6-26-23 Monday

Posted on by Robyn

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Thank you all so much for your kind words about Firefly’s kittens, I appreciate it so much!

Funny side note: when I was writing that post, I would think “Firefly” and my fingers would type “Lightning Bug” EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I had to backspace and retype SO many times in the writing of that post!

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HELP/SUGGESTIONS NEEDED: A friend has two young adult cats and is looking for advice. When it’s feeding time, cat A gobbles down her food and then bullies cat B out of the way and eats her food, too. It’s not slowing down, and A is heading toward a weight problem. Have any of you had personal experience with using some sort of timer or box (or feeder) that only opens for one cat? (The humans are not always at home during feeding time, so something automated would be ideal.) I know there are feeders that work with microchips or tags, but I’ve never tried them myself, so I can’t say how well they work.

So lovely readers: Personal experience? Advice? Suggestions? Help? Thank you! (If you’d rather not leave a comment, you can email me – mizrobyn (at) gmail.com and I’ll pass the email along to them.)

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I was all “Wren, stop eating Rufous’s tail!”


And Wren was like “But why? It’s so tasty!”


Starling likes to fight with the pie plate like it’s a toy.


I don’t know what (who) Tater was looking at here, but she was clearly considering jumping on it/them. (Actually, it looks like she’s looking directly at the watermark, doesn’t it? Maybe she disapproves of my font choice.)


Wren really likes this bed – they all do! It’s funny how something that has no appeal for one litter is super popular with another. (It is a Furrytail Boss Cat bed – someone passed it along to us last year for the kittens.)


Starling loves to hang out UNDER the Fruittasan. Whatever floats your boat, kiddo.


Rufous is pretty sure it’s time to eat.

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Alice Mo with attitude.


YouTube link

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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) yesterday.


Rufous pie (my favorite!) for breakfast? Yes, please!


Those are some ridiculous whiskers you’ve got there, Wren Talksalot.


YouTube link
The Nestlings are so hungryyyy (don’t worry, no one is starving!)


Starling’s giving Tater the ol’ BOOPeroo.


YouTube link
First Starling fights with the Fruittasan, then she fights with her sister, and then there’s a feather teaser. It’s not terribly exciting, but it’s certainly cute.


Good night innernets, some of us are very very sleepy. (Tater, Starling and Rufous. Wren is up to the left in the cat tree, just off camera.)


Breakfast is served! Left to right: TaterPlover, Wren, Starling and Rufous.


Tater rests for a few moments before she goes running wildly across the room again.


Rufous’s tail has suddenly gotten verryyyy lonnnnng.


YouTube link
3 minutes of the Nestlings playing in the foster room. They’re certainly having fun!

(I love how, at the beginning, I say “You guys have enough toys?” like it’s somehow not MY ENTIRE FAULT they have such a ridiculous amount of toys.)


Starling really really likes playing with that packing strap. The look of wonder on her face cracks me UP.


Good night innernets. (Starling, Tater and Rufous. Wren remains an independent girl who prefers snoozing alone, thank you very much.)

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Previously
2022: No entry.
2021: No entry.
2020: She has Resting Tortie Face.
2019: Amelie is a biiig fan of the milk bar, can you tell?
2018: Meeting the Mainers.
2017: Look closely and you’ll see his Open Mouth of Outrage.
2016: Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
2015: The Fools meet the Loon.
2014: Throw Back Thursday: Dennis!
2013: Pardon me, Puff, your giant head is taking up the whole frame.
2012: “I can haz kissin’?”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: All three kittens are inordinately interested in sticking their heads in our mouths
2008: Poor Miz Poo
2007: It’s his default expression.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

Comments

20 thoughts on “6-26-23 Monday”

  1. Surefeed microchip pet feeder works great! Not cheap but effective. I had 2 cats with opposite food needs. One was carb sensitive and could eat only wet food. One had kidney issues and could eat only low protein dry food. Pair the feeder to the cats chip and it will only open for that cat. highly recommend this product.

  2. Hi Robyn, After reading your Friday post again over the weekend I wanted to do something to commemorate the lives of Firefly’s kittens. So I decided to donate to Forgotten Felines of Huntsville in their memory, did that online. You did everything you could to try to save those precious little souls. You loved them and they mattered to you in the brief time they were here – now that we know about them they matter to us too. I hope lovely Firefly is recovering well and will find her forever home soon.

