Feeding behavior while away in a multi-cat household...

jennymarie1116

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Hi, all - I'm lucky to have two lovely girls: a 14 year old sweetie who's lived with me for nearly a decade and a foster fail who is currently 6 months old. Despite their age differences, they generally get along well (they even cuddle with each other from time to time!)

While we were away this weekend, they had some food issues however. It seems that our older gal stress ate as much as she could (and then vommitted) as if she was worried the little one would get to the food first (other than when we leave for an entire day, they get measured meals on a schedule). All is well now and the older gal is back to her regularly scheduled meals and eating a normal amount but we're trying to think of some ways to prevent this from happening in the future. Of course, pet sitters are an option (and we usually use pet sitters for longer trips) but we're looking for other ways we can help give our older girl some peace of mind about her food situation and manage for one-night trips or even days we're away from home past their normal feeding time.

I saw microchip cat doors online and considered possibly installing one in our spare room so Big can have a space that Little can't get into where she can rest, eat, and hang out without being bothered by her lil sis. I thought maybe this would give her a more secure feeling that her food is HER food and the kitten can't get to it. Has anyone tried something like that? Can they truly let one cat in and not another? Any other suggestions?
 

Mr. Meow

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Hi, all - I'm lucky to have two lovely girls: a 14 year old sweetie who's lived with me for nearly a decade and a foster fail who is currently 6 months old. Despite their age differences, they generally get along well (they even cuddle with each other from time to time!)

While we were away this weekend, they had some food issues however. It seems that our older gal stress ate as much as she could (and then vommitted) as if she was worried the little one would get to the food first (other than when we leave for an entire day, they get measured meals on a schedule). All is well now and the older gal is back to her regularly scheduled meals and eating a normal amount but we're trying to think of some ways to prevent this from happening in the future. Of course, pet sitters are an option (and we usually use pet sitters for longer trips) but we're looking for other ways we can help give our older girl some peace of mind about her food situation and manage for one-night trips or even days we're away from home past their normal feeding time.

I saw microchip cat doors online and considered possibly installing one in our spare room so Big can have a space that Little can't get into where she can rest, eat, and hang out without being bothered by her lil sis. I thought maybe this would give her a more secure feeling that her food is HER food and the kitten can't get to it. Has anyone tried something like that? Can they truly let one cat in and not another? Any other suggestions?
Yes, the RFID chips in the tags can let one cat through but not another, even if they aren't foolproof. There are also RFID feeders, that only dispense and provide access to food when a particular cat is near.
In fact, both the microchip door and feeder together may give you the best shot.
 
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shebaa

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i was looking at rfid feeders earlier today. they are so expensive 😲
but they do have good reviews
 
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