Multi-cat households...question

[phesina]

Donna, Sydney starts working on me around 4:15-4:30 am, sometimes sooner. I REFUSE to start feeding them before 5:00am, but 5:00am is official feeding time at the zoo.

In the afternoon, Sydney starts agitating around 3pm, 3:30.. 4:00 is official p.m. feeding time.

The seven cats and I live in a two-room apartment too! (3 counting the bathroom)

[krazyaboutkatz]

Alani and Blaze would eat everyone's food if I let them. They are fed in the hall bathroom. My other four are fed in the kitchen and dining room area. I watch them eat and I put any left over dry food back in the bag. Ziggy will still sometimes try to steal Storm's, Sky's, or Pearl's dry food so I have to watch her. She's a lot better now than she used to be though. I feed them at around 8am and then again around 9:50am during the week before I go to work. On weekends I feed them at 8am and then between 11-12pm. In the evenings I feed them around 8pm or later whenever I get home and then again around 11-11:30pm. The older four get canned and dry at each meal and Alani and Blaze get dry and one meal with dry and canned mixed because they have very sensitive tummies with canned food.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

Toby is the "Mr Piggy" of my household. He is obsessed with all things edible. He wolfs down his own food and then stalks Havoc's bowl. He won't push Havoc out of the way, but he doesn't really have to. Havoc is easily distracted and will wander away from the food bowl if I go in another room. Toby is usually laying on the floor nearby, ready to strike. Luckily I only have the 2 of them so I can just sit in the kitchen with them until Havoc has finished all of his food or abandoned it. Toby still insists on making a beeline for the bowl as soon as Havoc leaves. I scold him every day for this, but he just doesn't care.

Toby routinely pesters me in the middle of the night for a snack. Might me midnight, might be 3:30, but he will become more and more annoying (meowing in my ear and scratching at my shoulder) until I get up and feed him. This has been going on for quite some time so I can now stumble into the kitchen give both cats a few kibbles each and trod back to bed in less than 5 minutes.

[Cataholic]

I have nine cats. Each morning, they all receive wet food. I feed Minnie under my bed, with my door closed. The remaining eight eat, for the most part, in my smallish kitchen, at their stations. Two eat on one part of the counter, three on another part, and three on the floor. The only one that still attempts to eat everyone else's food is Sonic. I have had him and Anni-pants since November. Anni-pants is 99.95% trained. Sonic requires a steady eye, and a socked foot at all times. Sonic knows he isn't supposed to eat from other's dishes unless they leave, but he will try. If I am in the room, he is tolerable, and a firm voice is enough. If I leave the room, he tries. He claws at me while waiting for food, he is frantic and frenzied over food.

Moosmom, it takes time but I believe you can train them to eat only their own food. I simply don't have enough room to.separate nine cats. As it is, I feed Jasper the dog in J's room because of Sonic.

On some occasions, two of my guys prefers to eat elsewhere and I accommodate when possible. Sometimes, one me and ten pets makes mornings hectic. :0