two cats, two food types????

hi! i am new to this site and have a behavior question. heres' the background.........

we have a 2-yr old cat named caspian. he is very, very big. 20 pounds. we don't feed him excessively.........really only 1 cup of the weight control iams food every day (1/2 c, 2x.day). we usually leave his food bowl out for him during the day and it is rarely empty. he is strictly an indoor cat.

we just got a little, 3-month old kitten named kaibab. we bought the iams kitten food for him. but i can't get the cats to eat their own foods!! each eats the others'!

i have now blocked caspian out of the room where the kitten's food is, but i can't block the kitten out of anywhere, because that will also limit caspian's access.

i really don't want caspian eating the kitten food, coz he'll just gain a ton of weight. is it bad for the kitten to eat adult cat food? what if we went out and got just regular adult cat food for caspian? (since he's not going to get all of it, he's still on a diet!) would it be okay for the kitten to eat that? will he get his necessary nutrients???

thanks for your help!
evi

I read some where on here to take a box and cut a whole just big enough for the kitten, and put the food in there. that way the big cat can't get it.

A 2 year old at 20 pounds is quite a large cat. Have you had Caspian out to the vet to be checked for diabetes, or thyroid problems? That would be my first thought.

If you have a cat condo, start feeding Caspian on the top of it, to make him at least climb and exercise to get to his food. If you are feeding table scraps that is not a good idea either. Although I don't get the sense you are from your posting. It isn't bad for the kitten to eat adult food occassionally, but the kitten needs the kitten food as well.

hi!

yes, caspy is large, but his vet does not seem perturbed by this, and he is still very active, especially now that he has a little friend to rassle with.

yes, we can block caspian away from the kittens food, and have done so.

but we can't block the kitten from caspys food. anywhere caspy can go, the kitten can go, too.

i think we will get some kitten wet food, to try to induce the kitty to eat more of his own food. maybe then he won't want caspy's so much!

and no, the cats do not get table scraps, aside from the occasional crumb of cheese or whatnot. but it's iams cat food all the way with those guys!

thanks!
evi

Hi! We have four cats and one kitten here. We had the same problem - and one of our cats is on a special diet and CAN NOT eat the food of the other cats.

Our solution was to stop free-feeding the cats. All of them. I work from home so I can give them three meals a day, and I give the kitten extra nibbles when she wants them. I feed her in a separate area altogether, because if I put her bowl down with the other cats' food, they switch bowls.

We did get a box and cut a hole in it that (we thought) only she could get through. This worked for about two days, until the cat who cannot eat other food managed to wiggle his way in there. He couldn't wiggle out, however. But our guy only weighs 8 pounds to begin with - with a 20 pound cat, you shouldn't have this problem.

I would recommend buying a plastic container of some type, however, instead of using a cardboard box. If your 20 pound kitty wants in a cardboard box, he'll get in there! Walmart carries all kinds of rubbermaid type boxes. Buy one big enough for a bowl and a kitten - and big enough that Caspian can't reach his paw into and grab at the bowl. Figure he'll be able to get in the hole all the way up to his shoulder.

Cut a small hole near the edge of the box to make it harder for Caspian to reach in there and fish around. If he can reach the bowl, he'll be able to knock it over or around and probably fish some of the kibble out of there. Having the top that pops off makes it easy to refill kitty's bowl. And just cut a hole large enough for the kitten to get into. Start with a hole just a few inches square. They can wiggle in really small places! If she has trouble, enlarge it JUST A LITTLE BIT. Show her that food is in there, and she'll know what to do from there! Just make sure you keep the bowl full. Kittens DO like to nibble! You may have to enlarge the hole as she grows. Just keep it as small as you can so she can get in and out with relative comfort.

Plus she'll have a place to hide from Caspian, and from which to launch attacks on Caspian! While we had the box our kitten had GREAT fun teasing the other cats from inside of it!

thanks everyone!

right now, we are feeding the kitten in a spare bathroom, and have restricted the larger pets from that room with a babygate. this works great, until we have a guest come to visit who needs to use that bathroom!! (my mom is coming in 2 wks!)

your elaborate description of the kitten box is very good, and you seem to know caspian very well.

i don't work from home (yet!), so can't supervise them that closely throughout the day, usually. but we are not going to take caspys food away. i think we'll get him the regular adult iams kibble, and get the kitty some kitty wet food. my hope here is that 1)the kitten won't be so hungry, and 2) caspy won't get all the food we put out anyway since the kitty will nibble on his kibble.

thanks for your help everyone! oh, btw, there is a picture of caspy and kaibab in the new kittens thread.
evi

You know I really wonder about this kitten food adult food issue. The only real difference is the kitten formula has a little more protein, and alittle more fat in it. I was in he same boat with my Ragdoll when I got her at 12 weeks old. I just solved it by finding dry premium foods that were formulated for "all life stages" Here is what I have been feeding my 3 cats for the last nine months daily Chicken Soup (all stages) Solid Gold (all stages) Fosters and Smith dry (adult) and Wellness Salmon Turkey and Herring formula (adult) All foods are dry..I do not feed wet food at all. It is not good for the cats teeth. I mix the different foods together for complete nutrition. My kitten just turned 1 year old last week. She just weighed in at the vet yesterday at 10.1 pounds. All foods are eaten about the same. My three cats all have beautiful coats..and nobody is over or under weight. All stools are firm, and I hardly ever get puke on the rug unless it is a hair ball. Just my 3 cents worth.