How do you teach cats to eat out of their own food bowls?

I have 1 kitten who is 3 months old and one adult cat who is 5 years old. Since both cats need different kinds of food (kitten food which has nutrients found in a mother's milk, and adult formula that has nutrients designed for older cats), I have two separate food bowls. One for the kitten and one for the older cat. The older cat steals food from the kittens bowl which is making her overweight, and the younger one is stealing food from the older cat's food bowl. I've tried mixing some kitten food in with the adult food, but that hasn't worked. I've tried putting the bowls in differnt spots in the house which also hasn't worked. What would you suggest? Thanks.

Well, you don't need to feed them different foods. Kitten food doesn't contain any nutrients that adult food doesn't, and vice versa.

"Kitten" food is little more than a marketing ploy by cat food mfrs. It makes you think it's necessary to feed kittens "kitten" food - but it's not. Kittens and adults need the same nutrients. Kittens need slighly more which can typically be accomplished by feeding them more. Which you should do because they require a ton more calories than adults.

If you feed them both a good quality canned food, both will thrive.

From my blog:

This site has provided some info: http://www.maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm.

Energy Requirements for Kittens and Adult Cats

Age kcal/lb body wt

Kittens: 10 weeks 113

20 weeks 59

30 weeks 45

40 weeks 36

Adult Cats: Inactive 18

Active 20-30

Pregnant 45

Lactating* 56--145

So it appears that kittens need many more calories than adults. So why not just feed them more?

This site has another table showing the minimum protein allowances for cats v. kittens. It boils down to kittens needing 4% more protein than adults. There were other items in there, but it didn't vary widely at all. Kittens need the same amount of fat. They need a little more calcium, phosphorous and magnesium.

So in essence, it appears that so long as the food is adequately high in protein, your kitten will get what it needs - regardless of marketing hype.

Put one in a room with his/her food and shut the door. Your older cat is just trying to be the boss and will probably continue to do this even after the kitten has grown up. My dominate cat hates to see the dog eat and will stare at her which makes her nervous .

Hi you can try feeding the cats in different rooms of the house. I know it's hard when my kittnes were small their mother would eat their food and leave hers i would also mix them together but that's how the mother got a little fat lol now that the kittens are over a year old they are all on the same food. So feed the kitten in one rom or your house and the older cat in the other room and try to make it a consistant time of day my cats al know they eat in the morning and at 4 or so in the afternoon. hope this helps!

You can fed them in separate rooms until your kitten is 5-6 months old. At that age it is perfectly ok for her to eat the same food as the older cat , as 99% of kittens don't need to be on kitten food till 1yr no matter what the bag says.

I feel you. I have 5 cats and 2 are too aggressive and pushy at dinnertime, so they are all fed in different rooms. Let me know if you figure out a secret :)