Cat Wont Eat If He Is Alone, But They Needs Be To Separate

[Yoda and Vader]

Hi all,
So one of our cats has urinary issues and needs to be fed a urinary wet food. Our other cat doesn't need it so we want to keep them separate so that Yoda is eating his prescription food like hes supposed to and not sharing it with Vader. However, if we put Vader in a room by himself while Yoda eats his food, he won't eat. Once we let him out, Yoda goes and eats Vaders food while Vader goes to see if Yoda left and scraps. Any suggestions on getting them to not eat each others food? We don't want to leave one cat locked up all day while we are gone because we both have school and work so we cant lock him up only for a little bit and then let him out later.
Thanks

 

[Kflowers]

Ask your vet if there is any reason Vader can't eat the same food as Yoda. And if not, ask why. I want to know. Cats will always want to know what the other one is eating and if it's different they'll want that. Somewhat, dare I say it?, like kids.

Some cats are social feeders. They don't like to eat alone. If they are only cats they want their person to be in the room with them while they eat. Some want to be petted while eating. Other cats will take your hand off if you pet them while they are eating.

 

[mizzely]

A little pricey but you could do a microchip feeder set up? The SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder from Sure Petcare

 

[MajorTomCat]

We use the surefeed microchip feeders to keep food from getting mixed. They’re expensive but oh so worth it. If you get them, it takes about a week for the kitties to get used to the noise and moving parts but it’s been smooth sailing since.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi There is nothing wrong with feeding a cat urinary care food even if they don't have urinary issues. I would suggest you feed them both the same food.

 

[Yoda and Vader]

Hi There is nothing wrong with feeding a cat urinary care food even if they don't have urinary issues. I would suggest you feed them both the same food.

Good to know. Unfortunately we cant afford for them both to be eating the urinary food since it's so expensive. We can barely afford to feed it to Yoda as one of his meals instead of both as we are both students and cant work as much as we'd like.

We use the surefeed microchip feeders to keep food from getting mixed. They’re expensive but oh so worth it. If you get them, it takes about a week for the kitties to get used to the noise and moving parts but it’s been smooth sailing since.

That is something we maybe can look into I'll see what my boyfriend thinks about budgeting that in sometime soon.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good to know. Unfortunately we cant afford for them both to be eating the urinary food since it's so expensive. We can barely afford to feed it to Yoda as one of his meals instead of both as we are both students and cant work as much as we'd like.

I believe Purina Pro has both wet & dry urinary care foods that are cheaper than the typical vet prescribed foods. But, I am not sure by how much.

 

[Kflowers]

Here is Chewy's page with the Purina Pro urinary care vst food - Free shipping | Chewy

so you can compare the prices.

Oh, and yikes!

 

[DreamerRose]

Put Yoda in the separate room and let Vader eat where he can see you. There's a vestigial instinct in some cats to have one cat in a clowder watch out for predators while the others eat. Mingo is like this. If I go to another room for a minute while he's eating, he comes after me, still chewing with a very worried look on his face and meow. But I have to separate them as Lily will eat all his food.

 

[Yoda and Vader]

Put Yoda in the separate room and let Vader eat where he can see you. There's a vestigial instinct in some cats to have one cat in a clowder watch out for predators while the others eat. Mingo is like this. If I go to another room for a minute while he's eating, he comes after me, still chewing with a very worried look on his face and meow. But I have to separate them as Lily will eat all his food.

I will try this tonight when I feed them and see how it goes. Thanks!

 

[Kflowers]

Logic! That's good to know and makes absolute sense. Clowders and prides are the way to go.