Hi,

My question is simple : I have two cats. One 4 months old female kitten and a 1 year old male. I usually feed them myeslf, two regular portions one at 8AM and the other at 4-5PM while giving them 1/4 of a portion around 11;30AM - 12;30PM.

I'm thinking of buying a food dispenser for them, but i am not sure if i should buy two separate feeders (http://www.amazon.ca/Koolatron-PD06-Dis ... +dispenser)

or

a big one (http://www.catfooddispensersreviews.com ... at-review/)


Will my cats be able to share one bowl ? The older one usually finish eating faster and tends to go help my kitten finish if she hasn't. When i'm watching them i don't let this happen, but he still tries pretty much every meal.

Thank you for your help!!!

Just an FYI, cats can pretty much break into any pet feeder you get. You may want to opt for a cheaper one since none seem to be fool proof. I got a big expensive one that didn't really work properly so I sent it back. It was way too ugly and large to begin with. I wound up getting one of these:
http://www.petco.com/product/100573/Pet ... SiteSearch

They still broke into it, sometimes before I left the house for the day, but I think sometimes they let it pop open on it's own. I can tell because on the weekends, they come in the house and stare at me right at the time the feeder pops open during the week. When I come home the trays are out of the feeder and one of the tops is closed again so I am not sure what goes on there during the day. They destroyed one totally so now they are on their second one. This is an older photo of Blondie who broke into her lunch snack right after eating breakfast.

Why would you want to change to a single feeder? How difficult is it to actually prepare food for two cats three a day? Each kitty should have its own bowl of food. That way you can monitor how much they eat and control the portions. You have a young kitten who requires more frequent feedings. You would not want the older kitty to eat any portion that is for the kitten. A part of feeding a cat is to see how much they've eaten and to monitor their eating habits.

As Jill has stated, a cat, especially a bengal, will attempt to tear apart any feeder to get to the food. The only time I'd go to an automatic feeder is if you're going to be gone for 24 hours and they have to be fed. Otherwise, I'd stick to your actually doling out the portions for them in individual bowls. It takes only a minute to put food out for a cat.

Im finishing my master's degree in finance right now and i will start working 50-60 hours a week soon. This is why i can't feed them by myself 3 times a day as i will be asbent. Thx for your comments, i decided ill go for two separate feeders!

Congratulations on your master's degree, but the work week sounds a bit much. And I understand how your kitties need to eat and you won't be there to feed them. You didn't mention that in your original post. If your kitties are together during the time you're gone and you want to do portion control, you can't be sure which cat will eat which portion. Know that most cats usually stop eating when they are full so you might just want to put out a feeder and let them go to town while you're gone. Measure out what you want them to eat while you're gone and add a little more to it. Regardless, you're just trying to hold them over until you get home. I hope your long hours don't last too long. Your kitties will miss you.

I am out of the house 9-10 hours a day during the week. I try to stay home on the weekends with my kitties. That's when we bond. We're all so sad to see Monday arrive. I got my two kittens at 4 months old and they were hungry all the time. I had to rely on an auto feeder, it was the only option for me. I have always fed them together. They gobble at about the same speed. Sometimes one will eat less than the other. The groomer weighs them every month when I have their nails cut. The cat who eats less will loose half to one pound and the other cat will gain it. It goes back and forth. I try to cut back on the dry food a tad, they could both stand to loose a pound each. They just both love their food.