One plump cat and one skinny cat… the challenges of a multi cat household

Anyone who owns multiple cats knows how hard it can be to feed cats separately.  More often than not, “Fluffy” can be found eating out of “Muffin’s” bowl, and vice versa.  You may be finding that one cat is….well, shall we say, plump.  And the other is…not so plump.  Most of the time, unless there is an underlying medical condition, we can take a guess at who is eating the lion share of the food.

And who has a dog who wouldn’t want to chow down on the yummy cat food?  Or a dog that thinks there are very tasty treats to be found in the cat’s litter box?  Having multiple pets can be a challenge, especially when it comes to regulating the amount of food each animal gets….and it’s even more of a concern with the pets are meant to be eating special diets!

So how can we try to make sure that our pets only eat their own food?  One solution has always been to put the cat food up high where the dog can’t get it.  But that doesn’t really work for those older cats that can’t jump well anymore, or for the multi cat households.

A more practical solution was suggested at the recent OVAT conference that several of our staff members attended.  Buy a hook and eye latch….

or one of these cool kits!

Install the latch so that only the skinny cat can get into the room.  What a great idea to try!

For other suggestions regarding feeding and pet interactions, please feel free to contact us at any of our five locations in Chatham-Kent.

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