Create A Small Entrance
Moving onto more low-tech solutions, my third way to feed multiple cats works when your cats are different sizes. The main reason to use these strategies would be when you have an adult cat and kitten, or when one of your cat is morbidly obese and the other is a healthy body condition .
There are 2 techniques in these situations. Either use a door stop to keep a door open to such an extent that your small cat can get through but is too narrow for your big cat. Or feed your small cat in a box that is accessed by a small hole cut in the side that is again too small for your fat cat to get through.
These might sound a bit far fetched but you might be surprised how well they can work in feeding multiple cats different diets.
Is It Okay To Eat A Pet Cat
The New Science of Human-Animal Relationships
The psychologist Jonathan Haidt is a pioneer in the study of disgust as motivator of moral judgments. In some of his early experiments, he asked individuals to evaluate the ethics of situations which are upsetting even though they do not involve the infliction of suffering or harm. One of his scenarios involved eating pets: A family’s dog was killed by a car in front of their home. They had heard that dog meat was delicious so they cut the dog’s body up and ate it for dinner. Haidt then ask his subjects if it is okay for a person to eat their dead pet and to explain the logic behind their answer.
When I pose this scenario to my university psychology students, nearly all of them conclude that it would be wrong for the family to eat their deceased dog. Most of them, however, cannot come up with a coherent logical reason for their decision. After all, the dead dog is not going to suffer. They tell me it just feels wrong. It’s the yuck factor. And as most Americans consider their pets to be family members, dining on your dog seems uncomfortably close to cannibalism.
The Cat-Eaters of Madagascar
Eating Pets
What We Can Learn About Human-Animal Relationships From Cat-Eating
And they urge cat eaters to thoroughly cook feline flesh.
* * * * References
Czaja, R., Wills, A., Hanitriniaina, S., Reuter, K. E. & Sewell, B.J. Consumption of domestic cat in Madagascar: Frequency, purpose, and health implications. Anthrozoos, 28:3, 469-482.
Why Is My Adult Cat Not Eating
Loss of appetite can have many causes in adult cats.
If your cat wont eat, some causes may be evident through a vets physical exam of your cat, while others may require diagnostic tests like blood work or x-rays.
If your adult cat has had a poor appetite or simply wont eat for more than two days, take your cat to your veterinarian to find out the cause.
Here are some possible reasons why your cat is not eating.
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Your Cat May Be Recovering From An Illness Or Hospital Stay
Some cats will develop a food aversion, most commonly after an illness or hospital stay. Such cats associate a particular food with feeling sick or with the stress of hospitalization, and then refuse to eat that food.
It may require some ingenuity and trial and error to discover what your cat is willing to eat if a food aversion develops.
What Do Cats Eat
Cats are obligate carnivores which means they must have meat in their diet to survive. Their primary ancestors lived on a diet of small rodents and birds. Cats require a high protein diet with a variety of different nutrients such astaurine, arginine, calcium, niacin , pyridoxine and thiamine , to name a few. Many of these nutrients are found in animals only, making a vegetarian diet impossible for cats.
Dietary requirements will change during the different life stages.
- Young kittens require milk for the first three weeks of life, before slowly beginning to eat solid food, around six to ten weeks of age they will begin to wean.
- Pregnant or lactating females have higher nutritional requirements and your veterinarian may recommend feeding her a kitten diet.
- Adult cats require a maintenance diet.
- Senior cats also have unique dietary requirements and should be fed a diet specifically for older cats and/or a special prescription diet to address any underlying medical conditions such as diabetes.
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How To Switch Your Cat From Dry Food To Wet Food
Switching your cat from dry to wet food is often more complicated but achievable.
Step 1: First, take dry food out of the house, as cats will be able to smell it even with the cupboard closed. If you dont, your pet will likely perform effective emotional blackmail, after which you will break down and give him dry food. If that happens, hunger strikes will become more frequent.
Step 2: Dry foods are high in carbohydrates, and the digestion process is different from that of tall meat cans. Therefore, your cats body may experience a shock when it suddenly digests a whole meal.
If this is the case, it makes sense to start with wet foods that are bad or average to gradually introduce your cat to the world of wet food. In this step, we do not feed dry food.
If an amateur of dry food does not want to eat even at a grocery store, it is worth sprinkling the wet food with crumbs only for the smell.
Step 3: Once your cat starts eating mediocre wet foods, its worth starting to add a symbolic amount of your target, high-monthly can. Even half a spoon is enough.
Step 4: Increase the proportion of target food proportionally until it makes up the bulk of the meal. There is no need to hurry and let the cats gourmet dictate the pace.
Step 5: Elimination of transitional feed favoring feeding only the targeted fluff.
