help with feeding my cats?

Question

I have four cats. At first I only had one, but decided it needed a friend as I wasn't home often. I ended up getting two more "friends" for my cat - two kittens from the same litter to grow up together and such. Those three cats got along okay but of course the two younger ones are better pals. Recently the fourth cat came to my home as a "rescued" kitten. It was really sick. My oldest cat hates this cat. The two middle cats find him tolerable. The rescued kitten is no longer ill (I'm trying to give the older cat the benefit of the doubt that that's why she didn't like the new kitten) but my oldest cat still isn't fond of him. All four WILL eat by one another, but since the youngest kitten has been around the oldest cat prefers to eat from a bowl by herself. The other three cats shared a two-cup kitten dish for about 5 months. Today I bought a large 3-cup Triangle-type dog dish and now the three younger cats are happily eating in a community no-shoulder-pushing fashion....

meanwhile the older cat is eating a bowl by herself nearby. I would like all four of them to eat together as for some reason I have this idea in my head that they will be more tolerable of one another and "good buddies" if they can stand to eat together. So, I really like that I bought the 3-cup cat dish, but now the older cat really looks left out. Do they make 4-cup cat dishes? Should I buy two 2-cup dishes and put them back to back? Should I buy 5 separate dishes (one for water) and line them up? My older cat will not hiss or attack the other cats while eating next to the other cats, just prefers to eat from her own cup. Advice? Ideas? Thanks.

I think I shall buy either 5 separate dishes or 2 double-cup dishes and at least one water dish.

Here's why (per my situation):

The four cats eat at the same time (i.e. together) when I first feed them (and of course randomly snack, mostly at night, often in pairs for some reason). The reason they eat at the same time, no doubt, is because A) I feed them at about the same time every day, B) I put enough dry food, per the instructions, for all of them and NO MORE... they tend to eat it up at least 6 hours before the next feeding time, sometimes 12 (which is perhaps a problem in itself, perhaps I should do two smaller feedings as I don't want to over feed them - the three older cats are getting overweight, but the kitten needs all he will eat), so they run up and hog it down from "hunger" (the fatties), and C) I put no more than half of ONE can of wet food, distributed equally, as a topping (and they really go for that, so there was pushing and shoving to eat it)... (cont. below)

so for space reasons, I think they need separate bowls. The double-cup kitten bowl wasn't cutting it for the kitten and two older cats (oldest cat has its own bowl).

I think I will put them back to back (to make a quad) for community purposes. If the oldest cat doesn't like that, or if the younger cats nudge into oldest cats' bowl (oldest cat won't eat then, and walks away, though they do share bowls, it's just temp. hers per eating session)... then I will put the bowls separate but nearby. It's not worth the resentment/unhappiness/etc.

I agree about giving the oldest cat time to adjust to the new kitten. 5 months later and they are on "ok" terms. They seem to have established a new pecking order (the kitten is in charge, perhaps because he is a male or likes to wrestle).

I fed them ALL kitten chow for the first two months, then gave kitten extra wet food "meals" separately when other cats slept to not make them jealous. vet is ok with that.

thanks for your helpful ideas

... and i wasn't asking about making them share bowls, per say. I had four cats and three food cups (one bowl, and one double-cup kitten dish). I bought a triple-cup dish (i.e. it has three bowls connected) to replace the little kitten dish THREE cats were sharing. This may have been confusing as I said "cup", which may have translated to the cup measurment rather than bowl.

and... i'm going to shut up now. too much typing for something so simple.

Answer 1

Cats are so easy to feed because you can leave dry food out for them all the time and let them eat when they want to. If you are feeding canned food, be sure each cat has his own bowl, and separate them to keep peace in the house. I have four cats and this system works well for me. When my cats get canned food, the two who get along great eat side by side, the others are several feet apart. They each know their spot and wait there for me to feed them, minimizing their concern that someone else will get their food.

Answer 2

It is not unusual for the older of the kitties to want to eat alone. I have 10 at home and I found that 5 cat dishes and 2 water bowls have worked out best. There are some that won't eat near other certain ones, but they all get to eat and that is what is important. I would suggest getting each one their own bowl and of course each one won't eat out of the same one each time. They are independent creatures and most of the time don't like to be crowded and have their meal "threatened" by others. I would recommend a bowl for each and 2 good size bowls for water. That should make you all happy.

Answer 3

How soon did you put the last kitten in with the others? Your older one needs time to adust. Sounds like she has had to deal with a lot with accepting the other 2 kittens. Each time you introduce a new cat into the house, the cats create a new hierarchy. If they are eating together, the oldest should eventually accept the rest, but it takes lots of time. I foster cats for our local shelter, and I start new cats in a separate room, and mix up my cats' blankets with the foster kitties. Eventually, I let them out of the room a little at a time. Give your oldest some time, and make sure she/he gets lots of attention right now.

Answer 4

Unless the oldest is still under a year, they shouldn't even be eating the same food. Adult and kitten food are formulated differently.

Making them share a bowl will probably cause more resentment.

Answer 5

u r being lasy
get each cat there oun food dish
they will share water no problem
they will figure eating order if u dont
the last getting the short end of the food
as they get bigger they wont all fit in one dish at the same time
but it wont afect how they get along outside of the food dish
they will still sort out a pecking order

Answer 6

I think I missed the question????? Maybe get them all their own dish. No matter how much I like my friends I don't want to share a plate. Although I'm not sure what your asking so.....

Answer 7

I used to have four cats also. we just used two cool whip bowls, one for water and one for food. you could try that, b/c they can all use it whenever they want to.

Answer 8

let them eat where they want