the brim...she finished that thing in a matter of minutes! it was most disgusting display of gluttony i have ever seen! i have now begun ration her food...and she gets a 1/2 cup of food per day in two separate servings. she eats each serving in about 5 seconds. i put some of angels food in her bowl after she had both her meals...and she inhaled that as well.

so...i now know that my new little kitty will eat all her food and then will go and eat all of angels food. HOW IS THIS GOING TO WORK?!?!?!?!?!??!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i don't want them to live in separate rooms for the rest of their lives!
 

xxtashaxx

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once your new kitty knows they will always be food down for her , or there are set times , she should calm down a bit , it may take a few weeks but it should settle.
have you got a dog cage to put the new one in ? keep the new one in a room for about 1-2 weeks so that your old one can smell her, make sure you show love and maybe bring a blanket that the new one has been laying on and letting the old one smell , and vice verser.
with the food , when they do start eating in the same room / when the new one has free rome of the house, make sure your there when feeding. when your old one has walked away from her food put it away when the new one cannot get to it , then in a cupple of hours or half an hour maybe bring the food back out for your old cat. i know this is a long process but its the only thing i can think of to do.
maybe someone else has a few other ideas, but hopefully when the new one settles and knows theres always gonna be food for her and she dosnt have to rush before someone else gets it , it may settle down and you can go back to normal.
 

anjya

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Hi,

Ive got sisters from the same litter. One is a tiny little dainty eater, the other a dog. She'll eat till shes sick and then eat some more. What ive dont is created two seperate stations for them. Both in the kitchen but one of them we can see from the living room. They both get breakfast in the morning which Tipper sucks down in about 1 second and then keep an eye on Proffesorn. As soon as she is done i put her bowl in a cubbord. When i come home from work i put out her food and give Tipper a few peices in her own bowl so she feels all things are equal. Professorn has never seemed to be bothered that she doesnt have constant access to the food even as a dainty eater. She usually finishes off the "breakfast" in time to get dinner. We keep out her bowl but keep an eye on it. Sometimes Tipper might get a fast gobble in but she knows shes not allowed and doesnt hang around. In the evening if there is any food left i put it away.

My guess is your daity eater would get used to a similar routine. Of course if you are able to do lunch to thats even better. The other suggest already made by Tasha is also good advice. It could be that she will calm down once she understands that the food will keep coming and isnt a temporary thing. My vet. suggested when Tipper was like 14 weeks old, to put out a whole lot of food and say.. go for it.. let her eat herself silly and see if it works. Well didnt work in my case but it could in your case. Maybe she'll eat a huge amount the first few days but then calm down. You said she was tiny and thin (still is?) so i shouldnt think this would be a problem. Just keep en eye on her stool and that its a) there is stool b) not too hard/not too soft... Of course if she continues to gobble it all down no matter how much after a few days then looks like you are stuck finding a routine, like mine, which works. Make sure she has LOTS of water available too!

GOOD LUCK!!

Anjya
 
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celerystalksme

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Originally Posted by Larke

Or just let the older cat eat in her room and keep the door shut.
my older cat, angel, eats in the kitchen. i can't just shut her in a room to eat because she doesn't eat at any certain time. she nibbles here and there...dozens and dozens and dozens of times a day...


this is messed up...
 

cheylink

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I could never leave Maia food all the time, she would eat untill she busts!!! Some cats, and Maia is my first, have to have thier food controled. She is meowing at me right now for food and I just fed her !!!!!!
 
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celerystalksme

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this is crazy! nothing is working!!!!!!!

my new cat sophie eats everything in sight and will eat to the point of puking and bursting...she eats all her food...then immediately eats all of angels food...and if i put more food in angels bowl, gone, she eats and eats and eats.

angel can't eat!!!!!!! :censor::censor::censor: is wrong with sophie?!?!?!?!? why is she trying to kill angel?!?!??!

no matter how hungry angel is...she does NOT eat a lot in one sitting.

