Hi all,
We adopted a 4 year old torti a few weeks ago. She is WONDERFUL! As WONDERFUL and different as our Russion Blue we adopted 4 years ago......
Anyway, the only issue that has come up is the older cat is okay with free feeding and doesn't overeat. New kitty eats her food, all that is out for the other cat if she can. I've been feeding the new kitty 4-5 times a day in hopes she can get used to the fact food will be around at frequent intervals. We put her in a seperate room at night so the old kitty has access to her food like she is used to at night. During the day I take the older cats food in and out as she indicates she wants it but she certainly is a grazer and I spend a lot of time doing this.
I'm wondering if there's any hope the new kitty will ever be able to self regulate? Will I have to change the habits of the old kitty and start feeding her at set times? This is going to be hard because she just doesn't eat much at a time. Any tricks or tips for either cat or sitaution? Want to come to a routine that is manageable.
I think a schedule is going to work best. Thanks for all the input. Maybe she will calm down about it and things will change as they have for some of you. I like your idea Riley, I will give it some thought. Thanks everyone!
I have a dog who does that because she was a stray and alone for a long time. We've had her five years and she still eats like there is no tomorrow when food is down.
I feed them twice a day. Then take the food that is not eaten. My other two dogs have had to learn, they were grazers.
Try getting both kitties on a schedule.
My kitties are all grazers.
Has she been checked for diabetes? I had a cat (calico) that was rescued and she was an over-eater because she had diabetes. We had another cat who ate normally, but also would find her food gone. We had to keep the food dishes separated and the rooms they were in closed so the over eater couldn't go crazy. She needed to be put on a special diet and watched very carefully. She lived to be about 10, but despite managing her diet, died from the diabetes.
our kitten that we saved from the neighbor was a holy heck of an eater. That kitten was barely 7 weeks old and he would eat till he puked. He didnt even chew, he scarfed. We didnt have any other pets at the time we got him, so he wasnt in competition. We tried breaking it up, and then he broke into the bag. We put that in a container, and then he started after the kids food. Especially breakfast cereal. He also never seemed to get fat either. He was checked for everything, and we finally just chalked it up to being a big eater. We finally had to limit him to 2 daily feedings and we put raw meat in his food as well (vet recommended raw diet) once he started eating almost complete meat, he slowed down. Though he was never late for a meal, and if I was, I paid with a serenade of yowls that hurt to hear.
Going to have to separate the cats for now, feed at set times a day. Your grazer will get used to it, and benefit as well.
My cat was a grazer and hunter
My sister's cat would eat everything, including everyone else's (but would never mouse, bird, bat, bug... he only ate food that was already dead. Even if he killed something on accident he just looked at it helplessly. Like a kid with a broken toy). He'd eat, and eat, and Eat till he made himself sick. (My dog does this now, I'm convinced it's karma, because I looked down my nose at my sister for her cat's behavior! Ouch. Thanks karma.)
They each lived nearly 20 years... and no change in either of their habits.
One idea, which we didn't do, (because I just thought of it)... are those magnetic collars that open cat doors. If you had a room with food in it for older kitty, and her collar opened the door, it would be a retreat, and you could just leave her food down on the floor for her. Of course, she might let Jr. in. But it's the only way I can think of to leave food out and not have it be scarfed by the wrong cat or be bouncer/maitre de feline
I have similar circumstances - one cat who would be happy to eat only when hungry, and one cat who would weigh 100 lbs. if I left food out for her. I found that it was easier to switch the grazer over to eating twice a day than it was to figure out how to get the over-eater to stop eating.
If you feed them 2-3 times a day, and maybe include some yummy wet food for awhile, your grazer will get the idea that there are new, set feeding times. My grazer now loves feeding time as much as my over-eater, and always shows up at my feet when she knows it's time to eat.
Just be sure to feed them with separate bowls so your grazer gets enough to eat. Your over-eater will learn quickly that she doesn't get to have what's in the grazers bowl until the grazer is done eating.
Good luck!
I really don't know the answer, but I took in a stray torti many years ago. She was starving when I found her and ate everything in site for months, including the other cats' food. They were older so I didn't want to change their feeding schedule and figured I'd wait awhile to see if it continued to be a problem. I'd usually find the bowl empty, and before refilling, would put the newbie in a room for a few minutes while the other cats ate, then let her loose. She figured it out, but not before gaining a lot of weight! She's back to healthy now, and she did it all by herself. So there is hope!
Don't put the food out for grazing for either cat. Twice a day feedings are recommended anyways, unless the cat is on a special dietary food plan. Your self fed cat will get used to it. You may have to feed them in separate rooms, but I would try and do it around the same time every day. We fed our cats when we ate.
If she's come from a background where she's been hungry then no she'll probably always be a little nutty with food. I foster for a local rescue group and I've found that cats and kittens that have been hungry seem to settle a little as time goes on but they still tend to eat like there's no tomorrow as soon as that food bowl comes out. I've got a Maine Coon mix who would eat 24/7 if he could.
I'd say to get your older cat on an schedule where you are feeding twice a day; period. Or you can get a feeding ball for the new cat where she has to bat it around to get the food out. It'll keep her occupied and slow her down.
