DH and I are going out of town a couple different times during the holidays, so I'm trying to get my three 7 mo. old kittens prepared for it ahead of time. I already have talked with a trusted friend and cat-owner who will come to the house once a day while we are gone to scoop the litter, play/talk with them a bit, refill their water bowls and feed them their daily wet food. However, I know they will need to eat more than one time a day, so I bought a self-feeder for them and am trying to get them used to it before they actually "have" to use it!
My question is this: How do you keep one-two cats from eating all the dry food before the third one gets to it? Max and Molly are notorious for pigging out, which is why I don't normally free-feed in the first place. Maggie, on the other hand, can't eat too much at once or she goes and throws up all over the place. I've had them on 3 meals a day for a while now, and I'm not sure how to transition from this to 1-2 wet meals with free-feeding in between. The first day I put the self-feeder out, Max proceeded to stuff his face until his little tummy was visibly bulging out at the sides! Molly also ate until she was no longer remotely interested in food, which is highly unusual for her! And Maggie was starving because she is not aggressive enough to push her way in and demand her own fair share! So, what do I do? Will Max and Molly eventually get used to smelling/seeing the food out and not feel compelled to eat until it's gone? And will Maggie learn to push her way in when she is hungry?
Help! It's the first time I'll be leaving my babies alone, and it makes me so nervous!
My question is this: How do you keep one-two cats from eating all the dry food before the third one gets to it? Max and Molly are notorious for pigging out, which is why I don't normally free-feed in the first place. Maggie, on the other hand, can't eat too much at once or she goes and throws up all over the place. I've had them on 3 meals a day for a while now, and I'm not sure how to transition from this to 1-2 wet meals with free-feeding in between. The first day I put the self-feeder out, Max proceeded to stuff his face until his little tummy was visibly bulging out at the sides! Molly also ate until she was no longer remotely interested in food, which is highly unusual for her! And Maggie was starving because she is not aggressive enough to push her way in and demand her own fair share! So, what do I do? Will Max and Molly eventually get used to smelling/seeing the food out and not feel compelled to eat until it's gone? And will Maggie learn to push her way in when she is hungry?
Help! It's the first time I'll be leaving my babies alone, and it makes me so nervous!
