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2 cats with different nutritional needs, but will eat each others food

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Stitch Give me Love! - And greenies!     Purred: Wed Dec 28, '11 10:06am PST  I have a 3 year old overweight cat (Stitch), and a 7 month old kitten (Sully). I've kept Stitch on a grain free food for over a year now, because I feel like it's better for her, and when she has grain, she has THE MOST heinous stinky poop ever. She was eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness, and switching between the types of meat from time to time. But she was becoming less and less active, and gaining more and more weight. I would put about a cup a day in her bowl, and she just picks at it throughout the day. Sully came to me eating ProPlan, but I figured it would be easier to switch them both to the same food, as he seemed to prefer Stitch's food to his own anyways. I thought that I would have to switch Stitch to a regular indoor cat food to help her lose weight, but that would mean putting her back on grain. Then I discovered that Wilderness came out with a Weight Control food. She seems to have lost a little bit of weight (i'm just going by her appearance), which I think is a combination of the food and being chased around the house by a new kitten. My only concern is Sully. Since he insists on eating her food too, I also feed him the Weight Control. Is it safe for him to be eating that? I fill both their bowls at night once a day (so they let me sleep), and usually by 4 or 5 the next day, they're empty. I just don't want to worry about stunting his development or something. They're both used to free feeding, so they won't eat an entire bowl if I put it down. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Gummi Destroyer of- Spiders     Purred: Wed Dec 28, '11 10:35am PST  Wilderness Weight Control is 365 kcal/cup. Regular Wilderness is 391 kcal/cup with a fat difference of 6%. I suggest going back to the regular Wilderness after you finish your current bag and measure out even less. The fat content in the Weight Control is too low for a kitten. That being said, if you want her to really keep weight off, wet food is the way to go. Good luck! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Bumpurr RESPECT The- Star!     Purred: Wed Dec 28, '11 11:28am PST  I feed Blue Wilderness dry chicken, have been for 5 yrs, and mine are show cats. They cannot be overweight, or underweight. The feeding guide, on the bag, is just that, a guide, a place to start, and you have to adjust up or down, depending the cats age, level of activity, weight (under/over), and metabalizim. One cup, per day, for an overweight cat, is way too much. I used to free feed too, and Bump got overweight, judges said so, my vet confirmed it. She told me I "had" to sched feed, had to. They eat in their carriers, and nobody comes out, until everybody is done eating. Its also a good way, to monitor, just how much they are eating, and if one is not eating, or one is throwing up. One of my cats, whose mission in life is to eat, she went to school for it, mol, did not eat her breakfast. She went in that morning. Saved her life, turned out she had liver issues. It only took Bump about 3 days to get the hang of it, what was put in front of him, is what he gets, until the next feeding. I feed twice a day. The kittens really didn't know any better, the breeder free fed them, they figured it out in 1 day. The kittens obviously got fed more, and I didn't need Bump eating theirs, plus they were fed kitten food, which is higher in calories. Kittens need to be fed kitten food. Blue Wilderness has a kitten food, 403 kcal/cup, which you don't want the 3 yr old eating. http://www.bluebuffalo.com/cat-food/wilderness-kitten BW chicken is 391 kcal/cup, BW salmon is 396 kcal/cup, BW duck is 391 kcal/cup. Little boy kitties should not be fed any fishy foods, as fish is one, of many, causes of crystals. My vet said not to feed duck, forget now why. But the chicken is what Bump picked, and has to eat, he is a heart kitty. Take your 3 yr old, to the vet, with what bag(s) of food you feed. The vet can determine, if the kitty is overweight, and based on the calorie count, how much to feed, per day, and this is broken into 2 feedings, or 3 if you prefer. If you free feed, you never really know, who is eating, how much. If the older kitty is eating all or most of it, if the kitten is not getting enuff, or if the older kitty, is not eating. Just feed them in their carriers, and feeding in carriers, is a great way, to teach them how to load, which can come in real handy, in an emergency. I was glad my kittens did this, had a fire, at their first show hotel, they were 7 months old, and ran under the bed. Loading on command, saved their lifes. Believe it or not, Bump gets 1/8 cup, twice a day, and other than his 1 teaspoon baby food, mixed with water, to keep him flushed out, as he will not, at all, eat any wet, period, this is all he gets. And this boy ain't thin. The judges would have said so, they wouldn't be placing him, and my vet would have said so. The kittens get 1/4 cup, twice a day. I wouldn't want them to get any more, or they would be too fat. And this amount, is per my vet, she figured the kcal count. You also want to stay away from Purina, alot of kitties and doggies getting sick, you can do a search for Purina complaints, under consumer affairs, or if you want to PM me, I will give you the link. So take the kitty, and the kitten to the vet, along with the bag of food, and your vet can determine, how much they should be fed, per day. Feed them in their carriers. If Bump, the kitty that grazed like a horsie, ate like a truck driver, and called 911 from his carrier, and told them, he is being starved, and my vet said, you "have" to do it, can figure it out, any kitty can, mol. Best of luck. [notify]

