Time to eat!

We are a multiple kitty household. We adopted Sofie and Sam at the same time. Funny thing, they both have issues with their weight.

As indoor kitties, we lavish fabulous toys on them. They love them. They exercise by flinging them up into the air for a self-serving catch. They leave “mouse killing fields” at the end of the bed, out into the hall … all leading to their favorite place of all:

The Kitty Food Center.

Cat diets are even more excruciating than human diets in terms of time-it takes months and months for a cat to lose a few. This, of course, doesn’t stop kitties from begging for treats. Or food. Or attention …

I’ve got Sofie and Sam on a diet. Changed their feeding schedule, too. Now, they each get an eighth of a can of  “light ” wet cat food in the morning and a few treats at 4:00 p.m. (and I mean it; Sam won’t let me forget it!). Their bowls are full with an oral care formula of a cat food that our vet recommended. Why oral care? The nibbles are very large and the kitties need to really break it down and chew it. This is supposed to slow down their feeding, so they don’t  inhale the food, as mine usually do.

Lately, though, I see Sam stealing Sofie’s food. It’s a difference in their personalities, really. Sofie is sensitive and quiet. She investigates the food in her dish before nibbling. Sam just chows down.

In the case of treats, I see Sam’s little paw reach over and swipe a few of Sofie’s treats out from under her. And there’s only a few treats there to begin with! This morning, Sam managed to eat all of his wet food plus all of Sofie’s food, as Sofie watched from afar.

I’m afraid this is hindering their relationship, as I hear hissie-fits more often these days.

Some experts suggest disbanding a food center for more personalized food locations for each cat. I think I’m going to give this a try.

Photo Credit: The_Beast

June 26th, 2009 by Janet Muniz | Posted in Cat Food, Uncategorized | (0)