In some multiple cat homes, it’s not unusual to find one kitty who insists on trying to keep the others away from the food bowl. If you have a potential bowl bully in your house, here are some tips to help make mealtime more peaceful.

·          If all the cats share one community bowl, change the routine so that everyone gets their own bowl.

·          If you free-feed, set up more than one feeding station so that the cat who is so concerned with guarding the food can’t be in all places at once.

·          If the behavior at the food bowl is actually aggressive or if other cats are becoming frightened, feeding stations need to be set up in other parts of the house so that the cats don’t see each other, but you also need to do some behavior modification with the aggressive cat. You can help for this in my book, Cat vs. Cat.

·          If you have an overweight cat on a particular diet but he wants what the other cat is eating, set up feeding stations on various levels. Feed the overweight cat on floor level and the other cat on a higher level, especially if the overweight cat can’t jump due to his increased size. Fearful cats may do better eating on an elevated surface as well.

·          If you schedule-feed, spend time in the kitchen as the cats eat in order to make sure one cat doesn’t intimidate another. If your bowl bully gobbles his food too fast and then tries to stick his nose into another cat’s dish, consider feeding the little gobbler a few morsels at a time. Spoon out a little food, let him eat, and then spoon out a bit more. This will keep him focused on his own bowl.

·          Make sure that the cat intimidating others during mealtime doesn’t have to wait too long between meals. Feed smaller, more frequent meals (not increasing the actual portion) so your cat’s tummy isn’t empty for so long. A cat’s stomach is small and he usually does better with smaller, more frequent feedings.

For more specific information refer to the book Cat vs Cat.

© 2009 Cat Behavior Associates, LLC