Running out of ideas....

[Dantes]

Hi Deborah, thank you so much for the response! I am sort of doing some of that currently, but will definitely put more thought into it going forward. I do try to play with the boys before I feed them (the idea being to give Duma a catch-kill experience), and Dante gets to eat separately from everyone else in the bathroom because I want to be able to monitor how much he eats. But maybe I'm going about this wrong. I recently came back from a 2 week trip and noticed that the kitty sitter was feeding one of the boys on the counter, which is usually forbidden, but maybe it was Dante and maybe he was more comfortable eating there? I'll definitely have to ask her. I also built some puzzle boxes out of shoeboxes and was putting dry food in there...but I don't really like feeding them dry so will try to rig up something for wet food bowls.

One thing I noticed this morning. I put out some RAD cat for them, and nobody came to eat. (Last night's home cooked chicken with no supplement was still sitting there how odd.) Then about an hour later, someone came by and ate one dish. The other dish is still sitting there, though. It used to be that they were sooooo hungry first thing in the morning, but maybe they're growing out of that?

Anyway, great food for thought, I'll do some experimenting over the next few days and see what happens.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I think Deborah has a point, all kitties are not the same and some need to be separated for feeding and some do best when they can see their friends...and some do prefer eating on a height etc. It's worth looking at, even if you can't monitor his intake as well if he's eating with the others. It's often an issue I have here when the vet asks how much a cat is eating...I can tell him if they are eager for meals or not, but not the exact amount they have eaten at a meal, as they do tend to swap bowls etc.

I also find that weather changes can affect their appetite, so some mornings I will come down and they are ravenous then the next morning they could care less about food. Although usually if they don't eat breakfast and I remove the food after a bit, they will be haunting the kitchen/dining room as a hungry horde by dinner time! Except for Georgie, he's always hungry...has to upkeep his bulk (he's a large British Shorthair).

 

[Jacq]

I usually give mine a very small (about half) breakfast and a much larger dinner. That way they settle down more at night.

 

[Dantes]

I usually give mine a very small (about half) breakfast and a much larger dinner. That way they settle down more at night.

I do the same. With Primal (back when they would eat it) I would do either 1 or 2 oz each in the morning and 4 in the evening (I do the same with RADCat but it's more an eyeball thing). But even that is at least 2 oz less than what they recommend for Duma. And I'd gladly give him more, but if I tried it would go to waste.

 

[Harp]

I got a few cans of Instinct, Duck and Lamb flavors. Dante ate a few bites of the duck yesterday, Duma did not seem interested. It took him a while to get interested in the Rad Cat chicken yesterday too, I hope he doesn't start refusing that :-/ I really feel like both of them don't eat enough at all.

are you mixing it around in the bowl? or leaving it in a "puck" for them to eat into? Atlas is a bit picky, no matter the flavour if it isnt mashed up and mixed around thoroughly he wont eat it. he will just lick the water take a few bites and walk away. i need to mash it up and mix it well for him to eat alot.

 

[Dantes]

are you mixing it around in the bowl? or leaving it in a "puck" for them to eat into? Atlas is a bit picky, no matter the flavour if it isnt mashed up and mixed around thoroughly he wont eat it. he will just lick the water take a few bites and walk away. i need to mash it up and mix it well for him to eat alot.

I'll admit that I don't usually thoroughly mix...I'll try that. As of last night they're not eating RADCat anymore at least not chicken flavor.

 

[Harp]

worth a shot! sounds like you have some very picky eaters on hand. also would be worth trying the chicken flavor in the can too. i have never tried the lamb or venison flavours yet, and have the best results with the duck and chicken. im not going to feed the beef anymore. the stuff doesnt look the same as the chicken/duck and has these wierd ass white spots in it all the time that in the back of my mind i think is mold or something. also the texture/consistency of the beef is much different. its very thick and tough to even mix around. i was skeptical of it to begin with

hope you get something they like!

 

[Wyldthingz]

It is entirely possible that that have you trained, if they want something else then they stop eating. Cycling something they like and stick to it. You may have to compromise a bit but it is better that they eat something that has beef then eating nothing of something quality- right?!

 

[Dantes]

It is entirely possible that that have you trained, if they want something else then they stop eating. Cycling something they like and stick to it. You may have to compromise a bit but it is better that they eat something that has beef then eating nothing of something quality- right?!

Yes, I am a sucker.