  3. Regarding the microchip feeders. I also had a greedy cat and a slower eater, so I tried one. Had to give it a way because the greedy eater would just stick his head in with the slow eater and gobble away. With a bullying cat, unless the submissive cat actually leaves the feeder, I’m not sure it will solve the problem. I ended up feeding one on the counter and I still have to guard it or the greedy cat will jump up and push his way into the bowl. (if you ever hear the words “God damn it Bubba, get down!- that would be me.) I occasionally work late, so they sometimes have to wait a few hours for dinner, but it hasn’t caused them to wither away yet (despite what they’ll tell you.)
    TL;DR – may work, may not

  4. I just happened to see a terrific (sweet, funny and informative) youtube video about setting up an auto feeder particularly with a pushy sibling who’d push in under the chipee’s nose. Search “We got a microchip cat feeder for only Haku” – Jun and Rachel’s other cat videos are also heartwarming – at least two of their four sweet, spoiled kitties were injury rescues doing great now.

    1. I came here to recommend this video too – the found that the microchip feeder worked, but was so slow to close that the other cat could get his head in and eat food, so they built a container around the feeder so that it enough time for the feeder to close between cats getting inside. Definitely recommend your friend looks at this video for some tips.

  5. I have microchpfeeders and like them. I did have to get the back guard for one of them because the thief learned she could go around that way to get food. They are pricey and not automatic but one cat has lost almost a pound because of them. She was up to 13 pounds!

  6. Agreed – the chip feeders work. I don’t have them but a friend does and swears by them.

  7. My daughter uses the microchip feeder and it works perfectly for them. As others have said, not cheap but it’s well made and keeps their two cats on their separate diets.

  8. I have no experience with chips but, since they work for cat-flaps, they should work for feeders too. However, I would first exclude health issues in both cats, especially the bully/gobbler. Great appetite may be an indication of a disease or some deficiency which the cat is trying to compensate for by eating more than necessary.

  9. I have two gobblers. Their food goes down for an hour and they get to eat as much as they need then I pick the bowls up. And then dinner happens the same process. I just can’t leave the bowls down any longer. One of them has developed diabetes, but has lost weight and is moving down the scale on the insulin. It’s interesting but I’ve noted both of them eat their fill of food within 15 minutes so I pick the bowls up. Hope that helps you.

  10. The Surefeed microchip feeder has been a wonderful thing for my greedy and my slow eater. I suggest setting it to close in the shortest time possible once the slow cat has moved away. A secondary suggestion is to feed them in separate rooms if possible. Put the greedy one in another room with the door closed and don’t let them out until the slow one has finished it’s meal.

    1. Another vote for the MeowSpace! I haven’t needed to use mine in years but it worked really well to put my chonker on a diet without starving the other kitty. It was a little hard to clean, and I did have to reinforce it so Chonker didn’t demolish it when he got desperate. But it didn’t take long for the grazing kitty to learn to use.

  12. We have been using the Surefeed feeder for many, many years. Works great! We did have to contact the company to get a special program to make it close quickly so the greedy cat could not steal some food. And sometimes the slow eater would let another cat eat some with him. But overall, a great solution for us.

  13. Chip feeders at our house. They work well, cats learned how they work very quickly and run on batteries so can be placed anywhere. Like others have said, the aggressive eater might stick its head in while the less aggressive eater is eating or leaves and the cover has not closed. Just need to keep watch. I would highly recommend.

  14. We have used the microchip feeders with mixed results. Some incidents where they didn’t work:
    – senior cat pinned down kitten and used him as a keyfob to steal the kitten food
    – Young adults decided they liked senior’s kidney food and learned how to rip the entire cover off the feeder

    So, not foolproof but helpful. (For the latter issue, we ended up giving up and letting the kidney dry be a free for all and just keeping the normal food chip-access, since the senior didn’t mess with the lid.) For the scenario described here I think it’d work fine, but you’ll probably want the back guard and to hide the whole thing outside mealtimes/when unsupervised.

    There’s also a way to tweak the settings on the Surefeed ones so they close faster, FYI!

    2. >> – senior cat pinned down kitten and used him as a keyfob

      omg i love this haaaa

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