Posted By Kelly Harding | 2 comments

In a previous post I wrote about the challenges of having 2 cats and their differences.

The biggest challenge to date has been with our cat Lloyd.

Lloyd loves food!

Lloyd would do anything for food!

I believe when Lloyd is eating, he is thinking about when and where his next meal will be.

Because of Lloyd’s obsession with food, his need to loose weight, his obsession with Lily’s food, a food that makes him sick,  I’ve had to be inventive as to how I was going to keep him away from Lily’s food and restrict him to eating only his food.

In my post “The Cat Food in the Box“, I discussed how I thought I could outsmart Lloyd by putting Lily’s food in a box where Lloyd could not get at it.

It’s been a few months since that post, and let’s just say, Lloyd is one smart kitty!  Where’s there’s a will there’s a way as far as Lloyd and food is concerned.

The cat food box has turned into a cat food house!  It now has an extension on the back, the “roof” is now wooden, I’ve had to decrease the size of the entrance, weigh down the box, keep the box’s back up against the wall and push a heavy wooden chair against the side of the food box!

Challenge 1:

The extension:

Originally the food box was just one box with one entrance, until Lloyd figured out that if he stretched his paw in, he could grasp the food dish inside and bring it forward enough that he could snitch a few kibble pieces. The first challenge was fixed by adding an additional box to the back so his paw could not reach in far enough to grab the food dish.

Challenge 2:

The wooden roof:

Lloyd was not to be outsmarted by the extension of the box.  He figured if he couldn’t get through the “front door”, he would get in through the roof!  Up he climbed and through the top of the box he went, dropped right inside the box!  The second challenge  was eliminated by placing a piece of wood over the top of the box so that he could not fall or get in like Santa going down the chimney.

Challenge 3:

Brute Strength:

Lloyd is a strong cat and he has learned to use this to his advantage.  So what if he couldn’t fit through the front door, or no longer could get in from the top of the box, he now figured out that he could go to the back of the box, hook his paw between the wall and the box and pull!  Pull he did!  He pulled the box out from the wall, gaining access to the “back door” where we take the food dish in and out. So now what?  Challenge 3 eliminated by weighing the box down so he couldn’t pull it out from the wall, but ensuring at the same time that the box would not collapse on poor Lily inside while she tried to eat a meal in peace!

Challenge 4:

The Chair: 

Well Lloyd was stronger than we could ever imagine! Even with all the adjustments made to the box he still managed to get that box pulled out enough to steal the occasional piece of Lily’s food.  Next step was to block his access to the side of the box!  Really Lloyd, really?!  So now I have this box, in my dining room, pushed up against a wall, with a wooden roof, weighed down, and now for Challenge 4- there’s a chair pushed up against the side of the box so Lloyd could not pull it out any more.

Challenge 5:

Slimmer Lloyd:

Well here I am, thinking I’ve finally figured it all out.  Figured out Lloyd and all his tricks to get to Lily’s food.  What could possibly be left?  How could he possibly get into this box now?  Something I never considered!  Since Lloyd can no longer gain access and indulge in Lily’s food,  in addition to his own, Lloyd has lost weight!  Challenge 5 – with this weight loss means I now have to decrease the size of Lily’s front door so Lloyd can’t squeeze in but big enough that Lily can.