Fat Cat And Thin Cat

[auntie]

Here's a story you may have heard before. There are two cats in my house, and their needs are really different.

I have a thin, ratty, toothless Balinese cat, LK. She is only 5 but had serious stomatitis when I got her, so she is in permanent recovery. She's on a topically-applied steroid that works wonders and is easier on her body than an injectable version. She is always hungry, eats like crazy, and is scrawny as can be with a rough coat. I also have a 1-year-old Siberian, Ruby, who is big, fluffy, glossy, and getting fat. She doesn't eat much and is often chased away from her food by LK. She prefers kibble

So anyway I took Ruby in to the vet today for a pantaloons trim and they told me to start watching her weight. The good news is, she just turned 1 so I just stopped kitten food kibble, which the vet said would make a difference. The bad news is, how am I supposed to combine her diet needs with those of LK? I am fine trying to make Ruby eat more wet food and less dry, but the people in my house (including me) are at work and school all day long and LK needs kibble out to get her through the day. I don't want Ruby to get even fatter, but I also need to know LK is getting enough. She really needs to eat kibble to stay mentally and physically balanced, while Ruby really needs to not eat it to lose some weight and not get worse.

Just FYI, right now they have free-fed dry food of Blue Buffalo Indoor kibble, and in the morning and before bed I give each of them like 2 tablespoons of Wellness minced wet food mixed with warm water. LK can't eat pate easily, and Ruby is picky, so I compromise with minced. I only give them treats occasionally, LK can only eat Cat Sushi and Ruby sometimes gets that or MINIMAL Temptations, like 1 or 2 every couple of days (I know, I know....).

What should I do, I don't know how to feed Fatty and Skinny in a way that's healthiest for both.

 

[KarenKat]

It’s definitely a classic tale of two kitties. We have three cats, one perfectly fit cat that has eaten all sorts of garbage kibble and stated trim, a formerly fat cat that lost weight when transferred to a higher quality kibble, and then Olive, aka porky cat, who eats all food and plumps up on kibble. We feed her all wet food because free-fed kibble disappears down her gullet too quickly.

Have you looked into a microchip feeder? Then you can leave the kibble out for LK but Ruby won’t be able to access it.

You can also look into a kibble that is lower in carbs - although they are more expensive. I like Dr Elsey’s CleanProtein Chicken, and I also hear good things about Tiki Cat and Young Again.

 

[Lari]

Have you looked into a microchip feeder? Then you can leave the kibble out for LK but Ruby won’t be able to access it.

As the human of the skinny cat who likes to graze compared to the bf's chubby cat who vacums down her food and saw Lelia's as a nice seconds, the microchip feeder has cut out a /lot/ of food time stress for me. Once I had Lelia trained on it, I could just put in her gushies and/or kibble in it and know she'll get it all at her leisure even if no one's around. And it seals, so the wet food stays good in it!

 

[auntie]

Only the fat one is microchipped...does the skinny one need a microchip to get her food with this system?
I’ve been meaning to do it anyway in case she gets out.

 

[Lari]

The surefeed came with a tag you can put on a collar if the microchip doesn't work, but ideally it's supposed to read the chip to work, yeah.

 

[kobata1928]

I had this same problem with my three cats. At first I tried putting another bowl up on a shelf the biggest had never jumped on, but once there was food up there he decided he could in fact jump that high. My solution is not elegant, and it only works because there was a big difference in overall sizes of cats at 14, 12, and 9 pounds.

Through trial and error I modified the entrance in the feeder box until my biggest cat can't squeeze through. On the side I made an access hole the size of the bowl so I can get it in and out easily, and it's far too short for a cat to get in. I'm sure some cats would rip the box apart to get in, but once Oscar found he couldn't fit he has left it alone.

 

[lalagimp]

We have four cats. Two are fatties and two maintain their weight on their own. The boys are on timed feedings, and the girls have the microchip access to eat whenever they want. I never programmed the feeders or doors to their embedded microchip, but to the RFID chip on their collar that the company will provide.
Then you pray your chubby cat is nothing like my Tom... His ingenuity costs a lot of my money, and tolerance levels for bs run thin. No one else has told me they have a cat like Tom. He'll nudge the girl over while she's eating and hold the automatic lid open with his head while he eats her food, as it's trying to close itself and lock. I finally ended up with a MeowSpace enclosure, a SureFlap cat door on it, and then the SureFeed inside. He'll also try to climb into the MeowSpace through the top if the weight is not set back on it, so that he can't. This is why I haven't put a regular feeder inside and we keep using the SureFeed even in a "secure" area.

 

[KarenKat]

Q

No one else has told me they have a cat like Tom. He'll nudge the girl over while she's eating and hold the automatic lid open with his head while he eats her food, as it's trying to close itself and lock.

I never tire of hearing this story. Somehow my porky cat is very polite regarding the other cat's food - she will eat any abandoned food, but she doesn't go up to a cat that is actively eating. Very considerate of her.

 

[auntie]

kobata1928 I love your invention! Honestly more my style than a microchip feeder.

lalagimp That is amazing, Tom is a genius. A fat genius. Like Detective Superintendent Andrew Dalziel