Other Cats Pushing Blind Cat Away During Feeding Time

SamJackFinn14102

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Hi,
We have a 14 year old, a 10 year old and 2 year old cat, all males. We suspect our 10 year old has gone completely blind (and a possibility of him being inbred as we got him when he was 1 and the family we got him from, all their cats were related) over the last couple of years or so. Recently we have noticed that our other two cats, that we have had both from 8 weeks old, have been pushing him away from the food, so sometimes he doesn't get anything to eat or even has started waiting until the others have finished eating before attempting to eat anything. We have to stand and watch them all eat to make sure Jack gets enough to eat without the others pushing him away and he always seems to back down to either of the others when they want his food. We have noticed this for the past month or so and he has lost weight, where before he was quite a chunky cat. They don't bully him outside of feeding time, they let him use the litter trays and even sleep with him at night, they have never had any fights in the years they have lived together and have always eaten in peace right next to one another up until recently. Would the other two pick up on the fact that he has gone blind and has anyone got any ideas for how we can work around this or fix this problem?
We have thought about feeding them apart in separate rooms but would want to avoid this if possible as we would like them all to eat in harmony if they can.
Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated as we are feeling very sorry for our boy, thank you, Katie.
 

molly92

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The Surefeed microchip pet feeder was absolutely worth the price for me. It only opens in response to the cat's microchip, and you can program which cat it responds to. You'd have to train your blind cat to use the bowl, but it makes a mechanical sound so he could hear it open when he walked up to it and he would probably be able to adjust. It closes automatically when the cat it's for isn't near it, and you can also set it to close quickly when the wrong cat comes up to it. You would probably only need one, because it's not a problem of him eating their food, just them eating his food.

Here's what it looks like:
 

danteshuman

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I would set up different feeding places (or feed him in a room by himself.)

My mom has an old senior cat & 2 young (16 month) old kittens (Plus their brother when we visit over the weekend.) The old man is loosing weight because of his kidneys (she free feeds dry in upstairs & down) so we started over feeding them with wet food. We tried feeding him in a room but he prefers to wait until they are done & then eat.

Since blind kitties can function just as well as seeing cats this sounds like a possible bullying or personality thing. Playing together and treats to help them get along better might help. Feeding on 4 plates (for 3 cats) in different spots in the room (or training the others to leave his place alone by sitting by his) might work. Some cats just have to have the ‘first’ & most/best and other cats are more mellow (like my sweet old man) & are content to just wait their turn (my old man has always been more passive & content to wait. Plus he lived with his bully of a brother for 13 years. I had to encourage him to stand up for himself.


Good luck!!!!
 

fionasmom

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I do think that your blind baby is being bullied but not because the other two are evil cats. It is really leftover DNA from millions of years ago which makes the sick one less acceptable as a group member. This has happened to me as well when I have had younger cats with older, sick ones (I realize that you did say that one of your cats is 14 though) and usually can be controlled by making lifestyle adjustments. If you don't think that the timed feeder will work you might have to feed separately or stand guard for the blind one.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Given his age, and the fact that he is losing weight, he should go in for a senior check up with your vet. While you might think his weight loss is from not being able to eat as much because of the other cats, there may be something else going on. I don't know if the blindness by itself would cause the other cats to treat him differently at food time, but they might if he is ill. A similar thing happened with my sister's dogs, two who spent all their time together, but the younger one started to deny the elder one food. She acquiesced to his behavior long before my sister realized what was going on. As it turns out she was sick and sadly passed away shortly thereafter, some of it having to do with the shortage of food, but not all.

Do whatever it takes to see that he eats his fair share - and gets a full senior check up (blood panel including CBC, Chemistry Profile, thyroid), and at least a urinalysis. Whatever you do, please keep us posted.
 
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SamJackFinn14102

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Thank you everyone ,for your suggestions, we will give all of these a try and the mircochip feeder will probably be our last resort as 1. he is very timid of new things and 2. it is a little out of our price range at the moment when there are much cheaper alternatives. At the moment, we are supervising feeding at the moment and trying to scold the other cats when they go near his dish and rewarding them when they don't, hopefully this will work.
Thanks again :)
 

Purr-fect

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Two things I hate......politicians and bullies.

Arnold will push greg aside, eat gregs food and then go back to finish his food.

I feed both cats at same time, and place the dishes 6 to 8 feet apart. If arnold starts towards gregs dish, all i have to do is say "arnold" sternly and he walks back to his dish.

I keep a close eye when feeding them.
 

danteshuman

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Purr-fect have you tried feeding Arnold in a flow feeder? Really pressing his food to the sides so he has to work for it?
 

Purr-fect

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Purr-fect have you tried feeding Arnold in a flow feeder? Really pressing his food to the sides so he has to work for it?
We did get him a special cat bowl that made him work for his food. He wasnt impressed and simply stopped eating.

He quickly trained me not to mess with his food.
 
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