Feeding two cats

[karenlynn79]

I have two SVs, our new boy RP who is 4 months old and Zyon, who is 2.5 years old. After slowly introducing them as advised etc.. they get along great and are best friends already. My question is about feeding them.
We're feeding raw in the mornings, RP gets a bit of raw for lunch, and canned at night, though RP hasn't really taken to it, and then we keep some dry out. We're sticking with some dry as we go for day trips, camping etc.. and don't want to have to have someone come in three times a day for raw etc..

Now that they are both out together all day, I'm not sure if I should be separating them for their meals or not. RP tends to eat about 25% of his food right away, then likes to eat the rest later on, usually when someone (me) is near him or he happens by and notices it. Zyon wolfs his food down (has always) when given it. So of course, when RP doesn't eat all of his, Zyon will finish his own then eat RPs. We have had their food out together before, and they are fine with it, but that issue will remain. Alternatively, I put RPs food in my bedroom (where he was quarantined) and sometimes I do close the door and he'll eat some, but again, not all. Oftentimes then Zyon will bide his time and wait, then later when RP and I are out of the room, he'll sneak in and eat that food too. ? I'm not really sure what to do with that. We've tried letting RP notice that his food is gone, or see Zyon eat it, as a motivator for him to finish his when given it, but he doesn't care until hours and hours later when he is hungry.

The other issue/question is about the dry food. RP has tended to eat more dry food than I'd like him to. Sometimes when he has his raw food, he'll still just start eating the dry. If I take the dry away, he'll eat his raw food. So I'm trying to figure out this as well - should I limit the dry? Maybe only give them dry at one time of day instead of keeping a bit (not much) in their bowls all day? We're finally at a place where they both eat all the raw flavors, so I don't want to upset their routine much but at the same time, not sure what to do about both of the above issues? Any suggestions would be great

 

[Patti]

I would only put enough food out for RP in the morning that he will finish off, and then feed him an additional meal a few hours later. RP is still a baby, and just like a human baby needs to be fed more often. As he matures I think you will find that he eats more each meal and you can go back to two or three meals a day.

As for the dry, I would definitely limit that, maybe only offer it every other day, and after they've already eaten their raw. That way they'll be more inclined to eat their healthy food and less inclined to eat the 'fast food'.

 

[Rafiki]

As a kitten, you need to make sure that RP has enough high quality protein food to eat every day. You may have to separate them at mealtime. I agree with Patti - definitely limit the amount of dry food and encourage them to fill up on raw or wet.

I have to stick around and monitor my cats when they eat. I weigh their food for every meal and ensure that each cat is eating their own food.

Jammu used to have food aggression and Rafiki is a submissive cat. He would bully her and eat her food. Her liver problems and feline hyperesthesia syndrome made this much worse. We solved the problem by crate training her for meal times. The crate is always open but it gives her piece of mind.

Now we have the opposite problem. If Jammu walks away from his food, Rafiki bolts out of the crate and devours his food before returning to the crate and finishing her own. She is also so much quicker than him and can dart in and devour his treats before he has time to react.

 

[Patti]

Now we have the opposite problem

LOL Rafiki - you've come a long way baby!