I have 2 young cats Plume and Clementine, both about one year-old. Clementine has a little belly and I am trying to keep her food intake to the vet-advised daily limit, but she eats faster , finishes her dish then gently pushes my other cat, and steals the rest of her food.
I feed them in separate areas and monitor them for now, but in the future, I would like to have one meal dispensed by an automatic feeder, and am afraid Clementine (the Calico picture) would eat most of the food. Any advice?
Hi Catherine,
Thanks for your question and apologies for the delay in replying to you.
It can be difficult to feed two cats, especially when one cat tries to eat most of the food. You've mentioned that Clementine has a little belly, what's Plume's body condition like? I agree, I would also be worried that with one meal dispensed by an automatic feeder that Clementine would eat the majority of the food. This might lead her to gain weight, while Plume might not be getting enough calories and lose weight.
Would it be possible to have two automatic feeders, one for Clementine and one for Plume? That might be the easiest thing if Clementine tries to eat most of the food.
As Clementine eats fast, I'd also recommend a slow feeder bowl or an interactive feeder. It will slow her down when she eats and keep her occupied for longer. We have a lot of recommendations here;
https://cats.com/best-cat-slow-feeders-puzzle-feeders
I hope that helps,
Aisling
@aisling thank you for your suggestion!
yes keeping their food bowl in separate rooms seems best, with 2 automatic feeders and a slow feeder for Clementine, even if she comes back to the other room to finish whatever's left from Plume, it should not be too much food. I was hoping to centralize but as of now, not practical! Maybe Clementine ( who comes from the streets and was used to fending for herself more) will slowly learn that she does not need to gulp food for fear of not having enough the next day!
Clementine