- Joined
- Dec 25, 2016
- Messages
- 286
- Purraise
- 111
I got a kitten (currently 7 months old) from my local shelter in September. Things have been going very well so far (he's very friendly to me and to my parents and my senior cat tolerates him) except for the feeding issue. I think I am going to have to do something to feed my cats (obese 18 lb senior and 7 month old kitten) differently than I am doing. I started out feeding the kitten science diet since that's what he was on and feeding the adult cat purina indoor which she has been on for a long time.
When I became aware that eating out of each other's food bowls was a concern, I put the kitten's bowl on the cat tree (with the idea that the obese cat wouldn't climb it) and put the obese cat's food up for her to have when my parent's or I got it down for her. Well, it turned out the the obese cat will climb the cat tree if she's motivated. And the kitten can climb up to the older cat's food. As best I can tell, they have both been eating the kitten food preferentially. Also, the kitten did vomit once when he had the Purina. I did have lab work done on the older cat to see if she would need diabetic/or special kidney support food, and her lab work turned out ok.
What's been stopping me from feeding them separately is that I don't want to ask my parents to do it (they don't see the need, and these are my cats after all). I don't get home until 9 o'clock sometimes so that seems a long time for the cats to wait. Also, the kitten seems to eat better when fed on demand. I am leaning towards an all stage food, assuming that's a good choice. However, I am under the impression that that might still be a bit too rich for the senior cat.
I've gotten very different advice when it comes to feeding them, and so have managed to thoroughly confuse myself. The vet's office told me that 7 months was old enough to go on adult food (but did not specify how much fat/protein to look for). Other opinions (pet store employee, veterinary office employee) have consisted of "How can a food be truly all stage", "it would be ideal to keep the kitten on kitten food for the full year", "kitten food has the right kinds of fats for growing animals", and "Susan can't feed her two cats the same food like you do as they are too far apart in age." I would appreciate any advice you can give me. My goal with the two cats is to make sure that the kitten gets all the nutrition that he needs to be a healthy adult cat and to keep the senior cat from gaining any more weight (or from developing pancreatitis/liver problems).
When I became aware that eating out of each other's food bowls was a concern, I put the kitten's bowl on the cat tree (with the idea that the obese cat wouldn't climb it) and put the obese cat's food up for her to have when my parent's or I got it down for her. Well, it turned out the the obese cat will climb the cat tree if she's motivated. And the kitten can climb up to the older cat's food. As best I can tell, they have both been eating the kitten food preferentially. Also, the kitten did vomit once when he had the Purina. I did have lab work done on the older cat to see if she would need diabetic/or special kidney support food, and her lab work turned out ok.
What's been stopping me from feeding them separately is that I don't want to ask my parents to do it (they don't see the need, and these are my cats after all). I don't get home until 9 o'clock sometimes so that seems a long time for the cats to wait. Also, the kitten seems to eat better when fed on demand. I am leaning towards an all stage food, assuming that's a good choice. However, I am under the impression that that might still be a bit too rich for the senior cat.
I've gotten very different advice when it comes to feeding them, and so have managed to thoroughly confuse myself. The vet's office told me that 7 months was old enough to go on adult food (but did not specify how much fat/protein to look for). Other opinions (pet store employee, veterinary office employee) have consisted of "How can a food be truly all stage", "it would be ideal to keep the kitten on kitten food for the full year", "kitten food has the right kinds of fats for growing animals", and "Susan can't feed her two cats the same food like you do as they are too far apart in age." I would appreciate any advice you can give me. My goal with the two cats is to make sure that the kitten gets all the nutrition that he needs to be a healthy adult cat and to keep the senior cat from gaining any more weight (or from developing pancreatitis/liver problems).