Feeding multiple cats

[F/3]

I know this is the best place to ask this question because I know a lot of you guys and gals have more than one cat.

I have two cats. Simba my Savannah and Mocha my Himalayan. I'm wanting to get a third cat for simba to play with so he'll leave the 14 year old mocha alone.

Simba eats raw and Mocha eats kibble (taste of the wild) right now it works out great. Mocha doesn't like raw and can't eat it if he did because of his flat face. He likes raw chicken but just licks it across the floor because he can't pick it up.
Simba gets fed In the kitchen and mocha gets fed in the bathroom. Simba tries hard to get to the kibble when I let mocha in or out. Its kitty crack to simba. The system works out. Mocha lets me know when he wants in the bathroom to eat and meows when he wants out. All is good.

Now comes my dilemma, if I get a third cat (Selkirk Rex) I'm probably going to feed him raw. If I feed the new cat and simba together I'm sure simba will try and eat off both plates. I really don't want to take the new cats raw food clear across the house to eat in the other bathroom.
How would you handle this?
Thanks

 

[Patti]

Well, every cat is individual, but in my experience, if you put out enough raw for two cats then they will eat what they need. If Simba is food aggressive he may try to take the other kitten's food as well as guard his own, but kittens usually grow out of food aggression as they mature. If he doesn't then you'll just have to be creative in how you feed them.

 

[Chris Elliott]

I feed Jax (a DMH) in a crate as he will apparently eat until he explodes. However, the two Savannahs are self-regulating, for the most part. The crate allows all of them to eat together without conflict.

 

[F/3]

No conflict. I've got pictures of them eating chicken off the same plate. Simbas like a two year old. He will think whatever is on the other plate tastes better than his even if their the same thing.

 

[John Popp]

We had 4 cats all on different diets, different speeds in which they ate and of course diving for each others bowls. The way we managed things was to be very concise with the amount they were fed and picked up their plates after 15 minutes. If they couldn't eat it in 15 minutes, they really didn't need it, and they were on a 3x a day feeding schedule.

They always came to their plates hungry, and always left them pretty clean. They would find empty dishes amongst their brethren when finished, although they would do a good job of licking off any last remnants. Nobody was starving, nobody was fat and I only had minor issues with what they would eat. Hopefully I won't end up in a position where feeding my crew becomes such a puzzle.

 

[SV Dad]

Hopefully I won't end up in a position where feeding my crew becomes such a puzzle.

Yeah, right. Give it time! These are savannahs we are talking about! You know as well as any of us.

 

[John Popp]

Agreed, My puzzle used to be pretty complex but when I figured a few things out it became easier.

• Don't give them the opportunity to graze.

• Feed them what they eat in 15 minutes, discard the rest.

• Figure out who eats the fastest and feed them last.

Lastly, there is some of this they have to take responsibility for figuring out and once you have your plan set, the little bit of dish diving they do is at an acceptable level.