a golden rule for keeping multiple cats happy in the same household is one product per cat
plus extra cats are territorial so if you have four cats each cat should have his own plate plus
extra hey friends it's jess and jericho and those are actually my mother's four cats they
each have their own plate and they each eat in their own separate area this is super important
because cats are territorial even if they're best friends like for example my mother's cats
they cuddle together they groom each other but even if they're close and they're bonded they
still appreciate having their own separate areas to eat for example with outdoor cats and shelter
cats there may be some competition for food maybe they're sharing the same plates or there's just
not enough food available this can cause stress and anxiety and behavioral issues and down the
road this might lead to your cats not getting along so for ideas on where to feed your cats
feed them in separate areas away from each other so maybe one you can feed on top of the condo one
you can feed inside of one of their beds one you can feed in an entirely separate room altogether
just take a look at your home and see where those different areas are maybe one cat likes a specific
area and then another cat really likes a different area that might be a good place to feed your cat
make it a routine and stick to those places every day cats are also very keen on routines
so they want to expect the same thing every day and if you change that that can also cause
anxiety and stress maybe you have one cat that finishes his food before the other cats
and maybe he tries to eat from their plates try to redirect his attention to play or healthy treats
maybe for the cat that finishes early you can use a puzzle feeder toy or treat release toys for his
food or treats if you're feeding ground raw those puzzle toys don't really work so maybe you might
want to incorporate some whole chunks of meat into his diet or you can get some pinky mice that way
your cat has to chew a little extra if you still have issues for your cats competing for food there
are automatic chip feeders available online this video is not sponsored but there are affiliate
links to these products in the description below the automatic chip feeder registers to your cat's
microchip so when your cat walks up to the feeder it sees the microchip and it opens if your cat
walks away the feeder closes so if your other cats were to walk up to it it wouldn't open for
them because their microchip is not registered for that feeder this feeder comes in handy for slow
eaters if they walk away and want to come back it'll close and then reopen when the cat comes
up to it but it won't open for your other cats it also comes in handy when you're transitioning
to new foods so maybe you want to make sure that each cat is eating the right amount of food for
each of those foods that you're transitioning to or if you're feeding different foods to your cats
like maybe one cat is eating dry one cat is eating wet and you're focusing on transitioning to better
foods and you don't want wet food cat to get into the dry food so that feeder will come in handy
in this case too as for the actual food do the best that you can without stressing i completely
understand that with multiple cats these costs do add up but try to think about buying good quality
food as an investment in your cat's health ideally you would get rid of all dry food and feed a 100
high moisture diet whether that's wet or raw if you can't do raw that's fine any wet food
is still better than all brands of dry food simply because cats rely on food for moisture
so dry food doesn't work for cats because it's dry and water is essential for life no matter how much
water your cat drinks dry food is not appropriate for cats it's perfectly fine to feed a combination
of wet foods or you can add a little bit of raw in there too some fresh food is better than no fresh
food so let's say you buy a really cheap wet cat food and then you splurge on raw or freeze-dried
raw food and then you can feed a little bit of a combination of both that's still better than no
fresh food at all you can also upgrade your cats treats using either freeze-dried raw complete food
or you can use freeze-dried minnows muscle meats and organs those are all really healthy treats
and these healthy treats can help your cat get used to eating better quality foods so that'll
really help if you're transitioning to new food there's some treats in the description just focus
on introducing one new change at a time because cats are extremely sensitive to dietary changes
now for playing with cats you can play with all of them at the same time just give equal attention to
each my mother's cats actually take turns when i play with them so i'll play with one and then
the others will kind of lay around and just watch and then they'll jump in when it's their turn this
is actually my mother's 17 year old cat playing right now so anyone that says my cat doesn't like
to play you need to try harder you can rotate your toys while you play that way your cats
don't get bored i found that cats prefer toys made with natural materials like wool hemp fur
feathers you know these kind of soft toys will mimic prey in appearance and texture and since
they're made with natural materials your cats will automatically be attracted to them right away and
again make playtime a routine because cats are very keen on routine once it's a routine your cat
will expect it if your cats are food motivated you can hide treats around the home maybe they're not
playing yet but you can use your treats to get them active and get them to play so hunting for
treats is great for mental stimulation your cat has to use a lot of his senses to figure out where
the treats are and then he's rewarded for his hard work with a yummy treat you could put your cat's
treats on top of tall condos and that'll really encourage them to get active because they want
that treat cat furniture is crucial when you live with any amount of cats because cats need to climb
and scratch and they like to perch and watch over their territory and look down on you buy
condos that have multiple perches and multiple hideouts that way you have different areas for
all of your cats to rest ideally you would have multiple condos again one per cat plus one extra
of course your cats need scratching posts as well cats actually like to scratch because that
helps them mark their territory through the little scents that they have in their paws so if you have
one scratching post per cat plus extra and they each have their own territory marker and that's
really going to help your cats feel safe and comfortable at home and it can decrease behavioral
issues and stress private beds are also really great for multiple cats so you should have again
one private bed per cat plus extra the extra is a buffer so if one of your cats wants to
get away he has a nice safe area to go to for litter boxes yes you should have one litter box
per cat plus extra again cats are territorial plus they deserve a clean and private bathroom
just like you the extra box is necessary just in case you can't scoop in time and your cat
wants to use a clean bathroom and again providing multiple boxes can help your cats feel safe and
comfortable and decrease the risk of behavioral issues you would spend about five minutes
per week per box if you check out my cleaning routine right over mia thanks for watching