What Can I Drink
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If youre not so keen on lapping water out of a bowl, opt for a more creative option: catnip tea. Sure it will require the use of your very-human thumbs to make it, but it will also allow you to take pleasure in one of your cats greatest delights. Catnip, is a member of the mint family and is totally safe for human consumption, plus its known to have some healthy digestive and sedative properties as well.
To make the tea, youll need dried flowers and stems from a catnip plant, about one or two teaspoons is ideal. Just mix with boiling water and youre set. You can add lemon or honey if you want to offset some of the bitter, woodsy flavor too.
But be forewarned, instead of getting you hyped up to play with a ball of yarn, it will have the opposite effect. Much like chamomile, its known to be soothing and can induce sleepiness. Which is also perfect if you want to tap into your inner kitty and curl up for a cat nap.
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Your Kitten May Still Be Learning What They Like To Eat
Once they start transitioning to solid food, kittens should be exposed to different types and textures of food so they learn what they prefer. If your newly weaned kitten wont eat, it could be as simple as switching from a round kibble shape to oblong.
Offer wet food and dry food with different textures and shapes . You can also try to make the food more appetizing so that the transition is easier. A cats appetite is strongly driven by their sense of smell.
Make sure that any wet food that you feed your kitten is room temperature or slightly warmer warming wet food up increases its aroma and appeal.
You Need To Measure Your Cats Weight
So, youve done the visual check, but before you can begin calculating the feeding plan for your puss, you need to know its exact weight. Here are a few tips on how it can be done.
Hopefully, you have electronic scales. Place the basket or a box on the scales and switch it on. You should have it show zero, so the next number will be your cats weight and nothing else. If you have one of those boxes loving felines, it may even be a challenge to hit the button before the furry rascal jumps inside. If so, just weigh the box separately afterward and subtract that figure from the previous result.
There may be an obstacle in figuring out the amount of canned food to feed a cat if it resists getting onto the scales. Theres a graceful solution to that. First, see how much you weigh, then grab the kitty and step onto the scales with the purring troublemaker. Proceed with making the necessary mathematical operations to determine its weight.
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Countries That Eat Cats And Dogs
In downtown Shanghai a provocative campaign is making the rounds, encouraging people to stop eating cats and dogs. Though frowned upon by most Western cultures, the practice is actually quite common in China and much of Asia.
While the Chinese government is thinking of outright banning the eating of cats and dogs, the custom is so widespread and popular that animal rights groups believe the best approach may be to the publics morals instead: “What You Just Put In Your Mouth Could Have Been Your Child’s Partner in Growth,” accuses one advert displayed at train station.
Eating your beloved pet poodle or fluffy Siamese cat may seem like an offensive and incredibly taboo concept throughout most of the world, but cats and dogs havent always been considered pets. In many parts of the world, like Mexico and Polynesia, their existence predated the arrival of European settlers and they were commonly bred for food.
Even now, cats and dogs are commonplace on many menus in Vietnam, Korea, and China. Theyre eaten as solo meals or added to other meat dishes for a touch of extra flavor. In some cases the meat or lard is even used for medicinal purposes.
The argument could be made that dogs and cats may actually be the only source of meat for a population, and despite cultural taboos, is possibly the best source of nutrients for survival. In war-torn Syria, for example, the thousands of starving Syrian refugees are encouraged to eat stray cats and dogs .
Taiwan
Hawaii
Complications Of Feeding Cat Food To Dogs
If your dog eats a lot of cat food on a regular basis, or if you are feeding your dog a diet of cat food instead of dog food, complications may arise, as it does not have the correct balance of protein, fiber, and all of the nutrients dogs need to stay healthy.
Dogs can certainly survive on cat food in a tough spot, but the nutrient imbalance can lead to gastrointestinal upset, obesity, and pancreatitis. Pancreatitis requires immediate veterinary care. Symptoms include abdominal pain and a hunched back, lethargy and weakness, appetite loss, vomiting and diarrhea, a distended abdomen, and fever. Even if your dog eats cat food and suffers no obvious ill effects, the high protein levels can be hard on his liver and kidney.
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Human Foods That Are Safe To Feed To Your Cat
Do you ever want to treat your cat to a dinner or snack of something other than kibble or canned cat food? Some pet owners give their feline family members a little saucer of milk, but you might be surprised to know that isnt a good idea. The truth is that many cats are lactose intolerant, so drinking milk leads to an upset stomach, diarrhea, and other unpleasant effects.
The good news is that there are plenty of safe options for humans who want to share their food with their cats. From watermelon to a cheesy treat, here are some of the foods your cat can safely enjoy!
Keep in mind that all foods on this list should be given in small amounts. Also, it never hurts to run any dietary changes by your vet just to be on the safe side.
Your Kitten Might Have Eaten Something They Shouldnt Have
The natural curiosity of kittens sometimes gets them into trouble. Kittens have been known to eat string, tinsel, hair ties, and other objects that can get stuck in their stomach or small intestines. Never let your kitten play with string, balloon ribbons, hair ties, plastic grass used in Easter baskets, tinsel, or other objects they could eat.
