Many cats-different eating habits

[MoodIndigo1]

We have three cats, and they are all used to nibbling on dry food a bit all day. About 6 weeks ago, my son moved back with 2 of his cats that are used to a strict 2 meals a day regimen, no snacking.

I've had to switch mine to the 2 meals a day regimen, because his cats were gaining weight by eating all of our cats' food. As a result, all of my cats have been losing weight, because when I feed them those two daily meals, they just nibble a bit (I mean about 6 or 7 little bites) as usual, and then go away. I have to store what they leave in their bowls in order to keep his piranhas from gobbling it. (In fact, I have to hide all foodstuffs in cupboards, and tape the doors shut, because his cats will attempt to eat bread, cereals, crackers, anything remotely edible that they can reach). All three of mine have lost weight, especially one of them who is really too thin.

I don't know what to do. I'm isolating his cats in one of the rooms when I feed mine, but I can't leave them shut in a room all day. They are very nice and sweet little piranhas, but will yowl at any closed door.

I'd appreciate any suggestions. I'm getting worried about my little one-- she weighs under 5 pounds.

[cpietra16]

Well, I'm sorry but your house your rules. Why should your cats suffer by losing weight?

[Shamrock]

Hmm.. bit of a tricky problem. Some cats gaining weight, others losing.
Are your son's cats to be permanent residents in your home, or is this just temporary?
As your cats are used to free-feeding and dont seem to be getting enough, I would say this is more of a health-concern than the cats who are gaining from this new smorgasbord they suddenly have available. Their over- indulging might taper off with a bit of time.

I am not sure what to suggest other than isolating the big eaters from an area where your cats can eat at will. They may feel somewhat intimidated by the other cats.

Where do the cats sleep at night? Are you able to keep yours in with you?

I close off my bedroom at night, and keep one female cat in with me.. with food, water and a litterbox. This isnt due to dietery concerns.. but rather so she wont be bothered by a younger male cat she intensely dislikes.

I notice though that she nibbles on the food quite frequently during the night. I am just wondering if something like this might help a bit...

Good luck to you with this, I can understand your concern.
Others may have some better suggestions for you.

[chico2]

I agree with CPietra,I do not agree with feeding cats only twice a day.
Cats nibble,don't chow down(except your sons cats ).
If your cats are losing weight,it's not good for them,they are hungry.
Please go back to their regular routine,like was said,it's their house...:sad:
Why cannot the others adjust to the routine of your cats? They'll think they are in paradize

[MoodIndigo1]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I'll try to keep food, water, and one of the litterboxes in my room for the little one.

I wish he'd let me just put out dry food for the whole lot of them, but my son is adamant that his not gain weight. Frankly, I think this is his wife's obsession, not his, but they're having marital problems at the moment, so God knows how long he'll be in this home. I sure don't.

[CyberKitten]

I absolutely agree with CPieta and Chico. This is your home and it is also your cats' home. Thier routine has been disturbed and worse, their eating routine disrupted and cats are very easily stressed. (This was always sort of known buit recently, a well conducted study at a Scottish university demonstrated in no undercertain terms that change in routines does cause stress in kitties and that this stress can cause illness that can actually in rare cases lead to death - depending on the situation).

So your cats must to say the least be stressed and there are ways to help them. However, changing their food habits is not good for cats - it in an of itself can lead to problems since cats are more discriminating eaters than many species, humans included. (I once purchased some Wellness food - the kind my YY, my Siamese likes - and shemeowed at me and looked at me, refusing to eat until I gave her another can- the best before date was fine but out of curisoity, I had it tested by someone at a lab where I work - there were very tiny beginnings of ecoli in it, not enought to have hurt her but she might well have become slightly ill - according to the toxicologist who tested it). I sent it to the xompany with the tioxicology report and they kindly sent me a coupon for more. However, I always trust her intincts and most cats are similar to her - they know when something is not good. (Tho I cannot understand why some cats will eat food with antifreeze in it - thinking to cases of neighbours seeking to do away with either ferals or their neighbours' cats, maybe those cats were so hungry, it's hard to know and a wonder to me.)

I would return your cats to their routine asap. Your son does not run your home - he is a guest is he not? Whn guests visit my home and bring their pets, I allow for their pets' different food and eating habits but would never change the eating habits of the three I have , one alpha diva Siamese and two Sphynx who kindly let the Siamese think she is the diva when they secretly know they are (a complicated routine but it works, lol). You know your cats - and their dietary habits.

I cannot say that I have often heard of cats eating twice a day but I do know some do it but often out of need for the human and not the cat, not something I necessarily agree with. I have heard if it more often with dogs. Cats will usually eat every few hours all day long if left to themselves and if they eat dry food though it is often recommended that cats have at least some canned food so they get more water (I tend to think of my cats' dry food as my version of McDonald's but I have seen cats who do OK with it; it depends on the brand and i=whether the cat has problem with crytals and liver or kidney probs, which can be aggrevated by dry food. Canned food needs to be fed on a schedule since it obviously dries up. I do leave out some Wellness dry food when I am away but my Siamese often comes with me to work so she gets her "wet" food when she needs it, on schedule and cats are soooo creatures of habit!

