Dining problem w/two cats - kind of lengthy, sorry

OK, long story - trying to make shorter. Rexie, male neutered Siamese, 3 yrs
old, had since 3.5 weeks old, spoiled rotten - only 'child'.

I find a stray female this summer, starving and so dehydrated she couldn't even
vocalize. But friendly. Started giving her water, then food. Kept her outside.

Two weeks or so later hubby realizes she's pregnant. Took her to vet, got her
spayed and ear clipped (signal that she's spayed).

A week and a half after that she turns up on doorstep w/5 kittens from previous
litter, around 5 wks old, apparently hidden in a field near us.

Got homes for the 4 girls but no one wanted the boy - hence, he's ours, named Loki.

NOW. Rexie's (3 yr Siamese) a little overweight so he's been on a diet for
about a year, and has lost a pound and a half. He gets 1/2 cup a day (I divide
into 4 feedings of 1/8 cup).

Loki, having been born and raised for the first six or so weeks outside, was
used to sleeping on top of or under 4 other siblings, and all eating from same dish.

Needless to say, this ain't to Rexie's liking! If I put them in separate rooms
to eat, after 2 minutes Loki cries at the top of his lungs. I've never heard a
more pitiful cry at such volume!

Because little kittens should have food available all the time, I tried keeping
Loki's food in a large box with a hole only big enuf for him to go in, not
Rexie. But the smell of the food drove Rexie crazy and in the middle of the
night he'd try (and sometime succeed) in turning the box over and getting the
flaps open. I fixed it so he couldn't get in, but it just wasn't fair for him to
have to smell the food in there and not get any.

QUESTION. I've decided little Loki is just going to have to eat little bits
many times a day. Every hour or so I open his little container and let him eat
for a bit. He's eating nearly a cup every day, and from the vet and catfood bag,
this is about right, but he always seems to scarf the food down when I open the
container.

Not to mention, I can't stay home all day and cater to him (I'm on disability so
I'm home most of the time, I work from home).

Will this hurt him? I don't see another solution without making Rexie nuts over
smelling the food he can't have! (Oh, I do sometimes sit on the floor between
them and have one on either side of me with his own food bowl. That works pretty
well, but it takes about 15 min before they're each done.)

Opinions? OH, and Loki was neutered at 16 weeks, if anybody's interested.


--
ShirleyB, Rexie and Loki’s Mom
To Reply by email: remove 'nicks'

Pictures of His Majesty, Rex are at:
http://community.webshots.com/album/255873683SwWQZJ
Pictures of Loki can be seen at:
http://cards.webshots.com/invite/pic...85519812EYwKMs
And Our HOMEPAGE is: http://jumi-shirley-butler.com

"ShirleyB" wrote in message
...

QUESTION. I've decided little Loki is just going to have to eat little
bits
many times a day. Every hour or so I open his little container and let him
eat
for a bit. He's eating nearly a cup every day, and from the vet and
catfood bag,
this is about right, but he always seems to scarf the food down when I
open the
container.

Not to mention, I can't stay home all day and cater to him (I'm on
disability so
I'm home most of the time, I work from home).

Will this hurt him? I don't see another solution without making Rexie nuts
over
smelling the food he can't have! (Oh, I do sometimes sit on the floor
between
them and have one on either side of me with his own food bowl. That works
pretty
well, but it takes about 15 min before they're each done.)

Opinions? OH, and Loki was neutered at 16 weeks, if anybody's
interested.


Wow, I'd think that WOULD be an issue! I have two food bowls set up for my
three kids, two litter boxes, but they all use the same one. I'm about
ready to just remove the separate food dishes and the box from the back
bedroom, since they're NEVER touched. I hope you figure out a solution.
Isolation during feedings?

kili

Wow, I'd think that WOULD be an issue! I have two food bowls set up for my
three kids, two litter boxes, but they all use the same one. I'm about
ready to just remove the separate food dishes and the box from the back
bedroom, since they're NEVER touched. I hope you figure out a solution.
Isolation during feedings?


