Feeding Cats and Kittens Together?

[suddenlyseymour]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here. My name is Kelsey, and I have two cats--three-year-old Seymour and 12-week-old Oxford. Seymour has always been a free fed, so when I brought Oxford home, I let him free feed (kitten food) as well. I read here that is suggested with kittens. I haven't been supplementing with wet food. But the problem is that the boys like each other's food better than their own. When Seymour eats kitten food, it (understandably) does not agree with him, and I'm worried that Oxford isn't getting enough nutrition. He's growing, but is still bony.

I started feeding them 2x/day in separate rooms, but I don't know that Oxford is getting enough to eat. He's on Purina Kitten Chow, nor great, I know, and I've been giving him about 2/3 cup total, though there is always leftovers in the bowl.

Frankly, this system isn't working well for us, but I'm not sure what to do. It's been a while since I've had a kitten!

Any and all advice is welcomed!

 

[suddenlyseymour]

I'm not sure how to edit my post, but I wanted to add that the vet told me Seymour could stand to lose about a pound. He's a DSH--big boned, but weighs about 12 pounds. A lot of times though, he won't eat his food at his "meal time." I put food out for the boys about thirty minutes ago (they haven't eaten since last night) and he hasn't eaten much. I imagine he's not thrilled with this change in his routine, which I feel bad about. 

 

[fhicat]

 
A lot of times though, he won't eat his food at his "meal time." I put food out for the boys about thirty minutes ago (they haven't eaten since last night) and he hasn't eaten much. I imagine he's not thrilled with this change in his routine, which I feel bad about. 

Cats usually don't like changes in routine, but you must be consistent and patient. Put food out for some time, then take it away after X minutes (30 minutes is good, 1 hour is okay too for wet food if you want to go that route). Once you do this consistently, Seymour would realize that it's now mealtimes. It will take awhile though, since he's been free fed for a long time.

Be careful not to starve him, though. If he hasn't eaten in, say, 12 hours, leave it out till he eats then try again the next day. 

As for Oxford, kittens do need lots of food, sometimes twice what adults eat. Can you put Oxford's food somewhere that Seymour either can't reach, or doesn't know about? Like above the kitchen cabinets. 

 

[suddenlyseymour]

As for Oxford, kittens do need lots of food, sometimes twice what adults eat. Can you put Oxford's food somewhere that Seymour either can't reach, or doesn't know about? Like above the kitchen cabinets. 

He's still super wobbly. I feed him on the bathroom counter and he still can't jump up without assistance. I taught him to jump onto the litter box lid and then to the sink, but sometimes it takes a few tries.

I know Seymour won't starve himself, and he seems to understand that food is only out in the morning and at night. He was such a trooper in welcoming Oxford (they were cleaning each other within an hour! And now they snuggle all. the. time.) that I really hate to disrupt his routine so much. Its just doubly frustrating because it isnt solving all the problems.

How bad would it be to feed Oxford adult food so they can both free feed, and then supplement with kitten food and/or wet food?

 

[fhicat]

Sorry, I didn't mean let him jump all the way up to the cabinets, but carry him and place him up there whenever he's hungry and asks for food.

As for adult/kitten food, I think that's more of a marketing thing than actual difference. Kitten food is denser in nutrient than adult food. I don't have any scientific basis to back this up though, but I don't think a kitten will be harmed by eating adult cat food. They may eat more of the adult cat food since the nutrient is less dense or "rich" than kitten food, but I don't think anything is *missing* from adult food that would be detrimental to kittens.

That's my long winded way of saying, yes they should be fine sharing the adult food, and then you can give Oxford some kitten food on the side.