I "cut" out this from an article on feeding cats and found it quite useful:

The primary advantages of dry cat food are lower cost and convenience in allowing "free choice" feeding. Generally, dry foods may be less palatable to a cat and have a lower digestibility than the moister types. However, premium dry cat foods are comparable in digestibility to grocery store brands of canned cat foods.

(I note however that most grocery store cat food is junk and the best brands are those with the proper nutruents - brans like Felidae Wellness, Hills Science, Royal Canin but we cannot get that here so I do not know enough about it).

SEMIMOIST FOODS
Semimoist cat food may be more appealing to some cats than dry cat food. Moisture content is approximately 35 percent. However, after the package is opened, palatability decreases and spoilage increases because of dehydration. These foods can also be fed free choice. The cost is mid-range, between that of dry and canned food. Semimoist food resembles ground- or whole-meat tidbits. Meat and meat byproducts are the primary ingredients. They are combined with soybean meal, cereals, grain byproducts, and preservatives. Manufacturers add organic acids (phosphoric, hydrochloric and malic acids) and sorbitol and dextrose to prevent spoilage and retain moisture in semimoist cat foods.


CANNED FOODS
Canned cat food is quite popular with owners, despite its higher cost. Canned varieties are highly palatable to cats, which can be helpful if your cat is a finicky eater. Canned cat food has a water content of a least 75 percent, so it is a good dietary source of water. When unopened it has the longest shelf life. Canned food is available in ration sizes (12 to 22 ounce cans) or gourmet sizes (3 to 6 ounce cans). Gourmet canned cat foods generally feature organ meats (e.g., kidney, liver) as their primary food ingredient. Because some brands may be nutritionally incomplete, it is particularly important to read the nutrition labels carefully on such specialty cat-food items. Gourmet canned foods may induce food consumption in anorexic cats or meet increased protein requirements that occur during wound healing or with protein-losing diseases.

Anyway - I am sorry if I got off the topic, this is not about dry vs canned and it seems your kitties like what you were feeding them. Since it IS your home, I would work out something with your son. Maybe your cats' food can be in a room only accessible to them (not sure how you can do that) or perhaps your son can feed his cats on schedule in a place inaccesible toy our cats (but NOY somewhere they already think is theirs since this wil upset them).

When YY (my Siamese) and I visited my folks in Fla, my dad was interested in the food I was feedling her and began buying it for the little feral he had adopted - "Riley" is now living the life of well, Riley INSIDE the house - and eating Wellness, lol When I was there, Riley hated the notion of being inside- a skittish feral but he is now indoors and my mother says will soon own their entire bed, lol (Given that he already has taken over my dad's TV chair - the remote may be next, lol). (The other nite, YY turned off my laptop when she felt I was not paying attention to her and ,looked immensely pleased with herself - now, I suppose she will teach that trick to Casey and Chelsea,or is that sigggggggggh. She has not figured out the Desktops yet though, lol

Sorry to go on at such length - please go back to the schedule they know and it might niot hurt to have a vet check your little one, Losing weight can lead to certain medical problems in cats - they lack the reserve we have and cannot afford NOT to eat! Surely your son must apppreciate your kind offer and will reciprocate with his cats. It seems the least he can do for having a roof over his head.

[MoodIndigo1]

Thanks again, all of you. You seem to think what I think on the topic of cats and food.

I had a talk with my son who just got back from work, and he won't hear of it my putting dry food out for my cats. His cats have already put on weight since they've been at my place, he says, and he argues with me that mine are overweight-- that losing weight won't do them any harm. I mentioned the little one, and he was silent. I guess I'll keep her in my room, and hope that the marriage counselling develops in some positive way.

As for the bigger ones, my oldest cat was overweight but she's been losing pretty fast, and losing her appetite. I'm a bit worried about her too. The new young male we rescued this year is the one who's adjusting the best to this change, it seems. I guess he didn't have time to get as set in his ways as my other two cats who are 8 and 9 years old.

[MoodIndigo1]

My cats eat Nutro, which is considered a high quality dry food. I've tried some of the other premium brands like Science Diet and Royal Canine, but they don't like them.

CK, when my son's cats eat, my cats don't go near them. They are not aggressive about food, never having been deprived. He feeds his in the bedroom where he's settled at the moment. The problem is they gulp down the food, and spend the rest of the day (they get their second meal at 11:00 pm) on the lookout for anything edible.

Anyhow, thanks again, you all helped me clarify my ideas on this. Thanks Cyberkitty for the cat food information.

