Karma loves his Perfect Weight food. Image copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

This post is sponsored by Hill’s. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill’s® Science Diet® and Food, Shelter & Love™ Program, but BLING, BITCHES & BLOOD BLOG only shares information I feel is relevant to my readers. Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.

Image Courtesy of Hill’s Pet Nutrition

I wasn’t planning an animal shelter adoption when a kitten showed up on my patio just over a year ago. Karma-Kat acted starved for attention–and also food–and immediately purred his way into our hearts. Yet integrating a new cat into our household proved challenging on several levels, especially cat nutrition issues. In fact, if he’d been at the shelter, Karma’s food-obsession and subsequent weight gain could have kept him from being adopted, because Karma wanted to eat EVERYTHING.

Why Cats Steal Food

Cats that have had to fend for themselves as strays may be more prone to food obsession–yes, food actually can affect kitty mood. Karma was about 8 months old and weighed 8 pounds when he arrived. He probably hadn’t been out on his own very long, but long enough to figure out that you better EAT whenever/wherever you find it. So once the prelim intros were done between him and the 18-year-old Seren-Kitty and 8-year-old Magical-Dawg, we discovered just how much of a foodie he was.

Karma ate Magic’s food (thank goodness Magic was tolerant!), not just from his bowl–Karma snuck into the pantry and chewed holes in Magic’s dog food bag. Karma cruised countertops and absconded with hubby’s bag of doughnuts. Karma pushed Seren aside and ate her therapeutic kidney diet food. And Karma swiped a kabob from my husband’s plate.

“I love cat food, too!” Dogs often relish cat food–Karma isn’t sharing! Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

I know, I know! Magic and Seren’s food isn’t appropriate for a growing kitten (GROWING was the operative word, LOL!). Generally I recommend growing kittens be fed all they want of an appropriate kitten-specific ration but Karma really seemed to pack on the pudge doing this. While it only hurt Magic’s feelings to have his food stolen, 6-pound Seren needs every bit of her own food, and the added stress of guarding food bowls also impacts cats health.

The answer in Karma’s case was two-fold. 1) Manage the meals. 2) Feed Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Weight.

Hill’s Food, Shelter & Love Program Saves Cat Lives

The sad truth is that cats languish in shelters at this time of year, especially if they’re not a cute kitten. Hanging out in a cage all day gives little opportunity to stay a healthy, svelt weight and obese cats are less likely to get adopted.

That’s the impetus behind the Hill’s Food, Shelter & Love Program, which offers shelters the opportunity to offer quality nutrition to their resident cats and kittens. The Perfect Weight Diet helps slim down tubby tabbies to make them MORE adoptable by creating a weight loss system that new owners can then easily continue in the new home.

Karma’s tummy pudge has reduced since transitioning to Hill’s Perfect Weight food. Image Copr. Amy Shojai, CABC

I’d be a fan of this program anyway–Hill’s has provided over $240 million worth of food to nearly 1,000 shelters…and counting. But my personal experience with Karma tells me cats love the food, the program is easy to use and it works. In fact, over 70% of cats in this program lost weight within 10 weeks when fed this diet.

Find a shelter near you that participates in this plan.  Scroll down to see the video about Stoli the kitty who has benefit from this program.

So do you have a pudgy kitty? Or do you have several pets that all need to eat different kinds of food? Maybe the tips that helped me will help you, too.

6 Tips to Manage Meals in MultiPet Homes

Your pets’ personalities, social interactions, and health issues impact appetite, diet and feeding schedule and how to manage your multi-pet household. If you’re lucky, all the cats can eat the same food but in many cases you’ll have pets of different ages or health status (or species!) that require very specific nutrition unique to their situation.

Image Courtesy of Hill’s Pet Nutrition

Last summer, I received a free sample of the Hill’s Science Diet Perfect Weight food as a Klout Perk. Karma had just turned a year old, and I’d grown more concerned about his burgeoning tummy. The sample came with measuring cups and feeding recommendations and–Karma LOVED the food! Well, so did Magic and Seren, so then I had that to contend with.

Choosing the right food is just the first step.When you share your home and heart with multiple pets, managing mealtime takes planning but it can be done. I’ve written about this in my ComPETability book series, and put it to work with Karma. Use one or more of the steps, below, to keep your pets munching from the right bowl.

• No rule says all the pets must all be fed at once. Staggered feedings even 10 minutes apart may allow you to supervise each meal, and “ride herd” on the kitties who shouldn’t nibble from a particular formula.
• Move bowls a safe distance apart. Eating near each other can create a positive association (other cat presence=yummy food). But if a cat stops chewing to stare at another feline, move the bowls further apart.
• Cats that guard feeding stations or act fearful to eat in another pets’ present require separate times/areas/rooms to eat. Countertops, tables, various levels on the cat tree, or book shelves all offer valuable kitty real estate for individual feeding locations each cat can “own.” In our case, Seren-Kitty eats her meals on the dining room table next to her bed, while Karma-Kat’s feeding station is in the master bathroom clear across the house.
• A pet or baby gate can segregate feeding stations by allowing only the more nimble cats to pass through or jump over. Our kitchen pet-gates control access to where Magic is fed. Neither Magic or Karma can get through these gates, but Seren is so tiny she gets to come and go. Hey, she’s the QUEEN and so has access to everything–but never has had interest in dog food. 🙂
• Cats like Karma love to scrounge, “hunt” or swipe food, so give these cat burglars a legal outlet. Treat balls dispense a single meal to one cat, or treats to a group so as the cat plays, the dry food inserted into the ball or toy dispenses a kibble at a time. That keeps Kitty fed and entertained, and out of another feline’s bowl.
• When cats of different sizes must eat two specific diets, such as a weight-reducing food for the big guy and a regular food for the little one, separate cats during meals in different rooms or create a ‘boxed lunch.’ Cut a tiny cat-size opening in a cardboard or transparent plastic storage box to fit the smaller cat, and place the small cat’s food bowl inside the box, where he can access and nibble at his leisure.

At his kitty wellness check two weeks ago, Karma weighed 13.2 pounds. He’s still a bit on the large size but his food obsession has waned. Now that he gets plenty of tasty food and doesn’t worry about going hungry, he’s relaxed around food (his own and others).

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!