I have one cat with tartar-y teeth, one puker, and one fattie.

Feeding T/D is good for Smokey because it cuts down his tartar and good
for Kumani because the big kibbles make her eat more slowly, therefore
she pukes less.

But it's not so good for Tyche because it has more calories than
regular or diet food.

In the end we decided that Smokey and Kumani's needs were more urgent
than Tyche's. There was no way we could separate 4 cats at feeding
time in a 2 bedroom apartment, particularly when Smokey screams if
there's no food in a bowl in his sight, and starts totally flipping
out. Smokey's scream is audible all the way down the hall in our
building and we don't want to get in trouble for noise violation, not
to mention the trauma he undergoes (he has this food fixation due to
his previous feral life).

Of course Tyche isn't morbidly obese either...she's just a bit
overweight. It might be different if she were a super fattie.

Good luck.

--Fil

Shirley,
How old is Loki now? He won't need to free-feed forever, maybe you can
temporarily abandon Rexie's diet until it's ok to limit Loki's intake
too? Not ideal, but it would be temporary. Then you can keep them
both on the same feeding schedule.

Good luck!

Caroline S.

"ShirleyB" wrote in message
...
OK, long story - trying to make shorter. Rexie, male neutered Siamese, 3
yrs old, had since 3.5 weeks old, spoiled rotten - only 'child'.

I find a stray female this summer, starving and so dehydrated she couldn't
even vocalize. But friendly. Started giving her water, then food. Kept her
outside.

Two weeks or so later hubby realizes she's pregnant. Took her to vet, got
her spayed and ear clipped (signal that she's spayed).

A week and a half after that she turns up on doorstep w/5 kittens from
previous litter, around 5 wks old, apparently hidden in a field near us.

Got homes for the 4 girls but no one wanted the boy - hence, he's ours,
named Loki.

NOW. Rexie's (3 yr Siamese) a little overweight so he's been on a diet
for about a year, and has lost a pound and a half. He gets 1/2 cup a day
(I divide into 4 feedings of 1/8 cup).

Loki, having been born and raised for the first six or so weeks outside,
was used to sleeping on top of or under 4 other siblings, and all eating
from same dish.

Needless to say, this ain't to Rexie's liking! If I put them in separate
rooms to eat, after 2 minutes Loki cries at the top of his lungs. I've
never heard a more pitiful cry at such volume!

Because little kittens should have food available all the time, I tried
keeping Loki's food in a large box with a hole only big enuf for him to go
in, not Rexie. But the smell of the food drove Rexie crazy and in the
middle of the night he'd try (and sometime succeed) in turning the box
over and getting the flaps open. I fixed it so he couldn't get in, but it
just wasn't fair for him to have to smell the food in there and not get
any.

QUESTION. I've decided little Loki is just going to have to eat little
bits many times a day. Every hour or so I open his little container and
let him eat for a bit. He's eating nearly a cup every day, and from the
vet and catfood bag, this is about right, but he always seems to scarf the
food down when I open the container.

Not to mention, I can't stay home all day and cater to him (I'm on
disability so I'm home most of the time, I work from home).

Will this hurt him? I don't see another solution without making Rexie nuts
over smelling the food he can't have! (Oh, I do sometimes sit on the
floor between them and have one on either side of me with his own food
bowl. That works pretty well, but it takes about 15 min before they're
each done.)

Opinions? OH, and Loki was neutered at 16 weeks, if anybody's
interested.

Fortunately, I've not had this problem. The only thing I can suggest is
that the kitten's food is put somewhere in a room where Rex can't access it
and put up with his moaning for a few weeks. It won't be for too long, if
Loki is 16 weeks plus he will soon be able to go on to adult feeding
schedule of 2 x day?
If he was a puppy, at 16 weeks+ I would only be feeding him 3 times a day
anyway, and drop down to twice at 6 months, is it different for cats?

Tweed