[glasslass]

I'm sorry if I step on toes here but feel I have to say what I'm thinking. You say HE is having marital problems and temporarily staying in YOUR home and won't allow you to put out food for your cats? He's lucky to have a place, albeit YOUR place, where he can stay. If he's not happy with how you run YOUR home, he should rent his own place where he can make all the rules. Maybe inflexibility is part of his marital problems?

[MoodIndigo1]

You're right, in a way, but I suspect a good part of his insistence on keeping his cats thin/slim is that she is so deadset on their remaining thin. She put one of their cats on a draconian diet when it was only 8 months old. The vet even told her that it wasn't safe to put a cat on such a severe weight-loss diet.

I'm afraid my son is henpecked even as though he's out of his own house.

[glasslass]

I sounds like the well-being of the cats isn't the cause of discord in his home. It's too bad he doesn't stand up for them though.

Shamrock's suggestion that his cats might reduce their intake once they become accustomed to free feeding could happen. They probably scarf everything in sight now because they're always hungry and trying to get it while it's available.

[CyberKitten]

Oh dear - sounds like he does need help himself but just because he is having issues (if I dare put it that way and I am tired and should be in bed so maybe I am not explaining myself well) does not mean you have to let him tell you what to do. It is YOUR home so I would feed your cats what you have always been feeding them. I did not add every good quality food, jsy a few examples (should have made that clear and sorry if I did not - Nutro has a good reputation and all cats are different. Some do very well on dry food and obviusly, yours seem to have been healthy but his insistence on a diet may not be helping them and you should tell him that. There is a lot of discuission about dry vs canned food and I worry my little Siamese doesn;t drink as much water as she needs - tho she loves lobsters and shrimp (the real thing) and I do give her some but just enough for her needs - and the lobster does have water as does canned food. THe Syphynx will gulp water so they might do well on a dry diet - when they came as fosters, they were on a different food but I have gradually changed it so all 3 cats are on the same food for the most part, I sometimes thubk cats are like teenagers- they like to graze re food, lol so even if I might think of some dry food as "junkfood", I do buy the better brands so they can have some junk fod now and then. I mean - I enjoy the occasional McChicken combo so I can't very well be a hypocrite and deny my babies, lol (But I do not give them much dry stuff).

But that said, all cats are different and cats as creatures of habit hare to change a diet. Plus, it is not healthy or good raddically change a cat's diet quickly - it has to be done slowly!! I think your son needs to respect that it is YOUR home and your rules and he is indeed lucky to have someone who lets him and his cats stay somewhere without him telling you what to do. Maybe I have a short fuse (I really don't - I try to e diplomatic, lol) but I would explain the ground rules once he moves in. Like these are the rules. Thes eare my cats and they eat like this, regardless of what you think. They are thiving and healthy were they not?

It may well be the change in easting that has created the eating problems - that is not uncommon actually plus the stress of a new member AND new cats in the bargain!! I guess he'll have to feed his cats in his room and your cats can eat in a a room for them - do they have their own room or sleep with you? The Sphynx Girls case, as fosters with an ill mommy (who is still not very well and things have been going downhill but we wait for miracles I guess), started out with their own bedroom with all their things but now all three sleep with me - with this cold weather, the Syphyx love the heating pad (one for cats!) and warm conforters to crawl under and YY has fur but a thin lot of it so she is a snuggler too - tho she does hog the pillow, lol

They adjusted to the new canned food (they came with Hills Science - as did YY at 12 weeks) but I have always been a Wellness fan and so now they all eat that tho YY has likes to "slum" on occasion and whines for Fancy Feast (my dad's fault, lol - tho that is not half as bad as the time he was cat sitting and could not find the cat food and fed her an entire can of Chicken flavoured Pounce (No wonder she became grandpa's girl, lol). So, those are her bad habits. The Sphynx are champion show cats and that's another story!!!! (YY is show quality too but I had not planned on showing her so she is spayed). I think the Sphynx have won enough rosettes now tho to be spayed - or maybe have one litter but do I want to do that when there are sctual Sphynx actually needing homes? I am not sure I can be that arrogant - yes, they have superb genes going back any generations and not a flaw between therm but the idea scares the heck out of me (I've birthed cats before and that part does not scare me but I worry about them having probs and I think of all the possibilities that can go wrong, C sections, babies stuck in the birth canal, infection... Maybe I see too much of the negative side of this in my work, I don;t know).

Anyway - sorry to go offtopic again - I have to go to bed!!!! I really think you need to set the rules in your own home and despite his problems, do not let him bully you!!!!! And is you are worried about the health of those 2 cats, take them to the vet - I am not sure he would last long in my home unless he was prepared to listen to my rules or negotiate and he sounds rather close minded in his ways.

Good luck!! I hope your kitties are OK!!!!