I got a new kitty and I'm in love, but need some advice on feeding and care..

[Blue_Roses]

for my other big cat. My love runs deep 'cause I also love my two older cats as well. There's just a small problem that is keeping me from fully enjoying these sweethearts. Here's my problem: the older cat, Merlin, eats out of his bowl and then nibbles from the other cat's--Gretchen--food bowl. When he's finished eating his meal, he'll leave the kitchen and when I'm not looking he sneaks in and nibbles on Gretchen's food AGAIN! Tonight I caught him eating from the kitten's bowl which I have in my room waaaay away from where his bowl is. I have no idea what to do. Merlin is a 20 lb cat!! I had him on IAMS weight control food because he is SO fat, but he sneaks food! I worry about him 'cause all he does is eat! If I take the other kitties bowls away then they have nothing to munch on.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I love this big cat and he's the sweetest thing. I just don't want him to die from over-eating. :cry:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. You might have to feed the other cat separately

in a location where El Gato Gordo can't get at her food. A vet told me cats in multiple-cat households will sometimes stuff themselves by trying to eat all the other cats' food, thinking that if all the food is gone the other cats will go away, and the first cat will have the place all to himself. I don't know, but it's an interesting theory.

[Inchworm]

2. I've notice some dogs doing that

I have dogs and not cats so I cannot advise, but when I brought a new dog into the house I had to readjust all the feeding. He'd eat until he exploded.

I never had to deal with that before, and the old dogs had to adjust.

:hi:

[TheWraith]

11. My dog eats some of the cat food too...

But he always does it after they've finished. I think he just likes the taste. :)

[huskerlaw]

3. Sounds like you need separate feeding areas

Cats actually don't need to "graze" all day long. Check out the feeding guidelines on the side of the food package. I had to separate mine when I had one eating kitten food and two eating adult food. I just separated the recommended feeding into 2 and fed them in the morning and at night. They were totally fine with that.

You may also want to consider switching them to a cat food with higher quality ingredients. If you look at the package, you'll see that the number one ingredient is chicken byproduct. That is just as disgusting as it sounds. My cats all eat Wellness Complete Health and they seem to eat less food overall.

[Blue_Roses]

7. thank-you also

I will try it:)

[Lorien]

4. First and most importantly; get Merlin off the Iams

I had a 22 pound "feline ottoman", and for years I battled to keep him out of my other cat's food (the other kitty, Peewee, was too thin). Peewee eventually died of a slew of feline health disorders, and my cat sitter strongly recommended that I switch my tubby boy Miro to human grade pet food before he also died. I put him on a grain free diet (Wellness canned and Innova Evo dry). Within a year he had dropped eight pounds and was acting like a kitten again. The reasons why can be found here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=243&topic_id=4388&mesg_id=4388

Aside from Iams feed grade ingredients, it's inclusion of grains spikes your cat's blood sugar so that he craves more and more. Feline diabetes is skyrocketing nationwide because of the "cheapening" of cat foods. Cats are obligate carnivores. They can only get nutrition from muscle and organ meats (very small amounts of fruits, veggies, and brown rice are OK-but only the equivalent of what would be found in their prey's stomach). To keep costs down and to subsidize production, large commercial pet food companies put corn products, brewer's rice and wheat gluten in their pet foods, which cause all sorts of health problems for cats; obesity being among the first. Once you switch to a human grade grain free food like Serengeti, Wellness CORE, Before the Grain, Innova Evo, Indigo moon, Evanger's, or a slew of others I think that Merlin's eating issues will soon resolve themselves.

[grasswire]

5. hmmm.....it's the damn carbs!

I have the same problem. One blimpo cat, one really too-skinny cat, and three of proportional weight.

[Lorien]

9. Just think of it as Adkins for cats!

after all, kitties in the wild are always on the Adkins diet. ;-)

[grasswire]

12. corn prices are expected to rise 30 percent this summer

I can only imagine what they will use in mainstream pet food now!

[Lorien]

15. Ew! I hate to even think of it

most of what's in commercial pet food now is actually food industry waste (squeezing every last penny of profit from their operations). I won't go into details because some people may still be eating breakfast!

[Blue_Roses]

6. wow-thanks

are these foods that I can find in any grocery store or do I need to look online? It's sad that the manufacturer's of these foods care more about $$ than our pets care.

[Lorien]

8. I think that you can find some at Petco now

and some at specialty (mom and pop) pet supply store and health food stores.The food doesn't need to be organic, just USDA or labeled "human grade". There's a good list of available brands here: http://pookiesbowwowbakery.com/shop/pookies-for-cats-c-22.html

The FDA only requires that pet foods "sustain life", not promote health-kind of like the junk food they sell for us to consume. The only difference is that the "feed grade" ingredients that are put in pet foods are actually illegal to sell for human consumption, which should tell you something about just how vile the stuff is!

[Blue_Roses]

10. thank-you for addressing Merlin

by his name. :)

It made me smile.

[Snarkturian Clone]

13. House cats are supposed to be fat and lazy...

they live the good life. I just got a new kitteh: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x7447563#7449602

and I have her and the mega-massive cat eating from the same double-chambered bowl. It's worked out just fine... lil kitteh is now about twice as long as in the pic from my original thread and a little meatier...

[Lorien]

14. Well, I've got to disagree with you there

I don't think that any pet or person is "supposed" to be fat or lazy-if they are, they're not living the way they were meant to (or they are depressed and/ or ill). I've got three cats in my room with me right now; the smallest is begging me to play with him, the largest (my Maine Coon), is wrestling with my female, Puck...oops, they just broke it off and now he's climbing the cat tree. All three are lean, muscular, and active. They stay inside for the most part, though Puck enjoys her daily walks around the neighborhood on her leash. I did have a fat lazy cat once, but after I changed his diet he became a lean and frisky 16 year old "kitten". Diet and exercise is just as important for our pets as it is for us. We all feel just fine eating a steady diet of McDonald's and potato chips when we're 20, but if we don't change our diet over time we'll feel like crap at 45, then we'll be dead by 60! That said, the average house cat in the US only makes it to age 15, but a cat on a healthy diet that gets a bit of exercise can make it to age 24. My vet even had one kitty patient who was 26 years old!