I need some advice about feeding situations...

Hi, I'm new, and I dearly hope this is the right place to post this, heh.

I currently have three cats of varying ages/breeds, and my roommate has one cat. Right now we're in a bit of a feeding quandary. Apologies if this is a little long-winded.

Before, we (and by "we" I mean "I" since the roomie sucks at feeding pets) would simply free-feed dried food (Blue Buffalo's "Basics" due to one of my cats having some food allergies). Then, I adopted Ember (my third kitty), who is a little rescue Munchkin. I didn't know it when I adopted her but she had some health issues. Both due to her health problems and not wanting to just toss her into a kitty blender, she's been living in isolation in my room, separate from the other cats.

One of her health issues is that she NEEDS certain foods. The vet wants her on at least 50% canned food, since she's prone to UTIs and needs as much water intake as possible. She also isn't coping well with the Blue Buffalo "Basics" dry food, it seems to upset her digestion. (I haven't yet found a food that suits her tummy AND is of a high quality) Her other health problems are finally cleared up though, and she now has the green light to begin introductions to the rest of the household's cats.

Thing is, I don't want her to eat the dry food the other cats are eating, nor do I want them to eat her dry or canned food. I have never been fond of feeding meals to the cats, since I do travel and my roommate is purely untrustworthy with feeding them (the last time I tried to leave them in her care, I came home to find they hadn't been fed in THREE WHOLE DAYS! I will NEVER trust her with my pets again.) and as such I don't know what to do. In a perfect world, each kitty would get his or her particular food in two to three meals per day, and would therefore only eat what he or she was supposed to. Yet I know my roommate's cat would never get fed if I didn't feed him, and I do not know how my cats (or hers for that matter) would get fed when I'm out of town.

I also don't know anyone in town that I'd trust to "cat sit" while I'm away. Normally when I travel, I fill a large "gravity feeder" of kibble and make sure they have a tonne of water. I am usually not gone more than two to three days.

Does anyone have any advice about this situation?

That's a tough situation. I'll refrain from commenting on the irresponsibility of your "roommate."

The only possible solutions I see is boarding the Munchkin while you are gone or hiring a professional cat sitter. Most cats don't cope with boarding well. If you do that, get a reference from a good vet or other source that you can trust. Same with a professional cat sitter company. Many of us use professional cat sitters and are very satisfied with them.

They should be bonded and insured, visit the cats and get instructions before you go, be able to give you daily reports by phone or e-mail as well as written reports on the behavior of each cat. They are not so expensive - $16-20 a visit and well worth that for your peace of mind and safeguarding the cats' health. Letting them be mistreated in your absence as you posted will cost lots more in the long run.

I don't really see any alternative if you live with someone who will let the cats starve and you know no one who will help you.

Should you live someplace that doesn't have a pro pet sitter service available, then contact vet offices and see if the vet techs or assistants there will help out (for pay of course). Or the kennel crew of a quality animal shelter may be available for this, if no one else.

Good luck to you and the kitties. I think Munchkins are adorable. I'd love to see pictures.

Robin

The above advice is Fantastic!!! I would go this route myself in your situation. I too would love to see pics of your munchkin My favorite purebreed!
I would recommend scheduled feedings for when you are home/intown. It will help with your munchkin as well as the other kitties and ensure one isn't overeating. 2-3 meals is best because they are smaller portions that each kitty will finish. My Neko gets 2 measured feedings of kibble (mostly because she wakes me up 2x every morning for food) and then 3oz of wet in the evening, which is also split in two since she can't finish a whole can in one sitting. You can get can lids at petco/petsmart for your munchkin's wetfood if she needs more than one serving. Good luck!

oh, one more thing, did you transition your munchkin to buffalo basics from what she was previously eating? if not, that may be the reason for her stomach upset.

That's a tough situation. I'll refrain from commenting on the irresponsibility of your "roommate."

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Yeah, she's...yeah. Put this way...of our collective colony of cats, two of my three are longhairs and VERY heavy shedders...yet the only cat who doesn't get bathed or brushed is her Ragdoll, ergo there's nothing but white hair everywhere. This is hard for me since I'm allergic to cats, and I take measures to make my kitties liveable...I keep them bathed, frequently brushed, and their nails get trimmed often. Her kitty? Is always greasy, never gets brushed except when his matting gets severe, and his nails get trimmed only when they grow into their pads. If I gave him away, I'm sure it'd take a few days for her to even notice.

