So if you have two cats, how do you stop Fat Cat eating Thin Cat's food?

[MarthaFarquhar]

I've only ever had one cat at a time, but the rescue place recognised a softie when they saw one and persuaded me to take a pair.

So at mealtimes, I shake the biscuit box, await felines, and serve up nosh. Fat Cat wolfs down his, then shoves Thin Cat out of the way and eats hers. So how do I stop the greedy fecker?

can you feed thin cat on a raised surface? is fat cat too fat to jump up?

alternatively shut fat cat out of the room.

ooh - thanks.

Sadly Fat Cat is reasonbly agile (think prop-forward)

shutting out may be a longer-term solution although DH is currently mid-botched flooring project, so we have no internal doors downstairs until he buys a new Machine of some sort.

I used to have to feed little cat on top of the aquarium as fat cat would eat everything! It was more of a problem with the fat one as he was supposed to be on a balanced diet for urinary tract problems.

Don't leave food down all the time for thin cat - supervise them if feeding at same time, or feed separately. Thin cat will learn to eat more at a "sitting" and you can then properly control how much fat cat has and hopefully he becomes healthy weight cat too. You can always slip thin cat a treat or two when fat cat is not looking too.

I supervise at meal times and shout "Victor" in a fierce manner to fat cat.

We have exactly the same problem! Although have taken to feeding Fatty and Skinny separately, or placing Skinny's food high where Fatty can't reach cos too fat to jump!

You'll find that Fatty will become more determined to steal Skinny cat food, but at least it will help burn the weight off as they race to beat you in getting to the dish! Tee hee!

malfoy

shouting is the current favoured technique, but I did wonder if there was some sort of Alfie Kohn for cats (The Unconditional Owner?)

Malfoy. You are a winner, arf.

I'm well used to this one - incredible how a furry bloater will suddenly show nuclear energy levels when it comes to food. Have you tried:

• feeding them in separate places? ie different rooms. Worked for me

• picking up the fatty when he has eaten enough. Again effective, altho can be painful.

• timing meals so you sneak skinny kitty a bit extra, earlier.

Lots of luck.

When it got bad I fed fat cat outside and didn't let him come in until thin cat had eaten. Otherwise I just let them get on with it - thin cat fought back pretty effectively after a while.

It will always be like this, we had a pair for 14 years and there was one tubby greedy one and one slim one who waited for the other to eat first, almost like an etiquette thing. I would put 2 saucers down, fatty would wolf his whilst skinny watched on and try to eat only to be shoved out of the way etc. You cause problems if you try and change if, as one cat is the dominant one and the other is submissive. Its a pecking order thing if you like. I used to sneak the skinny one little treats like crabsticks and pieces of cheese when fatty was out. They were both lovely cats though, and I miss them terribly.

The only consolation is, they were both the exact same age, and thin cat lived 3 years longer.

Like alysonpeaches I try and sneak thiner cats extra bits when fat cats are not around. Although my fat cats do have an amazing instinct for appearing just as the food does.
We have 6 cats and DH says that they all end up fat eventually.
My newest 2 rescue cats are plumping up nicely!