Cats and kittens sharing food

[jumperdog]

Hello! I am wondering if anyone can give me some advice to help my cat and new kitten ensure they're eating properly.

I've recently brought home a new kitten, who is 13 weeks. Introductions have gone well and she's rapidly becoming firm friends with my resident cat, who's 19 months. They play together and have started sleeping together too. It's been about a week and a half since we brought her home, so early days.

I'd like them to eat in the same room if possible, just because it's easier, and so I've had a go at just popping their food bowls down a few meters apart. As seems to often be the case, they just go straight for each other's food. Big cat is obsessed with her kitten food and vice versa.

I am wondering what my best call is here if I want them to eat together - should I just allow this to happen? I am worried about big cat getting overweight and kitten not getting the nourishment she needs. If I should be keeping them away from each other's food, does anyone have advice on getting them to eat from the correct bowl? I tried swapping the positions over but they got wise pretty quick! Many thanks in advance.

 

[BNE]

If you're willing to cough up a bit of cash, I think a Microchip pet feeder might serve you well. The one in the link is just one from my local pet store, but if you type it into google you should find something.

Best of luck!

 

[LTS3]

You may need to feed the cats in separate rooms for now. The kitten needs food available pretty much all the time. Maybe feed mostly kitten canned food at scheduled times but leave out some "all life stages" dry food for snacking on. The adult cat can also eat "all life stages" food. You may need to reduce the adult cat's regular food a little to take into account any of the kitten's food he eats and prevent weight gain. Does the adult cat eat dry food or canned food?

This is the link to the microchip feeder. It may be available in other countries. The kitten would need to be microchipped in order for such a feeder to work. I think the feeder can be programmed so if the adult cat has a microchip, he can't access the feeder.

The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder from Sure Petcare

A cat feeder that will only open for the right cat’s microchip to stop other pets stealing their food. Stop pets overeating and keep prescription food separate.

www.surepetcare.com