Hi Guineveresot
There are many other hog foods than Spikes. Many of which are not so much like cat food and which mostly cats leave. For instance ‘I love hedgehogs’. Most people find that even hogs which have been eating mealworms will transfer to that or other similar brands quite easily.
It really would be best if you don’t leave mealworms out for the hogs. As well as having the wrong ratio of phosphorous to calcium which can cause leaching of calcium from the bones, they really are not sufficiently nutritious. Think of it like humans with crisps or chocolate. If they eat mealworms they are not leaving so much space to eat the more nutritious things. Unlike humans they are less likely to overeat.
In many ways it is probably better to leave nothing out than to leave out mealworms. The problem is particularly bad when hoglets are around, as they are more likely to become addicted and at the same time, because they are growing, really need the best nutrition we can give them. I really do encourage you to try something better it will lead to healthier hogs which is what we need.
Many people have written on the forum about how they have managed to keep cats out of their feeding ‘boxes’. You might like to try some of those ideas.
Good luck.