Surgery is sometimes needed to remove the offending item, so call your veterinarian right away if you suspect that your kitten has eaten something they shouldnt have or if their decreased appetite is also accompanied by vomiting.
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Feed A Good Quality Diet
My final way to prevent your cat from becoming a picky eater is to feed them a good quality food. If you’re feeding a really cheap, low-quality diet then chances are it will be high in salts, fats, and other additives. When you then try and feed something a bit better quality youre going to have trouble
My analogy is that this is like feeding a toddler on nothing but fast food and then expecting them to eat a bowl full of salad the first time its offered.
Its not going to happen!
Start as you mean to go on, stick to a high-quality food and you won’t go too wrong.
Give these strategies a try and Im sure your cat will be tucking into their next meal with gusto!
The next step, once your cat is eating what you want them to, is to optimize their diet and the way they are fed. Find out more in my deep dive into the best ways to feed your cat.
Can Cats Eat Blueberries
You might be surprised to learn that some premium commercial cat foods include blueberries. This fruit is also a delicious treat for your cat, and its easy to just toss her one or two without making a mess. You can even keep a few in the freezer so your feline friend can have a frozen treat on a hot summer day.
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What Can Cats Eat Besides Cat Food
Although we recommend sticking to a complete and balanced cat food and occasional treats, cats can eat some human foods. These foods include:
- Cooked eggs
- Melon
Some cats may like foods like berries and melon as a treat, but not because theyre sweet. Cats dont have receptors on their tongues to taste sweetness. Instead, foods like these have a bitter flavor, like amino acids in protein, which cats find tasty.
As with regular cat treats, these foods should not exceed more than 10 percent of your cats daily caloric intake.
Your Cat May Have A Dental Issue
Similarly, many diseases of the mouth can make cats stop eating altogether.
Cats can develop tartar and gingivitis, as well as inflammation in other tissues of the mouth that can be quite painful. Sadly, cats can also develop cancerous tumors in the mouth.
Clues to watch for include:
-
Bad breath
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Nausea
Nausea may also be caused by kidney disease or medications .
Cats that are nauseous may seem interested in food, but then refuse it, or they may drool and lick their lips often.
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Monitoring Your Cats Weight
Once you know how much wet food should a cat eat to receive the chosen amount of kcals, taking into account any dry food or other treats you may provide, let it be like that for about a week. You can, of course, make daily weight measurements, but you are unlikely to get visible results over the span of two days, and there can be other factors in play. So, a week should be a more reasonable period for assessing changes and planning further actions.
If the cat gains weight over that week, reduce the calories amount, but by much, go with 10% at a time, setting the new norm for the following week. The loss of weight should be met with a similar increase of calories by 10%.
Since no numbers can be precise for all cats, its up to you to monitor their weight and body condition, adjusting the food amount and calories count consistently. Repeat weighing every one or two weeks to see if any new adjustments are required.
Feed Different Types Of Food
It’s fine to rotate through foods to give your cat a little bit of a variety and actually this can be beneficial to your cat. This is especially important if you’re feeding a predominantly dry food diet. Cats can become serious dry food junkies if that is all they are fed! If you then need to feed them wet food in the future it can become a real nightmare.
I’ve discussed ways to get your cat to drink more water in a separate article. The very first one is to feed a wet diet, so when needed you definitely want your cat to accept it.
Feeding different consistency foods is great at making sure this will be simple. Different textures are important too to make sure your cat will happily eat a chunky wet food with gravy as well as a smooth mousse.
Just dont chop and change every day and do it on your terms, not your cats.
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Should A Cat Eat One Kind Of Cat Food
Manufacturers want to build brand loyalty and encourage pet owners to choose one brand, or type of food and stick with it. However much research goes into the production of cat food, I still prefer to feed a variety of foods for several reasons.
Developing fussy habits: If cats become accustomed to one type of food, problems can occur down the track if the food becomes unavailable, either temporary or permanent, or if the cat needs to switch to a prescription diet to manage a disease. It is common for cats to go on hunger strike if they are not fed the food they have become used to which can be potentially life-threatening as cats who do not eat are at risk of developinghepatic lipidosis.
Meeting their nutritional needs: We still dont know everything there is to know about feline nutrition. Is it possible that the brand/type of food given really is covering all their nutritional needs? Even if it is low in just one amino acid, vitamin, or micro-nutrient, it can have a huge impact on your cats health. In the late 1980s, thousands of cats died due to commercial diets low in taurine.
Pros and cons of different types of cat food: Each type of food has its pros and cons.
My own four cats have a varied diet which consists of dry food to graze on, canned or raw food twice a day, and chicken necks fordental health.