Middening over food rights

[Amwhite1986]

Hi! I need some help.

I have a pair of mainecoon mix bonded brothers, 6 years old. Cam has always been a glutton, he's 19lbs and should probably be 16lbs, the spca I adopted him from told me he used to be 21lbs....so he's always liked his food.
Jasper is 14.6lbs and between being just right and maybe a little thin. He has a poultry intolerance.

Their food is a couple meters away from each other because Cam likes to steal, he knows which food area is his as if he is trying to get to his brothers he does it slowly and will look around to see if I'm watching.

I finally caved and got them microchip cat feeders so that 1. Chonky Cam can no longer sneak and steal from Jasper, hopefully lose some weight while giving me peace of mind that Jasper is actually getting his food; and 2. I can feed them different food as Cam is perfectly capable of having poultry(which is less expensive than alternate protein sources).

They started using the feeders December 4th.
On the 7th there was poop in front of Jasper's, I assumed maybe due to his fur he had a little constipation and after walking to his feeder it just slipped out.
Yesterday. December 14th. I heard what sounded like pawing at a feeder cover and knew Cam was over there. A few minutes later the smell hit. Got up to find he left a fresh one right in front of Jasper's feeder. Sorry Jasper for blaming the first one on you.

I know what's going on, he's clearly trying to mark the feeder he can't access as his own as though that's going to get him the food inside. My dilemma is how do I get him to stop marking what's never been his? They are bonded so get along fine, I'm worried about if this escalates and becomes a thing between them.

Cam is the orange one, Jasper blonde.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Cam and Jasper are pawsitively gorgeous.

About Cam's new marking habit, Is the food canned or kibble? Do they graze, particularly Jasper? Or eat everything at one sitting? I know I've read of cat parents who have to feed their cats in separate rooms due to one cat either needing a different food, or another cat trying to eat everything. So kinda like your situation.

Has Cam ever had territorial-like pooping outside the litter box before?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Oh my! They are both adorable, and Cam is certainly not happy with the food situation!! The only thing I can think of to do is move Jasper's food dish to another location, and instead of using a chip feeder for his food, add a cat door to that room's door triggered by Jasper's chip feeder, so that Cam cannot even remotely get close to Jasper's food. I realize it would take introducing Jasper to his new feeding station, but it is worth it to break Cam's new habit. It will be broken over time!

 

[Amwhite1986]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Cam and Jasper are pawsitively gorgeous.

About Cam's new marking habit, Is the food canned or kibble? Do they graze, particularly Jasper? Or eat everything at one sitting? I know I've read of cat parents who have to feed their cats in separate rooms due to one cat either needing a different food, or another cat trying to eat everything. So kinda like your situation.

Has Cam ever had territorial-like pooping outside the litter box before?

They get both wet and dry food right now, twice a day. Once the dry food is gone I plan on giving only wet(the dry was only introduced to try and put some meat on Jasper when we adopted him and he was lighter. I was told neither liked dry food, but since Jasper liked hard treats I figured I'd give it a try thinking Cam who doesn't touch hard treats wouldn't touch it. I was wrong, the spca was wrong, if there is a gathering of more than a dozen pieces of kibble Cam is all over it). Cam will eat all his food in one sitting, in the evenings when I'm home ill wait to give him the dry in hopes he stay full longer than eating all at once. Jasper will sometimes eat all his wet food in one sitting but sometimes takes a few bites and comes back later. He tends to graze on his dry food.
We live in a small condo so really don't have space to separate them more. When we had a table too big for the space I actually fed and kept Jasper's food up on it because Cam isn't super into jumping. Now we have a small table that doesn't really work but I might try putting Jasper's feeder up there if this continues.
Cam will just hang out in the dining area waiting for food to appear while Jasper isn't really food motivated at all.

 

[rubysmama]

When we had a table too big for the space I actually fed and kept Jasper's food up on it because Cam isn't super into jumping. Now we have a small table that doesn't really work but I might try putting Jasper's feeder up there if this continues.

That sounds like a good idea, and one I've seen that other cat parents have done as well. Also, ensure you clean the area where Cam pooped with an enzyme cleaner, to ensure the scent is completely removed.

 

[Amwhite1986]

That sounds like a good idea, and one I've seen that other cat parents have done as well. Also, ensure you clean the area where Cam pooped with an enzyme cleaner, to ensure the scent is completely removed.

Oh I did after I wiped down with Lysol. didn't want Jasper to smell it and get turned on his food

 

[rubysmama]

Things going well today, I hope.