Feeding aggression behavior!!

Ok i have two 4mth old kitties. Feeding time is driving me nuts lol. We have learned that they need to be locked in a room till the food is warm and served, if not they jump wherever the food is and gets it or they climb ur legs(which hurts alot). So i just put them away till im done. But once i let them out its so hard to put down the food bc they attack the plates while im putting it down causing me to spill food everywere They eat out of 2 separate dishes on different sides of the kitchen, so as of now i pick up the less aggresive kitty and put down the aggressive ones food then i put down the others food. But that wont work once they get bigger and older.

Any suggestions on how to make feeding time better? The aggressive one also growls alot while the food is out. Any other time no growling from either one of them.

Sounds to me like they are very hungry! And worried that they might not get enough food, especially if the other one is eating right next to them.

You are on the right track in feeding them on opposite sides of the room. Good way to avoid some fights!

My suggestion would be to leave them a dish of dry food that they can access all day long. It's very rare for cats to overeat when there is an abundance of food. They will usually just eat until they are full!

I'm interested to see what advice others give. Good luck!

im just not sure they are starving hungry, they eat almost 9 ozs of raw a day. 3 ozs 3 times a day. They are gaining weight good. I just up'ed their food amount, i dont want to over feed Also they are always beggin for our food, even if i feed them first, they want what im eating, thats when i have to lock myself in the room and i have to lock them in a room when my kids eat at the table.

They dont eat dry food, just the raw i feed them.

But once i let them out its so hard to put down the food bc they attack the plates while im putting it down causing me to spill food everywere

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Put down the food dishes before you open the door and let them in?

I'm having similar problems with my youngest cat. We also feed raw, and ever since the switch he's been CRAZY about his food. I know I'm feeding them both plenty, but he will growl and hiss and practically inhale his food now, the instant the bowl touches the floor.

I've begun feeding my cats in seperate rooms, which seems to calm him down a bit.

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Put down the food dishes before you open the door and let them in?

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Ive tried putting it down b4 but the both of them will go straight to the 1st bowl they see and i have to pull one away to get him to his bowl.

I want to feed in separate but the whole house is carpeted except the kitchen floor and they are messy lol. Might try to put something down so food wont get on my carpet. I'll try this and see how it works.

Originally Posted by Southernlocs

Ive tried putting it down b4 but the both of them will go straight to the 1st bowl they see and i have to pull one away to get him to his bowl.

I want to feed in separate but the whole house is carpeted except the kitchen floor and they are messy lol. Might try to put something down so food wont get on my carpet. I'll try this and see how it works.

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Is your bathroom carpeted?

I have to carry my "over-zealous" one while I put the other in the library to feed (the only room on the main floor I can close off...) then take him back to the kitchen and put him down to eat his meal. It's not easy. He certainly struggles to get to her food, but I just hang onto him at least until the door is closed.

You could always put a towel down under their dish(es) to keep the mess contained.

Ive tried putting it down b4 but the both of them will go straight to the 1st bowl they see and i have to pull one away to get him to his bowl.

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I set down three bowls for three kitties.
They all run to one bowl and eat all of that one, then they all move to another, and so on. On the rare occasion that they arrive at separate bowls, they invariably play musical chairs with them before the meal is over.

I just let them have at it. They'll work it out.

I might just let them have at it, but i was scared that one of them wouldnt get enough to eat. i put down equal amts, and when they eat from their own plates i know how much they are eating lol. Gosh i'll have to figure something out

As far as the begging goes mine unfortunately do this. I feed meals of canned and free feed dry so they aren't hungry. It doesn't work for them, I never give them anything, but they still do it.

I free feed dry, so I don't have that problem. I know you want to feed raw for the health reasons, but I wonder if you kept a bowl of dry available if it would take away that urgency for the kittens.

There was a time when I was fostering a feralish girl, and controlled the food so she would have to be near me to eat. It made Garfield into a crazy man, as if he were starving, although he could eat as much as he wanted twice a day!

It seemed there was no solution except being sure he had as much food available as he wanted. I would guess that if you leave dry down, they won't eat it anyways, because the raw diet tastes so much better. To ensure this, I recommend Science Diet. My barn cats would rather feed themselves than eat Science Diet! LOL! Talk about a raw diet!

Well i put down both bowls and let them go at it lol. they went to one bowl first then the less aggressive one went to his own bowl, and they finished off the food.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!! I still need to work on their begging though

I was thinking of you yesterday while browsing through my copy of Cat vs. Cat. It reminded me that often feeding aggression is related to the amount of food available, in that the more they perceive food being hard to come by the more likely they are to fight over it.

I know that you have solved your problem, but it might be something to keep in the back of your mind. If the aggression returns maybe keeping a dish of dry out would help them know that food is always going to be there?

As I am a raw feeder myself I also understand that you might be reluctant to use a processed food- I fought it as well. Then I heard about Innova EVO, read the label, and now I keep it down overnight and just take it up 2-3 hours before a raw feeding.

The raw diet I use doesn't have much in the way of fiber, so maybe the feeling of "being full" doesn't carry them from one meal to the next, especially with growing youngsters? Also- if left to themselves mine will eat a mouthful of food every hour or so, so maybe two raw feedings per day just isn't satisfying even though it is providing sufficient calories? Keeping a bowl of dry down addresses both the fiber and grazing problems, plus doing so overnight eliminates those early morning wakeup calls.

I'm just thinking out loud here- you'll figure it all out!

I think its just the way they are lol, even when i first got them they were on the dry the breeder sent with them and they still acted the same way, and i left it out so they could graze on it lol. There was only about 2-4 days i couldnt feed 3 servings bc of school, but i feed them in the morning and right b4 i leave for school and at night. Im gonna think about the dry and see how that goes.