The cat feeding schedule is right out the window

[kedrys]

Scenario: we had to board the 5 indoor cats while we were in temp housing between house closings. They had tons of play space, but no daylight to tell the time by. Snagged one more cat from outside, who joined the other 5, and boarded yet another at the vet's to try and save him. He made it.

So here we are, a week after the move into the new house, and we have cats who are just now becoming able to tell time from the light levels, cats who are stuck on the outdoor feeding schedule, cats who won't eat while another cat is in the room even though the kitchen is much bigger and they can go around, cats who insist on eating out of a bowl where another cat is already eating, and cats who don't show up until everybody has left.

I'm thinking 7 cats is my limit. :P

[FloridaPat]

1. From your description I think you could add another 5.

[kedrys]

2. Yikes! And put them WHERE? :D

Part of the problem is that the cat the vet saved is a large male (neutered - all the cats have been snipped), and my oldest cat won't give him time of day. Caesar hisses at Imhotep everytime he goes past him. They share the bed at night without problems, though. Weird.

[miss_kitty]

8. Sounds to me like a continuation of that

bad blood thing between Romans and Egyptians. There was fighting and sleeping together in that old story, too. Will they NEVER learn?

[kedrys]

9. Fortunately, it's a king-size bed

Caesar has slept on or near my feet for years. Imhotep is seriously imprinted on the s.o., and gets the other side of the foot of the bed. Both sleep through just fine. It's weird in an extremely cool way. :)

[CatWoman]

3. Aren't cats great?

and so are you!!!! Thanks for the cute story, and thanks for taking care of those sweet kitties.

[kedrys]

6. Cats rock the world!

I'll post recent photos of them as soon as we finish unpacking and find all our gear. Especially silly is the fireplace expedition that turned the 3 white cats gray :P . Quark looks like he has a mohawk.

[bertha katzenengel]

4. you didn't ask for advice but since this is the lounge,

and i can't help myself, i offer three suggestions:

1. keep two large bowls filled with two different kinds of crunchies. everyone can nibble whenever they want.

2. if you feed canned or pouch food, do so in the evening. otherwise they will wake you up earlier and earlier . . .

3. get one of those cat water fountains. flowing water entices them to drink more and their health will be better.

We have eight and these three things work for us. Whatever works for you -- good luck finding it!

Oh -- duh -- :yourock:

:bounce:

[kedrys]

5. Thanks for the advice

We're mostly there, really...everybody has their own bowl, with dry kibble in it at all times, and they get wet food 3 or 4 times a day. They used to picket at 6pm and 10pm if the service sucked; I expect that to start again soon :).

The kitchen in the ex-house was such that we had two rows of bowls for 6 cats; Caesar ate by himself after Marble died, and Evie and Plato were each at opposite ends of the other row, with Socrates and Quark in between. I always serve Caesar first, since he's the senior cat.

With 7 bowls all in one row, Caesar wants to eat out of what Evie thinks is *her* bowl; Plato wants to eat out of Caesar's bowl while he's still in it (just like at the ex-house); Neutrino is still on the outdoor schedule and will barge in on anyone; Caesar and Socrates will not eat while Imhotep's in the kitchen; Quark will eat out of any bowl Neutrino is eating out of. The kitty fountain is in the middle of the row, which has not stopped Caesar's drinking problem (he insists on drinking out of the sink on my side of the master bathroom vanity). You get the picture. :D

FWIW, all the cats are related except Caesar. Imhotep is the father of our other children :P. Evie, Plato and Socrates are littermates and didn't know their dad since we rescued them early. Quark and Neutrino are also littermates, about 15 months younger than their half-sibs, and both knew their dad from living outside (Quark until 2 years ago, Neutrino until we boarded her).

I'm sure that's more details than you wanted. LOL

[bertha katzenengel]

7. Not more than I wanted but DAMN. Our routine is quite simple

by comparison.

Wow! You really serve! :bounce:

[kedrys]

10. It used to be simple...

We'll see how things shake out the next few weeks. Imhotep was supposed to go back outside, but since he's a skilled escape artist and the s.o. geeks completely at the thought of anything happening to him (we almost lost him twice), we're keeping him indoors until we figure something out. Most likely he'll just stay here and everyone will have to get over themselves. :D

It's all in a day's work here in this branch of the Church of the Big Giant Cat.

:hi:

[bertha katzenengel]

11. LOL The Church of the Big Giant Cat

I like it!