Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: naboocat on May 14, 2009, 17:26:22 PM
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We've had our rescue cat since last Sat & his meals are really erratic.
The last 2 days he has only nibbled his morning meal but has eaten all his evening meal around 5pm. He nibbles some dry food afterwards.
He is a very small cat for his age so does he need 2 meals? What should I be offering him?
His diahrea has stopped & he is happy in himself & very energetic so I'm not too worried about him yet.
Also how do I encourage him to use his litter tray? He will wee in there & occasionally has pooed but mostly leaves his mess on the carpet next to the tray :doh:
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I feed my lot 2 pouches each per day, plus I have dry food on offer 24/7! ;D
You could try changing your cat litter to a finer grade cat litter....what litter are you using?
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re litter tray - does he go into the tray and then hang his bott over the edge? - a covered tray would solve that
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I would still offer 2 meals of wet but smaller portions, is it that he doesnt like it? Does he have dry down all day?
Tray, - what litter are you using and how often are you scooping?
If its overhang then try a bigger tray or a hooded one, but keep in mind not all cats like a hood.
If its not overhang then i would guess he doent like to dig in the litter you have or doesnt want to poo in a tray with wee in it.
Id offer an extra tray with a finer litter in it and see if it helps
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tbh I'm not sure what litter it is :-[ It's just the supermarkets own brand & just says 'cat litter' on the packet lol
I'll get to the pet shop over the weekend & choose something more suitable. We've got a lidded tray so it's not overhang. How often should I be changing the litter? Do I need to change the whole lot each time or just the wet part? Sory for the silly q's, this is the 1st cat we've had so totally unsure about things like this.
He doesn't have his dry food out all day, I just give him some with his evening meal.
I'll try him with a smaller amount & a different brand in the morning. Didn't realise cats were so fussy lol I've only ever had dogs before now & they'll eat anything
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Does he eat dry food? Then you can leave some out for him all day. Cats ideally should eat lots of times during the day (in the wild they would eat 12 - 20 small meals pd!) rather than a single or just 2 big ones. It's better for their health apparently. But at least with dry you can let him help himself and then maybe give some wet food twice a day.
What's his name?
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tbh I'm not sure what litter it is :-[ It's just the supermarkets own brand & just says 'cat litter' on the packet lol
I'll get to the pet shop over the weekend & choose something more suitable. We've got a lidded tray so it's not overhang. How often should I be changing the litter? Do I need to change the whole lot each time or just the wet part?
Not silly questions at all! With regard to litter changing, depends what litter you've got - with a clumping litter you only need to scoop out the clumps of wee (and the poo of course LOL!), the rest of the litter remains clean, so you use less than non clumping. If you are buying at the supermarkets look for clumping or ultra clumping. Some pet shops do a wider range including brands like Cats Best (which is what I use - its a wood based clumping) or you can get it online. I reckon to clean the trays once a week (I have back up trays that I can just swap over) and then maybe do a full changover (with new litter) once a month with Cats Best.
He may not like the lidded tray, so try an open one as well perhaps.
If you leave dry down all the time, he'll probably eat even less of the wet food, perhaps you just havent hit on a wet food brand he really loves yet! :)
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Our cats have always grazed so I usually put wet down 2 or 3 times a day (but most cats we've had have never eaten it all) and dry is always down.
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I feed my cats wet food two or three times a day and it stays down till the next lot cos they graze. Also have biscuits down too all the time.
I use a wood pellet litter and just remove the used part.
If your covered tray has a flap, try taking it off and if that fails take the cover off. Two trays sound like they are needed ;D
yes cats are very fussy and they also give humans wonderful training on how to look after them :rofl: :rofl:
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Thanks for all your replies.
I checked the litter & it's a clumping one.
I cleaned the whole tray out last night & he still poo'd on the floor near the front door in the night. He was found a stray so maybe he's happier pooping outside. He hasn't had his 2nd vaccinations yet though so isn't allowed out for a few weeks yet.
I don't think it's the covered tray thats the problem as he's happy to wee in there.
I'm going to try giving him smaller meals more often, maybe I'm giving him too much at once.
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He may not have room to poop in there, some of mine are very upright when they poo so would touch the hood with their head-very off putting!
Is it a very fine litter or more like fish tank gravel?
Id still try an extra tray without a hood or remove it from the one you have
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I agree a second open tray is needed.
One of my cats or maybe two :shify: :shify: are too big for a covered tray and my two little birmans would not be able to use either cos one sits upright with his front paws on the side of the tray and the other likes to be right at the edge and also very upright.