My 8month old kitten has started eating all his own food and then moving on to finish his sisters. Sometimes he pushes her away. We didnt realise for a while this was happening. Once we realised we moved her foodbowl away and up onto the counter where his stubby legs couldnt reach - he would finish his own and seem quite content. I can only assume he was wating hers as it was in sight?? However....today he has finally managed to find her food on the counter and finish it off again. Is his food maybe not satisfying him? He has a pouch in the AM biscuits all day and a pouch in the PM. Does he need more? Will it stop him taking hers?
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Kitten eating all his and sisters food
- Thread starter cleo1209
- Start Date
It's worth a try, giving him a little more than usual. Maybe he needs more than she does.
My big boy eats more than my female. He is twice her size, I feed them in separate rooms, I then let him out of room after one hour, then if she left any wet food , I let him eat it. They eat constantly as kittens.
I agree, particularly since kittens need to eat a lot to support their growth and frenetic behavior! The general advice on feeding kittens is usually to feed them as much as they'll eat, though there may be exceptions. For example, if your food-raiding kitten is gaining too much weight. Does he look too heavy?
A lot, too, depends on what you're feeding: some pouch foods are low-calorie (and/or high-carb) so might not completely sate a hungry kitten.
All that said, it may also be a good idea to keep the two separated, with one behind a closed door, when they eat their wet food. We have to do that with our two cats (they're now young adults, ha!) for certain meals because one tends to horn in on her sister's food.
bonepicker's post popped up as I was about to post... this is pretty much what we do with our two, too, except the time limit is usually more like a half-hour. In the end, the piggier cat is happy to just clean up the edge's of her sister's bowl.
Good luck, these feeding problems can be a bit vexing!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #5
Hi all. He is bigger than her considering hes younger by 3 months but is bang on ideal weight. Very active! She does tend to eat half walk away and then come back about half hour or so later but looks dismayed when hes eaten it. Like i said we got away with it for a while when he couldnt reach the counter. They are both very active but the amount she eats seems to satisfy her! Neither are underfed or overweight do i think we just need to give him a tad more......
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
Yes, if his weight is just right it sounds like a little more food might do the trick. Your female's eating habits sound like our Ireland's: she eats a mouthful, stares off into space, eats a mouthful, walks away... She's the one we have to shut in a room so her piglet sister doesn't finish her food.
Good luck and let us know what happens!
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We have this issue too. I have a brother and sister pair and the brother, Pepper, likes to finish his sister, Pickle's, share. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Pickles likes to nibble. When she is super hungry she will shove for her share but she is also easily distracted and will leave her dish to inspect every sound. I try to keep Pepper from her share but it's tough.
