Fat cats - any solutions in a multi-cat household?

[peg2001]

We currently have 3 cats. One is elderly and slender, one is young and fat, and one is young and even fatter. The elderly one was losing weight and the vet started to worry about her health. The real problem was the younger cats stealing her food. We've started feeding her separate but she likes to graze and come back later. . .and by that time, the food is gone.

So, we erred on the side of leaving LOTS of food always available. The good news is my old cat is back to her normal weight and doing well. The bad news is my young cats are fat and huge.

Does anyone with more than 1 cat have any practical solutions?

Thanks.
Peggy

 

[Danauk]

Could you feed them in different places of the house? We had to do that for a while when one of our cats was on medication.

 

[noel]

My cats are 10 1/2 and 2. Pugsley, the older one, is 11 lbs and "normal" cat size. Daisy, the younger one, is 15 lbs and has a little head and stubby legs but a HUUUUUUUUUUGE tummy.

About 2 months after we had introduced cats and allowed them to interact, Pugsley started losing weight and Daisy started getting chubby. She would push him out of the way of the food dish, so we have 2 dishes of food and 2 water bowls.

The vet suggested that we try to not leave the food down all the time and Pugsley dropped down to 8 lbs. So we gave them normal calorie food and treated Pugs to some of his favorite table foods (I know it's not good for him, but what can I say, I've spoiled him??) until he put weight back on.

Now their food is mixed 1/2 reduced calorie and 1/2 regular and they both seem to be doing well with it. I'd like Daisy to lose more weight, so we're trying to exercise her a little more so we'll see how that goes.

 

[luvwinnie]

I have the same dilemma. My two are sisters, 8 yrs old, but one is thin (she's very nervous) and more active...the other is laid back and FAT...DH said when she sits she looks like a CHristmas tree. I also leave food out all day, they won't eat in one sitting...so I have no options really.

 

[noel]

...when she sits she looks like a CHristmas tree

LOL - I never thought of it that way, but it totally describes how Daisy looks too!

 

[KatelynnsAuntie]

My mom has this very problem. She has two cats...a female who is very chubby and very lazy. When she sits it looks like she has swallowed a basketball!

Her male cat is of normal size but he is also very active. Wants to play outside all day, while the female just wants to nap all day. Since the male is outside all day, my mom just picks the cat food up in between meal times so the female won't graze so much. Seems to help some, mostly because the male cat is already outside.

Also she tends to feed her food she doesn't like as much, so she won't eat so much. The stuff she likes a lot she just doesn't know when to quit eating!

 

[Maleficent13]

DH said when she sits she looks like a CHristmas tree.

My parents have the same problem...one cat is slim and the other is FAT. She's black and white and I always say she looks like a Hershey Kiss when she sits, because she has a tiny head!

But they haven't figured out a way to keep her out of the other's food, other than to run into the room when they hear the bigger one eating and shoo her away from the bowl.

 

[Dopeygirl]

Is there some place you could put food for the older cat that the younger ones can't get to? For awhile, Marcy was a grazer, so we'd put her food on the bathroom counter. Ziggy couldn't jump up there (but not because he didn't try! LOL) She could go back when she wanted it but Ziggy couldn't steal it.

We are facing a similar situation. Our cats are the same age (1.5 years) and we got them together. Marcy is very tall, long and slender while Ziggy is a "midget kitty" as DH affectionately calls him. He's very short both height-wise and length-wise. At the last appt., Marcy was 11.4 (vet said was just fine for her size) and Ziggy was 11.1 (definitely NOT fine for his size! LOL).

We put down just a serving size of food for each of them (sep. bowls) 2-3 times a day, so they dont' have much opportunity to graze. Marcy tends to be more aggressive with food but generally they share well. Marcy is just WAY more active than Ziggy. We try to play more with Ziggy but he doesn't care much for interactive play. I really need to call the vet and get some help.

 

[Otto's Doll]

I have 5 cats. 3 are perfectly normal, 1 is very small and one could be a coffee table. I free feed my cats premium dry food, and TJ (aka coffee table) is always at the food.

I would try to separate him from the food, however my DH (who says he doesn't like cats) cut small holes in the bottom of the doors to the basement and bedroom (where the food is) so the cats can get away from the dog!

 

[CheshireVal]

I have a friend who had a similar problem with her cats. She ended up establishing a regular feeding time with her cats, twice a day. The cat who needed the special food got served on a table, while the others got their regular food on the floor. After they were finished, she'd take up the bowls.

It was hard at first because they were all used to grazing, but once they realized that this would be their only opportunity to eat for 10 hours or so, they were fine with the regular schedule.

 

[peg2001]

I appreciate all the suggestions. . .nice to know that there are plenty of people/cats in the same situation.

Peggy

 

[phisigprincess]

LOL! One of my cats is so fat!! I say it gives him character.

 

[katerkat]

Schedules work! I have one skinny boy and one fat boy, and they lived with their Grammy and fat kitty cousin. My mother put them on a strict schedule to keep everyone from eating everyone else's food.
Now that it's just my boys again, I leave dry food out all day, but it's 2/3rds diet food. And I feed them wet food once a day and supervise, because Wedge would totally eat Tycho's non-diet food if he had the chance. They know it's their only wet food of the day, so they eat it then instead of grazing.