Kitty Food Fights?

[kittymama]

I have two tuxedo kitties (one grey/white, the other black/white) who loooooove food! We'll call them "the Patchies". Any time they hear the cupboard open, they run over and start screaming for food! And they are definitely not hurting for food, if you catch my drift. My grey/white squeaks like an abused mouse for food but her "gut" speaks otherwise, while my black/white kitty is absolutely huge! He's an 18-pounder, big-boned and sturdy as can be.

But I have a third kitty. He's a tiny runt of Ocicat/Abysinnian background; we call him "Tiny". He hates eating. He doesn't care a bit about food until he realizes his tummy is growling and he should probably eat. He doesn't come running when he hears the cupboard open; rather, he's climbing up onto the curtain rod, digging in his toy box, or stalking the other cats.

These three create quite the feeding frenzy at home. I try to cater to Tiny by feeding him every time he expresses even the slightest interest in food. I have to sit with him until he finishes it all, as he is worried the Patchies, usually sitting only a few feet away watching him eat, acting so neglected and mistreated, will swoop in and steal whatever he leaves behind. My poor Tiny often marks his dish after he's done, but the other two pay no attention to that, and will start chowing down on what he leaves behind, if I'm not there to intercept.

The Patchies are on strict diets and are only fed a few times a day. Otherwise, they quickly balloon. But Tiny needs constant access to food or I'm so afraid he will shrivel away.

Does anyone have any solutions on how I can keep my Tiny nourished, while keeping the Patchies at bay? They get so frantic whenever I feet Tiny! Even if they have just eaten 5 minutes ago! It's like their memories of eating last 2 minutes and they hit reset any time they hear the cupboard....

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[lvpets2002]

Welcome to Pet Talk & Enjoy..
Your babies sound so adorable.. Pics please..

I would say still do what your doing by surpervising.. You might have to put Tiny in a room just at feeding times.. Good Luck & keep us posted..

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I have the same issue with my boys. Toby is absolutely obsessed with food, but Havoc is a dainty eater who is easily distracted away from the food bowl. Havoc was pretty scrawny when I brought him home, so I fed him more often. This drove Toby bonkers and I had to sit with Havoc until the second he got tired of eating, otherwise Toby would swoop in like a vulture and inhale the food before Havoc had even fully turned around to leave. I ended up giving Toby just a little bit of food whenever I gave Havoc a snack and adjusting the amount Toby got for his official dinner. Havoc finally filled out and I don't feed him any extra times, but I still have to sit with him while he eats. Toby isn't as quick to grab the leftovers as he used to be, but he'll still clean out an unattended bowl as soon as he's sure the coast is clear.

Tiny may just be a finicky eater or easily distracted by the other cats' over-reaction to feeding time. I would suggest trying to find a food he really enjoys, if only so he eats more of it at once. Also I would either put him or the other kitties in another room until Tiny has had ample time to eat as much as he wants.

[katladyd]

Feed Tiny in a seperate room. That works at my house.

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

Kittymama, I would also feed Tiny in a separate room, and offer meals more often to him.

As for "the Patches"...are they eating a decent quality canned food? Sometimes if the quality of the food you feed is not full of nutrients, the cats truly are hungry because the foods with fillers just pass through leaving no nutrients behind.

[krazyaboutkatz]

If there is a place where the other cats can't reach or fit then you could also feed Tiny there and just leave out a bowl of dry food. Some cats like to nibble all day. Aby's are very long thin cats but are very muscular. My Sunny is an Aby mix. I can't free feed any more so I feed my cats 4 small meals a day and I watch them eat so no one steals any one else's food. It took a few days for them to learn the routine but now they know when it's time to eat. Good luck.