Kitten problem neen aed help T-T PLZ!

sikozu

Ok so I have a puppy 2 cats and 3 parakeets. (the puppy wasnt my choice but I love my husband so I let him have one lol) anyway, for some reason my kitten wont eat the food out of the bowl. Mind you I had a cat before I got her and all the cat does is hiss at her and chase her around the house. My husband yells at the cat and smacks her for it but I think it might be part of her nature to do this. It has been 3 days and it has come to my knowledge that maybe my kitten hasnt been eating at all. I brought her some kitten food (hard food) in a little bowl and fed it to her and she gulped it down. Now I feed my cat soft food so I figured they'd both eat it since it seems to taste better to them. But my kitten hasnt touched it.

I cant keep feeding her separately since we are moving and pretty soon they will be staying at either my mom's or mother in laws house and I cant burden them even more by making them feed both the cats on a different schedule.

So I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice to deal with the kitten and cat I have. Or maybe some stories that might help. I am really desperate T-T

roxy

How old is your kitten, and how old is your older cat? I need this information before giving you my opinion / suggestion / advice.

sikozu

roxy wrote: »

How old is your kitten, and how old is your older cat? I need this information before giving you my opinion / suggestion / advice.

My cat is about 1 and a half years old maybe a little less, and my kitten is 4 months old. =] They are also both female.

roxy

The reason why your older cat is aggressive to the little one is probably because of territorial issues. Your cat has been living there longer than the kitten, and therefore, she tries to ' drive ' her away out of her territory by hissing & chasing her around the house. Cats feel they're vulnerable when they're eating - so it's safe to assume that your kitten is scared of being attacked by the older one while she's eating ( which is probably why she hesitates to eat when you're not around to protect her. )

Does both of your cats eat from the same bowl, or do you have separate bowls for them? If you make them eat from the same bowl, try this: Have a separate bowl for the kitten placed in another part of the house. This might solve the issue. If this does not help, let me know and I'll try to think some other ways.

About the wet food issue - your kitten may not be accustomed to it or simply isn't interested in wet food ( try buying a different brand of wet food listed below! ). You could try feeding her wet food each day and see if she'll eventually eat it. I would recommend feeding your cat wet food more than dry food due to the fact that it's better for them. Wet food has high moisture content - which is crucial for them since they don't drink enough water. I do understand that you may not be available at all times to regularly feed them wet food, so please do feed them wet food the first thing in the morning, and sometime before your sleep. Keep the dry food out during the day time just in case they want to munch on something.

May I ask you what brand of cat food you're currently feeding them on? I would highly suggest feeding them food that has no by-products / corn / and all that bad stuff. Those ingredients are horrible!

Oh also, what is your monthly budget for cat food as of right now? and what's the max you would spent for their food?

Here is a list of decent brands:
- Felidae
- California Natural
- Natural Balance
- Nutro Natural Choice
- Blue Buffalo
- Eagle Pack
- Solid Gold


Here is a list of high quality ( and really good brands ) that I know:
- Wellness ( Their core line ) <- I'm currently feeding my cat this brand.
- Orijen
- Taste of the Wild ( Cheaper, but good food ! )
- Evo
- Nature's Variety <- I'm currently feeding my cat this brand.
- Before Grain
- Merrick
- Weruva <- I'm currently feeding my cat this brand.
( Note: Most of the brands above has dry and wet version, except Orijen, Taste of the Wild, and Weruva <- if I'm not mistaken )

Hope this helps! ( phew that took a while to write, haha! )
If you have any other question or concern regarding your cats, feel free to ask me!

Edit: I have a question.

1. How long have you had the kitten for?

It takes about a month of TLC to introduce a kitten to a resident cat. The kitten is probably scared to death too. ( angry human, hissing cat, a puppy, parakeets are a lot for a little kitty to comprehend. ) Sounds like she need a quiet space to adapt to the busy household...

Lastly... please, tell your husband not to hit your cat. The hissing is natural and it sets the boundaries for the kitten.

sikozu

You are so awesome to talk to lol! I feed both my cats in separate bowls btw, I am feeding the kitten dry food atm, the same brand the shelter fed her before I got her. I have only had the kitten for about a week so far. But it seems she keeps getting better. She is not hiding as much anymore and she even comes to sleep with me at night (I love it lol). But to touch on the part about my husband smacking her, he doesn't do it hard but he only started it once she started hissing at him or me. I don't know why she was doing that probably b/c we smelled a lot like the kitten.

Personally I would rather not have the puppy lol, but my husband wanted one so bad lol. It was pretty funny watching my cat follow the puppy around the house but keep her distance as if she was making sure he'd stay out of trouble lol.

Oh before I forget. About the wet food, I feed my cat that 2 times a day. I have time to feed them, but I dont want the people who I end up leaving my animals too while moving into my new house to be burdened with too crazy of a schedule all at once lol.

roxy

Ah I see. Well since you only had the kitten for around a week - her behavior tells me that she's trying to get used to the environment. It'll get better eventually she'll most likely eat food on her own soon. Just make sure that it's not near your other cat's food bowl.