ok, I want another cat but what about food?

chichi

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I just wanted to ask your opinions, I used to have 2 cats before and I constantly had a problem with one of them having increased apetite and the other one not eating well. The first kitty ate all the food for both sometimes.

Now I just have Chichi and contemplating about getting another cat. But what Chichi likes to do is not eat her food right away but save it up to snack on throughout the day. I think my first cat was trying to do that as well but she couldn't since her food was all finished up right away by her friend. And she constantly asked for more food, if I give it to her, she woudn't eat it and let him eat it all. If I get another kitty boy who's probably gonna eat a lot more, I'm afraid I'll have the same story over again. How would I be sure they both eat as much as they need to?
 

sharky

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two good size bowls ... serperate eating area s...that is all I can help with
 

musicteacher

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Originally Posted by sharky

two good size bowls ... serperate eating area s...that is all I can help with
That's probably the best you can do. Try asking your vet. They often have valuable insights into behavior. I have a male and female cat, and have never had a problem with one eating all the food and the other not getting any. They are both pickers and will eat little bits of food throughout the day. I put one cup of food down for each and there is usually food left in the bowls when I feed them again in the morning. Maybe you can keep your cats separate when you are not home to supervise, until the they each learn which bowl is theirs.
 

cloud_shade

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If you end up getting a larger cat, you could make a box with a hole just large enough for Chichi to slip through. Do you have a kitty in mind? You might talk to the people you're thinking of adopting from and see if their cat is like Chichi.
 

rosehawke

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There is a solution to feeding different cats different amounts/formulas/whatever depending on how much money you can/want to spend and how much room you have. Somewhere online (probably from a link somewhere on TCS) there is a device which is basically a very large pet carrier with a programmable door like a cat flap. It's locked except when a cat wearing a collar with the proper electronic "key" approaches it. It's quite pricey however, I seem to remember in excess of $200USD. It's chief allure was that you could have several and key each device to a different cat/animal.

However, somewhat less expensive if you've only got one pet you need to make special arrangements for (or for instance you want to have the cats to have access but deny the dog or vice versa) is to get a large carrier and jury rig a door in which you can install one of the magnetically controlled cat-flaps. The cat wears its "key" on its collar and only it has access.

Electromagnetic Cat Flap
 

semiferal

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Most cats do fine with free feeding. You can adopt a cat from a foster-based rescue group and specifically say that the cat you adopt needs to be good about not overeating when food is available 24/7. They should be able to tell you who is good with this.
 
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