Food question (different wet food for three different cats feeding advice)

I am a very good Mom, but on the other hand I am lazy lol. When I first got Bugsy I don’t know how many of you remember this but he was very sick, he vomited up everything he ate other then hard food. Me being lazy I just started feeding all the babies hard food.

Now I have a problem: Bugsy is anorexic, when he gets stressed he doesn’t eat and vomits whatever he does eat, and Capone eats too much. Us being on a cruise caused a lot of stress. Now Bugsy is 8 pounds and I feel his bones, and Capone is 20 pounds. It’s sad when people refer to them as the big fat black one and the sickly white one.

So wet food… I’ve never fed other then a treat. How do you feed wet food and dry food? I need to put Capone on low fat, Bugsy on some sort of high fat/calorie and Bonnie on kitten food. Do you feed twice a day the recommended amount on the can and then leave dry out as a treat?

I’m not even sure what to ask here lol. Anyone with any advice on a multi cat household where they all eat different wets (same dry) can give me advice I would be thankful.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by silvionc

So wet food… Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never fed other then a treat. How do you feed wet food and dry food? I need to put Capone on low fat, Bugsy on some sort of high fat/calorie and Bonnie on kitten food. Do you feed twice a day the recommended amount on the can and then leave dry out as a treat?

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not even sure what to ask here lol. Anyone with any advice on a multi cat household where they all eat different wets (same dry) can give me advice I would be thankful.

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What I do is free feed dry food all the time, Then once a day I will put down a bowl of wet. (about 4.5oz or so) Once the wet food is gone, he gets no more untill the next day.

Kizzy is an only cat, so I don't have to worry about other kitties stealing his food, which you might. You might have to seperate them to feed them.

If Bugsy is still throwing up, it doesn't really sound like the dry food is helping him that much. Try some different wet food, some without much grain. My first cat started on dry food only and began throwing up occasionally at about 2-3 years old. The vet recommended only wet food so I switched and the vomiting stopped completely. But I believe her problems had to do more with hairballs.

I would stop the free feeding of dry food. Capone doesn't need it. I would feed twice a day, at specific times. If your kitten is very young, you could slip her an extra meal.

I would feed in two rooms---Bonnie and Bugsy in one room, and Capone in another. Measure out a fixed amount for Capone. If Bugsy eats some of Bonnie's food and doesn't throw it up, or vice versa it would be fine. Kitten food is higher in calories. Keep the two where you can watch them easiest. When the two are finished throw away whatever food is left, if any, and let Capone out.

I only have 2 cats, but I started feeding my cats in separate rooms because one eats faster than the other, especially if they are together, because it becomes a competition to see who can get the most. I thought it would be a hassle, but they learned in 2 days where to go. Once one cat gets overweight it is a real pain to get them to lose it.

I feed 9 cats wet food and some of them are laced with medications. My cats have their specific places where they are fed and it doesn't take them long to figure out their spots. If you have to feed every cat in a different room and close the door so that they don't eat others food, then do it.

I do free feed dry also, but I have to ration it out a bit or my tubbies will over eat.

Originally Posted by nil4664

If Bugsy is still throwing up, it doesn't really sound like the dry food is helping him that much. Try some different wet food, some without much grain. My first cat started on dry food only and began throwing up occasionally at about 2-3 years old. The vet recommended only wet food so I switched and the vomiting stopped completely. But I believe her problems had to do more with hairballs.

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The food is not the issue. When we first adopted my Bugsy we spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out why he was so sick. We came to the conclusion that he is just a sensitive boy and he was stressed of the whole having a home > SPCA > Going to a new home thing. After about 3 months he stopped being sick all together (after countless tests, foods, meds, etc. there was nothing medically wrong with him). He just started vomiting again within the past 2 weeks. We think it’s because we went away for a week and it stressed him out. We do probably make it worse by babying him. I won’t go into detail but it’s actually pretty bad how babied he is LOL. He loves it though. We get made fun of a lot for it.

Ok, so basically it’s just test it out and see how it goes? See if they will actually stay at “their” food bowl? If not, feed Capone in a different room. That seems easy enough. As for Capone, I think it’s just his genes… he eats half as much as Bugsy and Bonnie, the dry food is mostly out because Bugsy is a massive pig and loves to pig out… Just for some reason (im guessing stress, it was the first time we have ever left them alone for more then a night) he pigged out while we were gone... hes always been a fat cat, just now hes a massive cat Lol poor babes.

Also, by saying to feed Bugs and Bonnie in one room I should start feeding Bugs kitten food as it is high fat? Bonnie is 9 months BTW. Or just feed them normal adult wet. Right now they are all fed adult TOTW dry.

I only suggested 2 rooms because some folks don't have easy access to 3 rooms. I've noticed my cats seem to be less in a hurry when they eat separately. I think because there is no visible competition to finish quickly (or lose out on some food).

The vet webpages suggest to feed 20-50 calories per pound of desired cat weight per day. On the 20 side for older less active cats, 30 for very active cats, 40 for older kittens, 50 for young kittens. A 5.5 oz of wet cat food has about 170 calories, give or take. And dry catfood has approximately 400 calories per cup. So figure out what the desired weight of each cat should be and you can figure out how much each should eat per day. Start there and adjust if necessary.

I've been dealing with cat feeding issues lately, too. My kitten is 8 months and she gets fed only twice a day, adult cat food, and is developing a little pooch in her stomach, so I've been trying to cut her down some. She is the fast eater. The older cat could also stand to lose another half pound because she has a bad rear leg joint, and overweight is not good for her.

Good luck with your cats. I hope Bugsy gets over his stress soon.