Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: furballmom on November 10, 2007, 08:59:56 AM
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hi guys
hope you can help on this one as i 'm a tad worried we got gimley in august along with his sister phoenix and around a moth ago we brought home two kittens in the last few weeks i have noticed that gimley isnt eating as much as he used to he's gone from not eating with the rest of them to hardly eating at all and i dont know what to do.
he is fine in all other aspects of him self when he was living with his previous owner the local bully used to pinch his food so when he came to us he looked half starved im worried this may be happening again with patch (kitten) as a few times he has pushed gimley out of the way while eating. i have tried feeding patch and gimley in seperate rooms but then Gimley still only eats a few mouthfuls not that you can tell he's eaten at all.
I have also noticed that he now prefers his biscuits over wet food we are currently feeding the cats cattesey from zoo plus is it time to change the food?
how do i stop the kittens from eating the adult food and vice versa have tried seperate rooms but as soon as they are let out they go for the others food
:thanks:
helen
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keep on feeding in separate rooms but pick up the uneaten food and re-offer it to the kitten who is not eating properly. Do this in a separate room so he is not intimidated by other enquiring noses. Changing brands just leads to fussy eating in my experience.
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keep on feeding in separate rooms but pick up the uneaten food and re-offer it to the kitten who is not eating properly. Do this in a separate room so he is not intimidated by other enquiring noses. Changing brands just leads to fussy eating in my experience.
its not the kitten thats not eating properly but my 1yr old cat he was getting tubby but has since lost weight
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well the instructions remain the same regardless of which cat/kitten is doing what. Keep the poor feeder safe from intrusion and take up its plate when it has finished that snack so others don't get to eat the food...
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Hi FBM
I say this as an, on occassion, overly concerned mum to my boys; do you know for sure Gimley is losing weight i.e. have you weighed him? An deven if he is, did he need to lose a bit? Only a thought but our Billy prefers dried cat food and although he seems to eat very little he is certainly not losing weight (I am ashamed to say the vet called him a big fella at last visit and he can't have been referring to his height as he's only small :-[)
So are you quite sure Gimley is losing weight when he shouldn't be? If you are, I would feed him 1st and lock up the young devils and let Gimley feed at his own pace and then let the little monsters out to finish up.
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What about getting him some extra special food to perk his appetite up, am thinking Roast Beef slices, chicken breast, pilchards in tomato sauce. Give it to him when it's just you and him locked in one room so he feels safe and secure when eating.
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Wondereed if he is now prefering dry, whether he has a mouth problem cos this wont hurt him so much cos will just swallow dry most like?
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I would feed Gimley with Phoenix like you used to and move the kittens, this way he isnt the "bad" kitty.
Milly came to us with eating issues and still 2yrs on there are days when she wont eat on the floor with the others, she has to have it on the worktop. :innocent:
It may also be a case of he doesnt like the food. Funnily enough Catessy is the one brand iv found my lot not to be so keen on which is very rare!
If you swap brands do so gradually. I would try what he had before.
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i tried him with tuna last night with no luck i agree with feeding him with phoenix. as for Catessy he would go off it just after i bought another lot little :censored: the kittens try to keep eating it though and in revenge Gimley will eat their food
i feel sorry for him though as when i went to feed him alone he looked terrified i tried hand feeding him but he ran under the bed he loves his biscuits but they never go down whole think it may be time to switch back to Felix
I'm getting worried as we have had this going on a week only really noticed since Thursday thought he just didn't want to eat with the kittens patch has walked right in front of him when he tried to eat a couple of time when he was about to eat then Gimley just didn't bother. i think this is something to do with his previous home where the cat next door would pinch his food
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it could be or else he isnt 100% happy at sharing his home and food with the kittens.
As someone has already said... let Gimley feed where he has always fed and move the kittens into another room to eat and don't let them back in until Gimley has finished and then lift his left overs.
It may just be a case of perserverence until Gimley feels more confident in his surroundings. You have only had him a short time so it may be that he has not 100% settled with you and your home enough to be totally confident and may feel a little 'off balance' by the sudden arrival of 2 young things.
Hope things start to improve... let us know how you get on.
Hugs & Purrs
Sarah
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hi,
just to update on Gimley we are having some progress he is now as we speak eating in the hallway with Phoenix she has taken to it better than Gimley and will follow me for food. he is now eating more than when i first posted but not quite as much as he used to. i am now alternating between two brands one in the morning another at night with success .
rosella he did need to lose a bit of weight so weather it was partly to do with his weight or patch shoving him out of the way I'm not quite sure. only thing to stop now is them eating the left overs from the kitten food when i open the door.
:thanks: for your help guys
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Glad that you are having some progress.