Feeding 3 Cats

sonnyvincent

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I have 3 male cats, Sonny (almost 14), Max (almost 6), and Roman (almost 2). Sonny and Max are on the bigger side; Sonny is 17 lbs and my guess is Max is between 15-16 lbs. Then we have Roman, who is smaller at his age than any male cat I've had (he is neutered but did not gain much weight after he was neutered). I'm trying to develop better eating habits for the cats. Sonny has been free-fed since 7-8 weeks old and has always been pretty solid. In the last few years he's gotten a bigger tummy, I guess because he's less active. I'm not sure about Max, except that he was the same size when I got him 1.5 years ago, so maybe he was also free fed in his last homes. Roman has also been free fed since we got him (probably way too young, he could not have been much older than 5 or 6 weeks). All my boys are neutered and indoor only cats.

Anyway, when Sonny was diagnosed with asthma in November the vet suggested I stop free feeding and instead feed once per day, which I have done. Sonny has only lost .4 lb but I guess that's better than gaining especially since he's on prednisolone which increases appetite. My concern is that Roman doesn't seem to be getting any bigger, and I'm not sure if he just seems small since Max and Sonny are so huge, or if he's just petite, or if he's not getting enough to eat for his age since I've cut back.

They share around 1 3/4 cup of dry food each day and one 5.5 oz of wet food each day. Sonny gets done the quickest usually with the wet food, while Max takes his time. Max is fed separately because he refuses to eat alongside the other cats. Sonny and Roman share a bowl but since Sonny is done first and Roman stays to finish I assume Roman gets at least his half.

Any suggestions on what I can do differently? How much weight should Sonny and Max be losing to become healthier but not lose weight too quickly? I've seen much fatter cats and I know that's no excuse but except for Sonny's stomach area which has only been a problem the last couple years, he's pretty solid. Max has thicker hair but he's pretty solid too and his stomach is not as round as Sonny's. Roman is just plain petite.


Sonny (almost 14 years old & 17 pounds)


Max (almost 6 years old and estimated between 15-16 lbs).  He and Sonny seem similar in size but Max's hair is thicker and stomach area smaller.


Roman (almost 2, unsure of weight). On the petite side for a male but not necessarily too "skinny".


Roman next to Sonny. He seems half Sonny's size.
 

jmc1023

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I have two male kitties and they are still young but one finicky eater. He maxed out at 9lbs and my vet said that was his perfect weight. I think your vet can tell you about where they need to be weight wise. I think also feeding them all separately so you can see how much each is eating would ease your mind. I know when i got my 2nd cat, I had one finicky eater and one pig. To make sure my finicky eater is getting enough, they do not share bowls. My pig was a hog and my finicky eater was passive and would just let him eat all the food. I tried to feed them in separate rooms but then neither of them eat and just try to find each other. Hope that helps a little!
 

pisces7386

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I'm not sure if this will really help you ... but I'll toss an idea out there.

We have three cats which we feed three times a day; breakfast, dinner, and bedtime snack (I think they would be just fine with only two meals a day). They each have their own bowl and we have trained them to only eat out of their own bowl... As long as we hang around in the kitchen while they eat they don't even bother looking at each other's dishes. It makes it really easy to control how much each cat eats or to feed them different diets or medications. The problem I envision for you is that your cats are much older then mine and not be interested in learning new dining habits (ours were all under a year when we taught them).  I'm also not sure how it would work with one of your cats taking longer to eat; we put the dishes down, they eat, they walk away from empty bowls.. the whole process takes about 5 minutes.  If one cat is taking significantly longer you may have a hard time supervising meals. 

If you want to try it- We picked one spot in the kitchen for each cat to eat, that is their spot and the other cats never get food or treats in another cat's spot. We literally sat  on the floor an pushed them pack to their dishes whenever they wanted to wander.  At one point we had to set up board to block one cat from being able to see the other bowls (he was being distracted). We did this for every meal for a few weeks. eventually they learned that they eat the food in their spot only... but they would still try to eat someone else's after they finished theirs. So then we stood there and watched them eat and stopped them from going towards other dishes after they finished theirs.  That took a few weeks also. Now we just need to be in the area (just walking around making our breakfast or dinner) and they are fine. Sometimes they watch someone else finish and then leave the room with them. If we leave the room completely the younger two will try to steal from mom's dish.  

Good Luck and let me know if you have any questions. 
 

ldg

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Cats naturally eat a number of small meals over the course of the day. Once a day is not an appropriate way to feed a cat, I'm sorry, but your vet is misinformed. http://catcentric.org/care-and-health/how-often-should-you-feed-your-cat/

As to weight loss, the only way to manage it is to calculate calories, and slowly reduce. This thread tracks a foster kitty that went from 27 pounds to ... 17 pounds over the course of a year: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/245236/mickey-my-27-lbs-foster-and-his-journey-back-to-a-healthy-weight

You're already gotten good advice on how to manage meals, but perhaps this article will additionally be of assistance. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals
 

cprcheetah

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Definitely feed more often as mentioned above, I feed my cats twice a day, but they also gets extra treats in between feedings.  I have 6 cats and feed in separate areas of the house and portion feed for each cats ideal weight.  I feed canned to 2 of them and raw to the other 4 of them.  Your vet should be able to give you an idea on an ideal weight for your cat.  My Munchie was 17# last year and I have gotten him down to 12# which is his ideal weight.  I switched him to raw from canned food and fed him based on wanting him to lose weight.  Figure out how many calories your cats should have and feed accordingly.  Personally I would ditch the dry food, cats are desert animals and need moisture in their diet.  Canned food or raw is best as they provide the moisture that cats require in their diets.    My cats vary in weight from 6# to 12#, so I feed based on their ideal weight, I still have one cat who is a 'chunky monkey' so she is on a diet.  This is an excellent article that talks about the different food types: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat
 
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