I recently adopted two cats from my local shelter. I love them both to bits and I really want the best for them, but I’m new to cat ownership and I’m not sure if I’m doing the right things or not.
They seem to be settling in but I’m having issues with them being very competitive for attention and food. My one girl is very dominant and will intimidate the other away from any food bowl where he is eating, and will interject herself into petting sessions and groom the other one until he gets annoyed enough to leave. She doesn’t actually want to be petted herself, though, and is generally very aversive to being touched. This has led the other one to be quite needy and always wanting my attention and not feeling safe eating unless I am watching.
These two knew each other from their previous home. They are both around 5 years old (not siblings). My one girl, Jessie, who is dominating and unfriendly, has some health issues and is in a lot of discomfort. She’s overweight and has some arthritis and feline acne on her chin. She’s had a vet visit and the vet recommended strict mealtimes but I’ve had trouble implementing that (see below). The other one, Sunny, is also a bit overweight but other than that is in pretty good health.
I’ve tried different approaches to feeding but have settled on for now just leaving dry food out in two separate rooms in the house. I’m hoping that they might figure out a territory balance but it hasn’t happened yet and they both eat from both bowls. I’ve tried getting them used to meals at set times but they won’t finish their food and they were getting very difficult to live with. I’m wondering if that change was maybe too soon and it’ll be ok to just keep letting them get used to their new home (it’s only been a few weeks), or if I need to try to change to timed meals now even if it means stressed, hungry kitties for a little while. I’m really not sure what to do and any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
They seem to be settling in but I’m having issues with them being very competitive for attention and food. My one girl is very dominant and will intimidate the other away from any food bowl where he is eating, and will interject herself into petting sessions and groom the other one until he gets annoyed enough to leave. She doesn’t actually want to be petted herself, though, and is generally very aversive to being touched. This has led the other one to be quite needy and always wanting my attention and not feeling safe eating unless I am watching.
These two knew each other from their previous home. They are both around 5 years old (not siblings). My one girl, Jessie, who is dominating and unfriendly, has some health issues and is in a lot of discomfort. She’s overweight and has some arthritis and feline acne on her chin. She’s had a vet visit and the vet recommended strict mealtimes but I’ve had trouble implementing that (see below). The other one, Sunny, is also a bit overweight but other than that is in pretty good health.
I’ve tried different approaches to feeding but have settled on for now just leaving dry food out in two separate rooms in the house. I’m hoping that they might figure out a territory balance but it hasn’t happened yet and they both eat from both bowls. I’ve tried getting them used to meals at set times but they won’t finish their food and they were getting very difficult to live with. I’m wondering if that change was maybe too soon and it’ll be ok to just keep letting them get used to their new home (it’s only been a few weeks), or if I need to try to change to timed meals now even if it means stressed, hungry kitties for a little while. I’m really not sure what to do and any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
