Arthur has decided he's not very fond of kitten food

[Siwsan]

So I've started mixing in a little bit of the gravy from the boy's canned food, along with some kitten kibble, into the kitten pate. Seems to be working. He's gobbling it down and when he's done, Madoc and Gryff go in for the dregs.

I have to isolate Arthur for his mid day meal to keep his brothers from stealing his food. Madoc will eat some of his food and then start raiding Gryff or Arthur's bowl. Of course, now when he does that, Arthur moves in on Madoc's food. Sometimes I just sit down on the floor and redirect them.

[wnylib]

1. Food traffic cop.

Since Ember is an only cat, I don't have such problems.

But for a long time, I had to carefully guard my own food from her. Used to be that I had to hide baked items while they cooled (muffins, cookies, etc.). And not turn my back for a second while putting food on the table for myself. Man, was she quick at snatching things!

But she seems to have outgrown that. She still hangs around when I open a can of tuna or make a sliced meat sandwich. But now she knows that she will get some ONLY if she waits - on the floor - until I give her some.

[SheltieLover]

2. Lol

The image that came to mind reading this was one of a person directing traffic on an airport runway.

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. I have problems like this

with Winnie and Vicky and Fancy Feast. I split a can between them in the evenings. Winnie is a little pig and will gobble hers and move in on Vicky, who is a more deliberate eater, if I don't sit with them. So I've taken to giving Winnie hers a little bit at a time, meanwhile giving Vicky all of hers (chopped up if it's the paté). I will smear the pate on the sides of Winnie's dish, making her work a little harder for it, or if it's the gravy kind, I drip it into her dish. When she's cleaned most of it up, I give her the can with a little bit in it to work on. Otherwise she eats too fast and sometimes barfs it up. Slow feeder dishes only work for kibble and she doesn't eat kibble that way. Funny thing about her too, she purrs while eating, no matter what it is.

[Karadeniz]

4. With only gravy coming from the canned food, this is not a problem... but can't Arthur eat canned

food, too? Years ago, Sweden.. I think... wanted to know how long different types of pet food cleared the stomach so that animals wouldn't vomit during anaesthesia and asphyxiate. Dry food took the longest, maybe 12 hours, and canned food took less time, I can't remember, maybe 9-10 hours. So, when food types are mixed, the faster digesting food can pull the slower food from the stomach into the intestines before it's quite ready, losing some of its nutritional value. That's the theory, anyway! But also, the more quickly the digestive process is over and done with, the more quickly other bodily systems, notably temperature, can go back to giving attention to the other organs instead of focusing on digestion. That's the theory!

[Siwsan]

5. They recommend kittens stay on kitten food for a year, for the higher nutritional value

I started transitioning the boys to adult food when they were about 10 months old.

It's not a problem if Arthur eats some adult cat food, but the majority of his intake should be kitten or 'complete nutrition' foods. The kibble I bought the boys is complete and I have kitten kibble for Arthur. All three boys switch back and forth.

I take Arthur in to the vet on Thursday for another vaccination so I'll run this by him.

[Karadeniz]

6. Also, you can add half an egg yolk...I do raw... to the adult food to up the protein. You can take

the other half and give it to the grown ups !!

[Siwsan]

7. I used to make a sort of kitten milk for Sophie when she stopped eating.

I remember it contained an egg yolk and evaporated milk. I used the egg white in scrambled eggs. It made them incredibly fluffy.