How to deal with feeding two cats?

[Willowwombat]

We now have two cats, both of whom will eat happily in the same room, but I'm faced with the problem of feeding them both the correct amount of food.

I've been trying to set them up on a schedule, but apart from first thing in the morning, when they're both starving, I can't get them both eating at the same time. One of them is always snoring away in one of the bedrooms and unwilling to get up.

If I leave the food out at night, of course, it gets eaten, but I have no idea which one of them is doing the eating. Both have shown a proclivity for eating out of the other's bowl.

Neither cat eats the whole meal at once, either.

Neither cat has a health problem, but my girl Willow is a bit overweight. Both cats will eat either wet or dry food.

Any pointers would be great.

 

[Maria Bayote]

One of them is always snoring away in one of the bedrooms and unwilling to get up.

This made me laugh, my bad. Because I am also dealing with the same thing with one of my cats. So I can relate.

My husband scolds me, but believe it or not, whenever I feed and Bourbon is also busy snoring and refuses to eat, I bring her food bowl on her bed. When she smells the food, it is her cue to wake up.

Again, my husband scolds me every single time I do it. LOL.

 

[Willowwombat]

We have been guilty of this in the past, too.

But now that we have two cats, the feeding seems to be taking up a lot of my time, which is not unlimited. I don't want to be monitoring two cats who prefer to graze.

 

[lisahe]

We have some similar "issues" with feeding our two cats: one eats more than the other, one's always hungrier than the other. The less hungry cat would prefer to graze all day.

What's worked (for the most part!) here is feeding four meals a day (plus a nighttime snack) at set times. The cats are separated for three of those meals so we can be sure who's eating what. Our two cats got used to the routine fairly quickly. They've been tested on changes recently, too, when I dropped the daytime meals from five to four! They're older and less active (plus it's autumn so they don't go on their veranda to watch wildlife quite as much) so they just don't eat quite as much as they used to.

Good luck!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

We transitioned four free fed cats to scheduled meals, so I know it can be done. Here's an article that might help you do it.

Transitioning Free-fed Kibble Kitties To Timed Meals - TheCatSite

Kitty parents find themselves wanting to transition from free-fed kibble to timed meals and/or a new type of food for many reasons: The need to monitor food intake in multi-cat homes Kitty health As part of a transition to canned, raw, or homemade food, where the food is not left out and must be...

thecatsite.com

BTW, now we are down to two cats, and one is like your "do not bother me" cat, and the other always wants to eat his brother's food along with his own. Due to that issues, we feed in separate rooms. And if the "don't bother me" cat doesn't eat within his scheduled timeframe, then he doesn't eat. Missing one meal isn't going to kill him. But it might ensure that he eats his next meal with gusto, if I'm lucky. And we feed three meals per day, plus some healthy treats right at bedtime.

 

[Willowwombat]

Neither cat ate much this morning, but tonight there were two eager little faces looking up at me when I went into the kitchen.

 

[maggie101]

I use food timers and set my alarm for 6 am. I have a timer in my bedroom and in my living room. My cats know where their food is because it's always in the same place. I open the timers manually, Maggie goes in my bedroom peaches living room and shut my bedroom door. Then get up at 9 am

 

[Willowwombat]

That's an interesting method. Unfortunately if I wake up at 6 I don't go back to sleep, so that won't work for me.

 

[mewlittle]

I have 5 cats 3 Cali Diablo and Raiden in the back part of the apartment no idea who is eating what on dry because they don't stick to their own bowls but I do watch them when I'm feeding wet due to one of the 3 is currently on a different wet,
The 2 in the front of the apartment Soar and Astrid (kitten) on the other hand they actually stay at their own bowls I never seen Soar or Astrid steal out of the other ones bowl/plate even wen there's dry and wet down, Soar eats on the deep freezer while Astrid eats on the floor near the deep freezer,

Maybe feed the one cat that likes to be in a higher setting on a table or something while feeding the other one that don't mind the lower setting on the floor to if that works, the first couple weeks after getting Astrid every time I caught her trying to get on the deep freezer to get to Soars food I will instantly redirect her to her own bowl/plate ,now she doesn't even bother ,I still haven't figured out how to get Cali Diablo and Raiden not to eat from the others ,I think they are more stubborn lol

The reason why I have Cali Diablo and Raiden in the back part of the apartment is for various reasons but they do have the same space as Soar and Astrid


Cali knocks down curtains and went missing through a window in the front part can't have that because my moms landlord will have a fit, and Cali bullies Soar to the point that Soars hides behind the microwave on top the fridge for days on end, and a few other things so I put Cali with the boys and she been fine since and Soar hasn't hid she even plays with Astrid, also Cali caused Astrid to hide but for some odd reason Cali isn't bullying the boys

And Diablo has freak out moments in the front part like pts kind of thing but not in the back part that's confusing to me, Raiden is because my mom has reactions from him for some odd reason