Big boy eats kitten's food

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Our 4 1/2 year old male MC absolutely adores our new 5-month old MC female kitten, and they have become inseparable. Before we got the kitten we had to restrict the boy's free feeding, as he would always eat until the food was gone, and he got pretty fat. The kitten, who is a little dynamo, needs access to food at all times. The boy is delighted with this sudden abundance of food and is taking maximum advantage of it. How do we keep him trim and allow her enough to eat at the same time? (He is getting more exercise playing with her, but not necessarily enough to burn off all the extra calories he's consuming.) We both work 9-5, so we can't give her frequent small meals during the day. Thanks.

-- Anonymous, October 15, 1999

Answers

My first thought is - Can you separate the two cats during the day? Maybe the kitten could be in her own room with all of her toys and food? If you had a screen in place of a door, the two cats could still see each other and interact to some degree, but your older MC wouldn't be able to eat the kitten's food.

Another thought is to put the kitten's food in a small enclosure that the much larger older cat would not be able to access. Maybe a small box with a "door" for the little one, or a small carrier. Good luck!

-- Anonymous, October 15, 1999


Hi there Maybe you can pick up a playpen from somewhere,if you put the kitten food inside it the kitten will be able to pop in and have a snack whenever it likes, but an older (and plumper cat won't be able to squeeze between the bars! It works for a breeder friend of mine. Good luck Ann Mary

-- Anonymous, October 18, 1999

Thanks to both of you who responded. We used the small box solution, since separating them was out of the question. We had an old wooden crate--I cut a "door" that she can fit through but he cannot. When she eats, her bushy Maine Coon tail sticks out of the door--looks like a box with a tail. My boy is kind of peeved, but seems to feel much better since he's not stuffing himself with food all day.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 1999

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