Feral cats and food issues

I did not know what to put in the title but I feed 5 semi feral cats and a neighbors cat. I used to give them in the mornings their own individual dish with dry and a little canned on top. In the evenings they got just dry food. Several months ago I wanted to cut down on dry and give them more canned food. I now give them individual dishes for both morning and evening a little dry with more canned food on top. Four of them are a mother and her 3 daughters. The mama cat eats very slow and her daughters inhale the food and then push mama cat away from her dish and start eating it. She has not gotten to finish her food for a few months now. When I was feeding just dry food she would nip at their ears when they came to her dish but now as soon as one of them walks towards her she runs, like she is afraid of them.

What would cause her to run from them and not bite at them so she can eat her portion of food? They all are very fat cats and I'm trying to get them to lose a little by cutting back on the dry food but they are getting more canned so it's not like I am starving them. I only have a problem with two of her daughters that inhale the food like they haven't eaten for days and then move on to mama's dish.

I have tried stopping them but when I open the door Mama cat won't come back to her dish because I'm out there and the girls still get the food. The other day I wanted to see what would happen if I only gave dry and because they eat slower with dry, mama cat got to eat all her food. I know canned is better for them but I feel bad that mama cat does not get to eat much.......any advice on this?

Mama cat has a couple of obvious food aggressive kids.

First of all if they are approx 5 months old and older, she no longer sees them as her kids, but as food aggressive female cats.

This will cause her to back off to allow them to eat her food.

PLUS, mama may not be as thrilled with canned if she wasn't exposed to it as a younger cat/kitten.

Some cats have a real lack of interest and enthusiasm with canned if they don't see it as the special food/treat food that younger cats easily adapt to.

It's sort of conditioning.

Like an example I have observed is, I do tnr work often, and most of the time I trap very successfully with tuna. But once in a while, I watch as the cat shows no interest in the tuna at all. Then I will try again but with dry food mixed with some canned and whoop, no hesitation there.

Which leads me to think that maybe lack of exposure to tuna. (??)

I hope you are planning on getting them fixed. Your little group will surely multiply

Mama cat is 5 !/2 years old and the daughters are 4 years old. I have been feeding mama cat since I noticed her as a tiny kitten coming out from under my neighbors porch in 2008. She had her first litter in May 2009 and then another littler in August 2009, a few months later. I was able to capture the six from the second litter and found homes. I didn't know anything about TNR until after she had her second littler. They are all spayed and have always been fed by me with dry and canned in the mornings and dry food in the evening. Just recently started giving more canned and less dry. It's only been the last couple of months that mama cat won't fight for her food. Like I said she used to nip their ears when they tried to eat out of her dish. Mama cat likes the food she just likes to eat very slow and she licks the food where the daughter take big bites and swallow so they are done in seconds.

I think for a while I will just give dry in the evenings because again this morning she was pushed away from her dish. The daughters want the wet food and will do anything to get it.

Thanks

I feed 2 and sometimes 3 feral/semi ferals.  I have 2 that are huge aggressive eaters.  My Shadow is a very slow eater and is always pushed away from his food.  The only solution I see is that Shadow hangs around on my deck most of the day so I keep dry food out for him all day.  This way he can eat when the others are not around.  When it is really cold outside and I worry that he is not getting enough, I have to go outside and keep the aggressive eaters away.