*&^WE*&^#*$^#@*&^*Q&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm gonna have to get rid of sophie or have them permanently live in separate rooms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

larke

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Listen - I've fed loads of cats for loads of years and never had that problem because I set 3 feeding times a day (b-fast, 3 pm & 8 o'clock snack time). You put the cats in front of their bowls (on the counter far apart works best so you can easily control things). Put the food in the bowls, stand there and keep Sophie away from Angel and her bowl til Angel's finished. If she doesn't finish right away, put the bowl away for a short time and then try again, maybe in another room to keep things cool and leave her there with her bowl for another short time. Take the bowl away til the next feeding time. She won't starve if she doesn't finish it - she's young enough to learn a new schedule and that if she wants all her food she needs to eat it all at once (or twice) and that's all. Are you planning on free feeding your own children with no supervision or schedule? Sophie will also get the hint over time that her food is her food and that's all. Otherwise you're going to end up not only with a fat cat, but a sick one (plus another basket case).
 

larke

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Sorry! I got the cat's names mixed up in that post - please 'correct' them as you read!
 

carolpetunia

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I know how frustrated you feel -- we have a similar problem here. The first thing is to remember that the new kitty is not "trying to kill" the old kitty, for goodness' sake!
She's just doing what her instincts and experience are telling her to do, and there's no malice in it at all.

It sounds like the new kitty has had a rough life, and food has not been readily available to her in the past -- so of course she thinks she has to devour every last morsel immediately, poor thing. As others have suggested, she may settle down a bit when she realizes that she no longer has to worry about where her next meal is coming from.

That could take awhile, though, and the process may try your patience. I'm afraid if you scold her, she'll only feel MORE insecure -- so I believe the thing to do is overwhelm her fears with tender loving care. Y'know?

I completely understand that you don't want to upset your older kitty's eating habits, which are far healthier, especially for a cat with CRF. If you can personally give your older kitty several snacks throughout the day, served in her own private "dining room" (maybe a laundry room or bath), that would be great.

But if you're out during the day, I think you'll just have to put plenty of food out and work with the new kitty over time until her fears are allayed. I imagine the cats themselves will work things out, too: if the older kitty sees that her food is disappearing, she will no doubt "discuss" that with the new kid!

Love to both your babies...
 
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celerystalksme

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Originally Posted by Larke

Listen - I've fed loads of cats for loads of years and never had that problem because I set 3 feeding times a day (b-fast, 3 pm & 8 o'clock snack time). You put the cats in front of their bowls (on the counter far apart works best so you can easily control things). Put the food in the bowls, stand there and keep Sophie away from Angel and her bowl til Angel's finished. If she doesn't finish right away, put the bowl away for a short time and then try again, maybe in another room to keep things cool and leave her there with her bowl for another short time. Take the bowl away til the next feeding time. She won't starve if she doesn't finish it - she's young enough to learn a new schedule and that if she wants all her food she needs to eat it all at once (or twice) and that's all. Are you planning on free feeding your own children with no supervision or schedule? Sophie will also get the hint over time that her food is her food and that's all. Otherwise you're going to end up not only with a fat cat, but a sick one (plus another basket case).
feeding times don't work with angel. she's 16...she has CRF...she's always been a skinny cat, never over eats...she's been between 6-8 lbs her whole adult life. she grazes...eats 6 pieces of food. goes away for a short nap or a short play or a short gaze out the window...returns and eats 4 more pieces of food...and on and on throughout the day. i've always put an unlimited supply of food for angel because she's not a idiotic dog that eats and eats and gets fat. she has always eaten to the point of contentment and maintains her slender, athletic physique.

one time, i went on vacation and my mom took care of angel. and she didn't know how i fed angel. my mom came over in the morning...put a small bit of food in the bowl in the morning. then she'd come back in the afternoon to give her the rest of the food. angel didn't like the change in routine and stopped eating all together. she developed hepatic lipidosis...

now my mom knows how to feed angel. so when i go on vacation, she just puts out an unlimited supply of food and angel is just fine.

so...there you have angel...she'd rather develop hepatic lipidosis and die as oppossed to having her feeding routine changed. she wants a full bowl that is available to her 24/7...period.

unfortunately, it's that simple. angels feeding modality cannot change. the new cat must NOT eat angels food...period. however...this cat is different from angel. she eats the point of bursting. at her size, she's supposed to eat 1/2 cup of food a day. out of curiosity, i tried to see how much she would eat if i kept filling her bowl. she'll eat upto 4 cups of food and still beg for more. so clearly, i cannot give this cat as much food as she wants...because she'll become fat and/or sick.

so there is only one option...the new cat must not eat angel's food AND she must only hear her 1/2 cup of food. NOTHING is working...she eats all her food and then immediately devours all of angels food.

i'm now looking into indoor invisible electric fences that'll shock the crap out of sophie if she goes anywhere near angels bowl. maybe after a while, i can take the shock collar off and sophie will still stay away from angels bowl.
 

tru

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I'm a little curious what you are feeding the new kitty.
Maybe you can find a food that will fill her a bit better and help slow her down?