Rory little red- biscuit head     Purred: Wed Dec 28, '11 1:49pm PST  Meowma free feeds the kittens around here, as kittens too young to go to new homes simply can't eat enough to meet their needs in one sitting, it will go 'right through' if you make them eat too much at once. So to keep me out of the kitten kibble, the only thing Meowma could do was put the kitten food in a big plastic crate with air holes on top, and one hole in the side big enough for the kittens, but not me, to fit through. If you do this you have to be very careful to make the hole small enough, it took Meowma 3 containers to make the hole small enough. You would be surprised what a big boy can squeeze into when he smells food! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Cowboy The Battle Of- Texas 2010- Winner!     Purred: Wed Dec 28, '11 2:10pm PST  Hey Rory!! Excellent idea, for little baby kittens, sounds like a creep feeder, that horsie peoples uses, mol. [notify]

Rory little red- biscuit head     Purred: Wed Dec 28, '11 3:33pm PST  That's where she got the idea! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Cowboy The Battle Of- Texas 2010- Winner!     Purred: Thu Dec 29, '11 9:58am PST  How about making some up, and selling them at shows. I think its an excellent idea, lotta peoples there, with kittens. I is on winter lay up, mommy won't take me out in the winter, in case the weather gets real bad. I will be back out in the spring tho. Does ya ever gets to showeys in PA? I misses ya, you is such a cute little guy, mommy misses hugging and kissing you, and carrying you to your rings. We was gonna smuggle you back here, you would love playing with me and Cruiser. Hope to see you at Garden State next year too. [notify]

Ralphie & Randy 1201140     Purred: Thu Dec 29, '11 11:08am PST  My two cats also like to eat each other's food, so they have to be fed the same thing. It works out perfectly for us, because they just split a can of food at each meal. They eat a variety of brands and protein sources, all high-protein and grain-free, so we can make sure they're getting a well-rounded diet. I don't think it's important that the words "weight control" or "kitten" be on the label. Those are technically just marketing terms that allow companies to charge higher prices. You don't want to put your grain-sensitive cat on a grain-containing food just because it is marketed for overweight cats. If you look at the labels, you'll find that there are many foods with comparable nutritional content to the "specialty" foods. It's important to read the labels to make sure the protein and fat contents are sufficient, that there aren't a lot of extra fillers, and that the food contains high-quality ingredients. My cats are on an all-canned food diet because I believe it is better for their health than dry. They eat three times per day, two full size meals and one small meal, so they don't get too hungry between feedings. Wet food may be useful for you in helping your cat with weight loss, because it will be easier to regulate his portions and to provide more of the appetite-satisfying protein that he needs. The kitten would also benefit from the more concentrated protein in wet food, and all cats can use the extra moisture. [notify]

Member Since 03/02/2012     Purred: Fri Mar 9, '12 3:24am PST  A friend of mine did make something like that and is selling them at gatefeeder.com my posts [notify]