Right now she has an ultimatum: get help (she's bipolar and ADHD, and blames these problems for her inability to care for her cat, yet she won't get the psychiatric help she needs) or get out. She has three months to start acting like a person or she can find someplace else to live.

</rant> ANYWAYS...

The only possible solutions I see is boarding the Munchkin while you are gone or hiring a professional cat sitter. Most cats don't cope with boarding well. If you do that, get a reference from a good vet or other source that you can trust.

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Actually, I'm sure Ember would cope well with boarding...she loves to go for leash-walks anywhere where it isn't wet (she does not love leash-walks in the rain though) and she adores meeting new people. New places don't freak her out in the least...she's turned into the gem of our salon since she behaves better than most dogs for professional grooming. Right now we're acclimating her to wearing claw caps so that sometime this summer she can begin to do therapy work...she's more outgoing and sweet-natured than any cat I've ever met. The other day at the salon she was accosted by a friend's Pit Bull. Her reaction to a big, strange dog getting in her face in unfamiliar territory was to purr and nuzzle him. She sat there and purred while he licked her head.

Come to think of it, I think my vet does boarding. I may call them in the morning and see if they do and if so, what they charge. They know/love her and I trust them completely.

Good luck to you and the kitties. I think Munchkins are adorable. I'd love to see pictures.

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My camera disappeared when I moved a couple months ago...so right now all the pictures I have of Ember are on my phone. I plan to borrow a friend's camera soon though, since the world needs to see my pretty baby now that her fur has grown in (when I got her she looked pretty rough, had a skin condition, some chronic infections and a lot of hair loss due to a flea allergy...it has taken a couple months to see her well but now she's a real beauty!!!), and I admit I'm absurdly proud of her.

What gets me is that she was in a shelter for over a year, and never got adopted. She's uniquely tempered, will greet anyone as if they are old friends, loves to go out and travel and walk on a leash, and loves all dogs, cats, et cetera. She's fearless and gentle and kind, and beautiful to top it all off, with tiny little legs!!!! Pretty little tortoishell with green eyes too, and nobody wanted her. I'm stunned! Granted she's also hearing impaired (she can hear but not well) and had some health issues the rescue wasn't very up-front about (wouldn't have changed my decision but would have been nice to know beforehand, you know?) but STILL.

I would recommend scheduled feedings for when you are home/intown. It will help with your munchkin as well as the other kitties and ensure one isn't overeating. 2-3 meals is best because they are smaller portions that each kitty will finish. My Neko gets 2 measured feedings of kibble (mostly because she wakes me up 2x every morning for food) and then 3oz of wet in the evening, which is also split in two since she can't finish a whole can in one sitting. You can get can lids at petco/petsmart for your munchkin's wetfood if she needs more than one serving. Good luck!

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Right now Ember, the Munchkin, is on sortof-meals...she has a bowl of dry food available but gets one meal of canned food each night. I'm going to be ratcheting her back to two meals of dry food, one meal of wet food per day, since she's a little bit chunky and I don't want her weight to get too out of control. She's currently ten pounds, and the vet estimates she should be closer to nine pounds, which isn't tremendous (my late kitty, Shadow, once tipped the scales at 23 pounds, and her ideal weight was like 12 pounds...we had a party for her when we got her down to 16, and we never got her any lighter, sadly) but still worth watching.

oh, one more thing, did you transition your munchkin to buffalo basics from what she was previously eating? if not, that may be the reason for her stomach upset.

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The shelter had her on Purina, whatever variety got donated that week, so when I brought her home I bought a bag of that to start her on and began a slow transition to Blue...and the first time I added just a few kibbles of Blue to the Purina, BAM, crazy diarrhea. I backed it off and tried again, and once more. After three tries my vet suggested a "ladder" of food...so we've transitioned from Purina junk to Authority (not great but a bit better than Purina) and we're now beginning transition to Pro Plan. Once she's on Pro Plan and not getting the runs, we'll try and switch her to Blue or to Wellness. Near as the vet and I can figure, she's just sensitive to all the proteins and things...her whole life she's been on junk food while fighting constant infections, so she's not really ready to handle better food. I'm also going to get some of that "missing link" stuff for her, my vet mentioned supplements and some fellow groomers have recommended it too. In the meantime I've been adding a little bit of salmon oil to her canned meals, this seems to really be helping her skin issues and her coat is as glossy as an otter.