I do think over time she will probably settle down a bit.
 

tru

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Ok, rather than any kind of shock thing, how about this?

You can build or have a box built with one of those electronic doors on it where the cat wears a collar with an electronic trigger on it.

Angel wears a collar that will allow her entrance into that feeding station, (box< what have you), at all times.

Sophie cannot gain access to Angels food because she does not wear the access collar.

Almost anything would work for the feeding station as long as you could have the special door installed.
 

carolpetunia

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I need to revise my recommendations: if it's a problem for the new kitty to eat ANY of the old kitty's food, then you should have a one-cat household. Please find a new home for Sophie before you even THINK of anything so cruel as a shock collar.
 

tru

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I just had another thought. You could also build something like that with Angels' food in it where it would only open for her and would close again as she walked away.

Someone else was wanting to make such a thing for their dog food at one time.
 
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celerystalksme

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Originally Posted by tru

I'm a little curious what you are feeding the new kitty.
Maybe you can find a food that will fill her a bit better and help slow her down?

I do think over time she will probably settle down a bit.
i'm feeding sophie normal adult cat science diet...

i was thinking along the same lines earlier. if only there was a food that was much higher volume of food per calorie...that MIGHT help...
 
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celerystalksme

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Originally Posted by CarolPetunia

I need to revise my recommendations: if it's a problem for the new kitty to eat ANY of the old kitty's food, then you should have a one-cat household. Please find a new home for Sophie before you even THINK of anything so cruel as a shock collar.
well, too late for that. i saved sophie from the humane society one day before she was scheduled to be euthanized.

getting rid of sophie is my last resort option. i think the shock collar isn't a bad option. my friend uses one for his dog...out of curiosity, we tried it on ourselves. feels like a very strong static cling type shock. sophie endures a lot of static shock as it is...seems my carpet is very static-ee...whenever sophie or angel come to smell my hand, they get their nose shocked to death. they clearly HATE it...and quickly turn away...but they survive...and they come back to nudge their nose against my hand again, since the static drained away at the expense of their nose...
 

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First, I do understand your frustration


How long has Sophie been with you now? Is she currently, underweight - perfect weight - or overweight?

Unless she's truly overweight, which I doubt...I would put down a whole bunch of that CRF food and let them both eat it. Sophie needs to learn that she is not at any risk of starving now that she has a home. I'm confident that once she realizes that, she will regulate her eating to a normal healthy level like most cats do. It's just not going to happen today.

I think keeping Angel's feeding arrangements the same is very important.

I think the shock collar is unnecessary. Sophie's confidence needs to be built. I believe an "unlimited" amount of food will do that. She'll calm down. It just might take a bit more time and patience.

Just as a vote of confidence, I free feed and none of my cats are fat. I have had former strays that initially eat like you've described, though. Eventually they settle down. Like you said, they are not dogs.
 
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celerystalksme

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Originally Posted by beandip

First, I do understand your frustration


How long has Sophie been with you now? Is she currently, underweight - perfect weight - or overweight?

Unless she's truly overweight, which I doubt...I would put down a whole bunch of that CRF food and let them both eat it. Sophie needs to learn that she is not at any risk of starving now that she has a home. I'm confident that once she realizes that, she will regulate her eating to a normal healthy level like most cats do. It's just not going to happen today.

I think keeping Angel's feeding arrangements the same is very important.

I think the shock collar is unnecessary. Sophie's confidence needs to be built. I believe an "unlimited" amount of food will do that. She'll calm down. It just might take a bit more time and patience.

Just as a vote of confidence, I free feed and none of my cats are fat. I have had former strays that initially eat like you've described, though. Eventually they settle down. Like you said, they are not dogs.
sophie has been home for exactly 15 days as of this morning. she's at a very good weight...she's a small cat at 7 lbs. but her weight is up from when i got her from the humane society. no more boney prominences are visible...and you can no longer feel her ribs, spine, or hips. she's a pretty healthy and athletic weight now!

here's my concern with the CRF food: it's a low protein food which is supposed to far from ideal for a healthy cat, especially a young cat like 2 year old sophie.

my second concern is that it's a perscription food...my vet might have concerns if she noticed i was all of a sudden buying tons of the CRF food.

and finally, my last concern is that the CRF food is expensive!!!! sophie will eat me out of house and home! *eek!*

i've only tried letting sophie eat as much as she wants for one day...i stopped after than one day because she ate 8 times her recommended daily allowance of food and still begged for more. maybe if i free feed her for several days, she'll simmer down? i just don't want her to get fat!
 
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