I rescued a kitten (5 weeks old) who had been living outside in my neighborhood. After a week at the vet's, I brought into my home with my other three adult cats. So far, all is going pretty good (down to hissing only once a day
), but my problem is that the kitten is EXTREMELY food aggressive. She bites me every time I feed her, growls and hunkers down and attacks the other cats physically if they get in her way. If she is done eating, and they still have food left over on their plates, she will clean their plates as well. My cats are very well mannered, are slim and trim and I'm afraid her behavior will make them eat faster, or more than they actually want. They are intimidated by her which gets me upset. To make matters worse, she will jump on the kitchen table and take food right off my plate if I don't catch her quick enough. I've been feeding them all on individual plates, and tried both feeding them at different times during the day and/or just leaving the food out all day long. Neither calms her food aggression. I've only had her 8 days. Will she get over the food aggression? The vet says she was on the brink of starvation when I brought her in. (She was stuck in a neighbor's car engine and I believe she was separated from her mom.) Should I leave food out all day (and risk getting my other cats fat) or just stick to the schedule of feeding her twice a day like my grown cats? I also don't want her to become overweight, but I've heard that kittens have to eat more than adults. I've only rescued adult cats and do not know how to handle a kitten. My cats are so well trained and I'd hate to see their behavior change for the worse. AND, of course, I do not like to get bitten every day. (She actually sinks her teeth into me and doesn't let go!!!!
)
Thanks in advance!!!!
Thanks in advance!!!!