[tanyuh]

Hello,

We got a new kitten last week and a few days before we got him we changed our resident cat's food and put her on "Science Diet Senior: 7 plus" because she is 7 now. She seemed to eat it for the few days before we got Psi but now she doesn't want anything to do with it and will only eat his kitten food. Since I was concerned about her being nervous due to the new kitten, I just let her eat it in order to be sure she was eating *something*. Is it okay to let an adult cat eat kitten food? The kitten also seems to like the adult cat's bowl better than his but since both have kitten food in their bowls now, the kitten won't be eating any adult food. Maybe Samhain is just mad that we got her senior food!!

Thanks
tanyuh

 

[chuan]

Probably you had to take advantage of the situation and feed your cat with real food, like beef, fish and others ... have you read about the high % of carbohydrates in the comercial food?... cats don' t need it!

 

[Tiber]

and kitten food has extra calories and stuff.. so if she's overweight its not too good for her.

 

[tanyuh]

Well she isn't overweight and the only people food we give her is the occasional piece of chicken if we are having it (probably once a week - she doesn't beg for anything but chicken) and a cracker every now and then. See, I thought that since he (the kitten) insists on using her bowl, it would be better that he didn't eat adult food than the adult cat eat kitten food. She doesn't eat very much at all though no matter what food we give her, and she never has. Do you think I should keep them both on kitten food until I can train them to use their own bowls exclusively? Or will it do harm to my adult cat?

Thanks!
tanyuh

 

[Tiber]

well feeding her good people chicken wont make her fat either

and the kitten food is better for the kitten because he has to grow still, they also give kitten food to pregnant females, but if she only nibbles at it, it seems like she know's the right amount for her. (and has no weight problems or special diet needs from health problems) Its probally fine that they both eat kitten food, eventually you'll be weaning him on adult food anyways... so she gets extra nummies for a few months i'm pretty srue that wont harm her. If you check the ingreediants on the bag, kitten food and adult food (of the same company and of the same flaver) really arent THAT much difference.

But as chuan said, reall food is much better for them then the comercial foods. so dont feel bad about giving them chicken! Raw or cooked! (just not smoked ) - As soon as tiber's finished his Eukanuba bag, i'm switching him to some raw food stuff... i give him some of it now while i cook my own dinner and he loves it!

 

[Bengalsownme]

Kitten food could cause her to gain excessive weight. That's what happened to my domestic kitty "Sammy". I had gotten my bengal and she needed to be on kitten still just when Sammy turned a year old and needed to be put on adult food. Sam now is having trouble with her liver and thats what could happen to kittys overweight. If the kitten likes the cat bowl and the cat likes the kittens bowl why don't you just switch them? I would try to start weaning your adult cat off the kitten food. It's just not good for their body escpecially since your cat is 7 years old. It's harder for their liver and kidneys to process that kind of diet...thats why they make senior formulas and so on. It will just end up causing problems in the long run. I suggest that you try putting their food in different places and try to isolate them to their designated rooms during feeding time. I read you have the kittens food down all the time and thats fine but put the adulst food down about 3 times a day and bring her to it and put the kitten somewhere else while the big cat eats. If your adult nibbles on the kitten food for a while I don't think that will be too bad as long as her primary diet consists on her special formula diet. She will be mostly full of her food and won't eat as much of the kittens. Eventually she will just eat her own. Thats what worked well for us. I'm sure there are many routes you could go but I have tried this and it works. Good luck to you and your kitties!

 

[tanyuh]

Hmm, okay. The problem is I can't separate their food because we are in a VERY small apartment. My adult cat would freak out if I suddenly took her "nibble at will" privileges away. She doesn't eat much as it is and she has a sensitive stomach and is prone to throw up. If I only feed her three times a day, she will gorge herself all at once and then throw it all up - so she won't be eating at all. Last thing I want is a belimic cat. I have been trying to squirt the kitten when he gets into her bowls. See, we got the big cat a raised bowl a long time ago because she makes such a mess on the ground (she digs her food into her water, stirs it around, and eats it with her hands so there was always a big pile of food between the bowls that were on the ground). But the kitten now jumps up onto the feeder and hunches over and eats! It's very odd. We have only seen the adult cat eat from the kitten bowl once and she has only been eating his food for less than a week. Maybe I will be able to train him via squirting to eat from his own bowls soon. Thanks for the advice though. I will try to put my adult cat back on regular food.

tanyuh

 

[manitu22]

Do you always have food available to your older cat? Because if you always leave dry cat food out the cat may be eating too much and then throwing it up. That can happen with dry food. So maybe that is why your cat is prone to getting sick to its stomach. Maybe limiting her food intake to 3 times a day would cure that. It is worth a shot if the cat gets sick anyways.

 

[Bengalsownme]

My cat sammy would eat too much and vomit whole food up. The vet recommended pulling the bowl and just feeding her small portions several times a day. It worked.

 

[tanyuh]

I may try it but she definitely doesn't eat too much before she throws up, she barely eats anything at all. All the times I have watched her eat (I have to turn my head and watch in my periferal vision because she won't eat if you watch her) she eats maybe 10 pieces of food. It is so much work for her to eat because of her "eating with her hands" habit that I think she just gets bored. Needless to say, she hasn't thrown up since we got the kitten and her fur is also growing back in her bald spots. She has been bald on the inside of her arms and legs and her lower tummy for about a year. We have tried everything to figure out what it was but ultimately we thought that it was an obsessive compulsive thing because she was bored. It was one of the reasons we got a kitten. And now her fur is growing back. The vet also said she may throw up because she wants attention - she is strangely affectionate after she has done it. But if I can't train the kitten to use his own bowls and she starts throwing up again, I'll try feeding her a few times a day.

tanyuh

 

[Bengalsownme]

Shes proabably throwing up because of hairballs since she's licking off her fur. Did the vet explore the idea she could have been allergic to her food or litter. Yes it could be a nervous tick she has but I would think about that. My brother in laws cat was doing the same they found it to be an allergy to the food. They kept buying cheap stuff and switching it whenever something else went on sale. Silly guy! I would check in to that let us know how things turn out!

 

[tanyuh]

We did. We spent the past year trying to figure out what it was. We went through looking at food, litter, flea bites, flea treatment, washing detergent...anything we and the vet could think of. We have never fed her bad food - always what the vet recommended, Iams or Science Diet (hard and a little bit of soft). The only thing that was left was obsessive compulsive disorder and now that her fur is growing back, it really seems like that's what it was. Strange cat that one! I think she started last spring when my boyfriend and I were VERY busy with school and finals and then she just kept it up. We are going to be even busier starting this fall (both of us are doing graduate studies in physics) so that was another reason we got a kitten. Now I don't have to position the camera strategically when I take pictures of her so as to leave out the bald spots!!! HAHA.

Thanks for the advice though! The vet had recommended putting her in a cone for three weeks until it grew back but she would have gone nuts and would've found a way to wriggle out of the thing, she is so squirmy! I'm glad it is growing back though, phew.

tanyuh

 

[Bengalsownme]

lol poor obsessive kitty! That is so strange that cats can get that way. I'm glad it's growing back.