Feeding Needs of 4 Cats

My husband and I have had 2 unrelated adult boys (12 and 5). The 5-
year old was recently diagnosed with crystals in his urine and is on
special food for 30 days to determine if it helps with the crystals.
If it does, he will be on it for the rest of his life. The other boy
also eats this food as it is easiest to leave it out for them to free
feed.

A few weeks ago we adopted a couple of 3-month old female kittens from
the same litter. They have been out and about in the house for a week
now and all is going well except for the feedings. The kittens hate
being locked up in another room a few times a day to eat to the point
that they'll meow and meow and won't eat. I've been feeding the
kittens in a separate (non-closed off) room than where the boys eat
and feed the boys at the same time (so no more free feeding for
them). I can monitor both groups even though the boy with the urinary
crystals is drawn to the kitten food and one of the kittens is drawn
to the adult food. I know kittens need the nutrition from their food
and that it's important to keep them on this food for their first
year. The monitoring of the food bowls while they're out is
tolerable, but how do I know when they're done? Sometimes one of the
kittens will mew in the spot where I feed them a short time after as
if I took away their food too soon. Should I re-feed her? Or not
feed her in hopes it will teach her she needs to eat while the food is
out?

I want to do what's best for all cats, so any advice would be
appreciated.


CG

On Jan 26, 9:11*am, CabrioGirl wrote:
My husband and I have had 2 unrelated adult boys (12 and 5). *The 5-
year old was recently diagnosed with crystals in his urine and is on
special food for 30 days to determine if it helps with the crystals.
If it does, he will be on it for the rest of his life. *The other boy
also eats this food as it is easiest to leave it out for them to free
feed.

A few weeks ago we adopted a couple of 3-month old female kittens from
the same litter. *They have been out and about in the house for a week
now and all is going well except for the feedings. *The kittens hate
being locked up in another room a few times a day to eat to the point
that they'll meow and meow and won't eat. *I've been feeding the
kittens in a separate (non-closed off) room than where the boys eat
and feed the boys at the same time (so no more free feeding for
them). *I can monitor both groups even though the boy with the urinary
crystals is drawn to the kitten food and one of the kittens is drawn
to the adult food. *I know kittens need the nutrition from their food
and that it's important to keep them on this food for their first
year. *The monitoring of the food bowls while they're out is
tolerable, but how do I know when they're done? *Sometimes one of the
kittens will mew in the spot where I feed them a short time after as
if I took away their food too soon. *Should I re-feed her? *Or not
feed her in hopes it will teach her she needs to eat while the food is
out?

How long do you leave the bowls down? I have to feed our three
separately, and our bowls are down about 20 minutes--plenty of time
for them to eat without gobbling or rushing.

Even though they might not like it now, I would shut the kittens in
the room while they eat. It will soon become routine and they will
eventually run to the room automatically when it's feeding time. The
kittens will also learn the routine of eating when the bowl is placed
in front of them.

As for the question of mewing after feeding, how much did she eating
in the sitting? Is there still food in the bowl when you take it away,
or is she just looking for affection? If the bowl is empty and you've
fed her an adequate amount, I would not worry about feeding her more
until the next meal. At three months, you should be feeding them at
least three times per day anyway. Eventually, you can transition to
two meals per day, about 12 hours apart.

On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:25:46 -0800 (PST), "Rene S."
wrote:

On Jan 26, 9:11*am, CabrioGirl wrote:
My husband and I have had 2 unrelated adult boys (12 and 5). *The 5-
year old was recently diagnosed with crystals in his urine and is on
....
until the next meal. At three months, you should be feeding them at
least three times per day anyway. Eventually, you can transition to
two meals per day, about 12 hours apart.

Same problem in my house. One cat is a grazer and won't eat a lot at
one feeding, and another is a pig that will eat everything in sight.
The third is generally happy with a big meal but will eat until she
explodes if food is left out. She's starting to look like an engorged
tick.

I'm hoping for a high tech solution: each cat wears an RF transmitter
on the collar and their food box will only open for them. Until then,
I think the OP is doing all she can. Keep them separate. Easier said
than done of course.

On Jan 27, 11:25*am, "Rene S." wrote:
On Jan 26, 9:11*am, CabrioGirl wrote:



My husband and I have had 2 unrelated adult boys (12 and 5). *The 5-
year old was recently diagnosed with crystals in his urine and is on
special food for 30 days to determine if it helps with the crystals.
If it does, he will be on it for the rest of his life. *The other boy
also eats this food as it is easiest to leave it out for them to free
feed.

A few weeks ago we adopted a couple of 3-month old female kittens from
the same litter. *They have been out and about in the house for a week
now and all is going well except for the feedings. *The kittens hate
being locked up in another room a few times a day to eat to the point
that they'll meow and meow and won't eat. *I've been feeding the
kittens in a separate (non-closed off) room than where the boys eat
and feed the boys at the same time (so no more free feeding for
them). *I can monitor both groups even though the boy with the urinary
crystals is drawn to the kitten food and one of the kittens is drawn
to the adult food. *I know kittens need the nutrition from their food
and that it's important to keep them on this food for their first
year. *The monitoring of the food bowls while they're out is
tolerable, but how do I know when they're done? *Sometimes one of the
kittens will mew in the spot where I feed them a short time after as
if I took away their food too soon. *Should I re-feed her? *Or not
feed her in hopes it will teach her she needs to eat while the food is
out?

How long do you leave the bowls down? I have to feed our three
separately, and our bowls are down about 20 minutes--plenty of time
for them to eat without gobbling or rushing.

Even though they might not like it now, I would shut the kittens in
the room while they eat. It will soon become routine and they will
eventually run to the room automatically when it's feeding time. The
kittens will also learn the routine of eating when the bowl is placed
in front of them.

As for the question of mewing after feeding, how much did she eating
in the sitting? Is there still food in the bowl when you take it away,
or is she just looking for affection? If the bowl is empty and you've
fed her an adequate amount, I would not worry about feeding her more
until the next meal. At three months, you should be feeding them at
least three times per day anyway. Eventually, you can transition to
two meals per day, about 12 hours apart.

Thanks for the reply, Rene. I typically leave the bowls down for
10-15 minutes, until the cats leave the room where I have the food and
water. They usually eat a bit, drink some water then return to the
food for a bit more. There is food in the bowl when I pick it up, but
I don't fill the bowl with only their portion for that feeding. When
I have shut the kittens in a room in the past, they do not eat at all
for the 20-30 minutes I leave them there. They only meow miserably.
I have to then ignore their hungry meows for the next few hours until
I try feeding them again, and then they don't eat again when in the
room. After half a day of this pattern and watching them grow weak, I
couldn't bear to do that to them anymore.

When they mew after feeding, they go to the place in the kitchen where
I place their bowls and mew (that's how I know they're hungry). If
they want attention, they just come up to wherever I am and demand
it.