Multiple cats bring a lot of joy to a household but they can also bring some challenges when it comes to feeding. Here are some tips to consider if you have more than one cat that you are caring for.

Generally in most multi-cat homes, meal feeding with individual feeding stations is the best approach.

This is especially true when some cats must be fed a specific type of cat food, such as Hill’s Prescription Diet. Free choice feeding can be problematic in multi-cat situations, particularly because it’s not easy to monitor each cat’s appetite and food intake. This can make it more difficult to tell when your cat is not feeling well. Additionally, assertive cats may block access to the food bowls and guard it from shyer cats, or make shyer cats leave the food bowl before they are finished eating. Conflict among cats is often subtle — cats communicate largely by eye contact, facial expression and body language.

Setting up a feeding station

Each cat can be fed in a separate room in the home with the door closed. With a regular feeding schedule each cat can be given a certain amount of time to eat (e.g. 20 to 30 minutes). Water should be freely available in several places at all times.

There are also ways that overweight cats can be fed separately from their slimmer housemates. For example, a hook and eye closure can be put on the door to one room to allow the door to remain open enough so that the slim cat can fit through, but not the overweight cat. Or the slim cat can be fed on a high surface, such as a shelf or counter, where the overweight cat is unable to jump up. It may also be possible to use a baby gate to feed cats in separate rooms if the overweight cat cannot jump over the barrier.