Thanks for the advice guys, btw, I really appreciate it!!! Also I'll share pictures once I get a few. I may get adventurous tonight and see if I can't email them to myself from my phone, lol!!!

So you are dealing with someone with a mental illness. That can be very difficult and hard to be patient with them.

But it sounds like you figured out a solution for when you travel. Maybe you can call daily when you travel to see that the other cats are cared for, and board the Muchkin. She sounds like a real doll.

I feel bad for your roommate's cat. Can you intervene so that it gets better care?

I think regular meals, with measured amounts is the best way to go and it is what I do with my cats. I keep to a regular schedule, with very rare deviations. If I do deviate, it's the canned meal that I give early or late because I'll be out at the usual time. So then I leave them extra dry if it will be late. I do a dry meal early in the morning and late at night, and the canned meal 5-6 p.m.

Please do post photos of all your cats. And welcome to tcs!

Robin

So you are dealing with someone with a mental illness. That can be very difficult and hard to be patient with them.

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It has been. It doesn't help that I know several people with similar problems (my closest friend has pretty severe bipolar) and they all cope so well, they get the help they need, be it therapy, medication or both, and then to see my roommate struggle and refuse to help herself or lets others help her...maddening.

But it sounds like you figured out a solution for when you travel. Maybe you can call daily when you travel to see that the other cats are cared for, and board the Muchkin. She sounds like a real doll.

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Sadly my trusted vet doesn't board. Sadface. I've been talking to a "petshotel" a city away...it's an hour drive but would be on the way when I travel. I won't lie, I've also considered getting a mesh divider for the car and a travel litter box, and setting up the backseat with litterbox and a water dish and just taking her with me when I go places. In the meantime I think I'm going to try the "petshotel" in Grand Rapids next time I travel, it isn't cheap but they'll feed her on schedule and she'll have people to play with and snuggle with.

I feel bad for your roommate's cat. Can you intervene so that it gets better care?

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I've been trying. He's not good for his nails trimmed though so I won't do it (I'm allergic, scratches are bad for me) and I already brush my cats to bits, I don't want/need any more brushing. I actually snapped at her not long ago about his fur, and made her pet my cats, then pet HER cat. When you run a hand down my cat's backs, you might get a shed hair or two if they are "between" brushings but you never get a handful of hair. So much as TOUCH her cat and you get a whole fistful of undercoat. She actually seemed pretty horrified to realize that he's got that much impacted hair. She was also shocked that my shorthaired kitty gets brushed at least weekly if not daily, since she assumed short coats never need brushing. She's been trying to get him under control for the last day or two but there's just so much built-up coat to brush out, and he's so unaccustomed to it.

I think regular meals, with measured amounts is the best way to go and it is what I do with my cats. I keep to a regular schedule, with very rare deviations. If I do deviate, it's the canned meal that I give early or late because I'll be out at the usual time. So then I leave them extra dry if it will be late. I do a dry meal early in the morning and late at night, and the canned meal 5-6 p.m.

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Ember is now on meals, and I'm working with the other kitties. My Persian Yvaine is a finicky though, she isn't "into" food and won't eat if she isn't in the mood, and greedy jerkface Merlot will gladly gobble up her meal if she isn't done before he is. I'm juggling space now...who gets to be shut in what room to eat when. XD It's a little complicated but slowly working itself out.

Ember is doing WONDERFULLY on her meal plan, by the way. Her energy is higher and higher, and she just seems happier. Earlier tonight she spent almost half an hour at the local PetSMART, working on her leash manners. Nothing like having a cat who's got better leash manners than most dogs! She was just truckin' along, I'm so proud of her. I'm also amazed at how sleek she's getting!

Please do post photos of all your cats. And welcome to tcs!

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I've a friend arriving tomorrow who has a camera, we'll have a little "photo shoot" of my kitties, hopefully I'll have them online soon!