Are there two or more cats in your home? Do they have different personalities? Does one of them behave more strongly? Cats are solitary animals who have their own territorial consciousness. Cats with stronger personalities tend to occupy the place and eat more food. They may push other cats away from food as they want to leave all the resources to themselves. And as the result, the less dominant cats tend to eat less food than we feed them because the food is “stolen” by other cats. But as cat owners, we certainly don’t want that to happen. So how to keep cats from eating each other’s food?
In many cases, we need to keep cats from eating each other’s food. For example:
- One of the cats may need to lose weight. We need to keep the fat cat from eating other cats’ food.
- One of the kittens may need more food for adequate nutrition.
- One of the cats may be sick and need a special diet, or the food may contain the medicine we spilled on it. We don’t want the healthy ones to eat these foods.
Without further ado, below are some tips to prevent cats from eating each other’s food.
Method 1: Separate the Cats When Feeding
1. Develop a daily regular feeding plan
If you have always filled the bowl with food so that the cats can eat freely, then the first step you need to do is to make a meal schedule for the cats and enable them to eat regularly.
You can feed them two to three meals a day, stick to the recommended feeding amount on the cat food label to help them stay healthy. By doing this, you can better control the food intake of each cat.
At the beginning of changing the feeding method, the cat may meow to get your attention and ask you for food. But once cats adapt to the diet plan, they will quickly get used to eating at a certain time of the day.
2. Put the cats in separate rooms
After making a feeding plan, let’s discuss how to separate your cats during feeding.
If you have enough rooms, putting the cats in separate rooms will be an effective and simple method. Dominant cats cannot eat more food, and relatively weak cats do not have to worry about their food being taken away. This is a great opportunity for both cats to enjoy a treat without stealing food, fighting, or feeling stressed. Please note that you should give them 30 minutes at most to finish the food, take away the bowl when time is up. Only in this way can they develop a good habit of eating within the specified time.
3. Put the cats’ food bowls a few feet away from each other’s
If there are not enough rooms in the house to separate the cats, it is a simple and good way to try to separate their food bowls from a distance. You can put their food bowls next to some furniture so that they can remember where they eat. It is best to pay close attention to them while they are eating to ensure that they do not steal food and stop the crime before it happens.
4. Take advantage of the height
If one of the cats especially likes to stay in high places, you can arrange for it to eat in high places. And a cat eats on the ground. Of course, you’d better pay close attention to them while they are eating.
5. Remember to clean the cat bowl
No matter which method you take to separate your cats, you need to clean their food bowls in time to prevent them from eating other cats’ excess food after eating their own food. As we just said, give them 30 minutes to eat and take away the cat bowl when the time is up. A few days later, the cat will get used to eating all the food within this time period.
Method 2: Use Automatic Cat Feeders
If you don’t have time to monitor your cats eating, an automatic cat feeder can be very helpful. There are many automatic feeders on the market designed for multi-pet families to prevent pets from stealing each other’s food., for example, Surefeed smart RFID microchip pet feeder. But they are relatively expensive.
Let’s see how a microchip cat feeder can help. Surefeed smart RFID microchip pet feeder is a sealed pet feeder that can only be opened for any microchip it is paired with.
Every Surefeed RFID microchip feeder equipped with a lightweight RFID collar tag. When the cat with the collar close enough to the feeder, the lid will open automatically. And other cats without this “key” can’t open it.
It is also compatible with all identification microchips in the world. This is a handy feature if your pet is already microchipped. You can program your cat’s microchip into the feeder. The feeder opens when the designated pet microchip ID is approaching and closes when the ID is away. When your cat is not eating, the lid on the pet feeder is closed to ensure the food stays fresh longer.
Method 3: Use Microchip Cat Flap
Microchip Cat Flap is also a good choice for parents who are away from home most of the day and cannot control their cat’s behavior. Using an automatic pet door with a microchip, you can create a safe space for your fur baby, allowing you to feed comfortably. The pet door is readily available and offers different sizes for your cat. They are very suitable for cats suffering from mental or eating disorders, allowing them to eat alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my kitten eats my older cats’ food?
A little adult cat food will not cause any harm to your kitten, don’t panic. However, it is important to feed kittens an exclusive kitten diet because it contains the calories, protein, and fat needed for proper growth that an adult diet may lack. In short, feeding kittens adult food for a long time may unable to help them develop normally, but occasionally eating adult food will not cause problems.
Why does my cat let other cats eat his food?
- This is a survival instinct. In terms of food, some cats may be very territorial. When your cat is eating food from other cats, this may be a manifestation of this instinct. Some cats actually quarrel about this, while others become submissive and leave.
- Some cats may just be greedy. When they see something to eat, they walk by and eat it, nothing more, this is their nature. If it has strong “dominance” at home, this behavior may be more obvious.
- Out of curiosity. When cats see other friends also eating, they may be curious about what their friends are eating.
- Revenge or mischief. Some cats may deliberately eat other’s food out of revenge or may just because they are mischievous.
Can you free feed multiple cats?
In the case of multiple cats, free feeding is not conducive to monitoring the food intake of each cat. This will make it more difficult for you to tell when your cat is feeling uncomfortable.
