Many of my clients, with two cats, seem to be dealing with the issue of multi cat food bullying and now I have it with my two kittens. Like my clients, I noticed that one kitten was growing far bigger than the other so I decided to watch closely during mealtimes to see what was happening. And boy, was I in for a surprise.
First of all the smaller kitten kept glancing over at the larger one before taking mouthfuls of food. The larger kitten would gobble her food down quickly and then head for the other ones food bowl straight away which led to the smaller kitten giving in and walking away. This resulted in the smaller one hardly getting any food and sadly it took me a while to realise what was going on. Now the smaller kitten won’t even eat in the larger ones presence.
After seeing the size difference of my own two I started to notice size differences in my clients multi household cats and the mannerisms around feeding time. Every client I have spoken to about this has admitted that they too have problems with bullying tactics around mealtimes and they do not know how to stop it!
There are some things you can do to help try to curb cat food bullying
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Feed both cats in a totally separate area, Close any doors between them if you need too or even erect a screen.
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If your cat is microchipped but the Surefeed feeding bowl that opens with the cats chip. The bowls are expensive but very much worth it.
- Buy a specialised bowl that stops the larger cat from eating so fast. These bowls are designed for dogs initially but can be used for cats. Google slow eating cat or dog food bowl and many options wil come up in the search.
Food bullying is difficult to watch over when you are at work so the third bit of advice I will say is give the smaller cat an extra bit of food at night in another part of your home away from the bully! 😉
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Need to discuss cat food bullying or any other cat behaviours?
If you have found yourself on this page and are a cat guardian, with a few cat issues to iron out, it’s more than likely that you will be seeking a cat behaviourist to visit your home as part of a cat behaviour consultation.
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- Anita Kelsey has been studying cats for years and is fully accredited
- Currently in her second year at university reading for a BA in Cat Psychology
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