2 cats, one diet

leamide

What is the best way to put one cat on a diet when the other one doesn't need to diet?

My one cat, who doesn't need a diet, is still getting thinner while my other cat, that needs a diet gets bigger. I have cut back on their food, but I don't want to too much in fear of my thin cat not getting enough to eat. He is a graser, where the other cat grases, but eat a lot more at one time.

 

LuckyAngel07

Set mealtimes. No free feeding.

It will take them time to adjust to the routine, but feeding half their recommended daily intake in the morning and the other half in the evening is the best way to ensure each of them is eating only what they should be, and no one is stealing from the other.

For fatty cat: either feed the recommended amount for his/her IDEAL weight, or feed a little less, since the recs are often a tad high.

For skinny: bump up his/her amount to the recommendation for the weight he/she should be.

I used to free feed. I stopped doing that over a year ago and my fatty kitty finally dropped some weight. It's a slow process, but it's the best bet.

breaness

Do set meals and make sure that they are only eating the food you give to them. My mom stopped free feeding her cats because one was over weight and the other has other issues. Now she knows exactly what they are eating.

mainerocks

Is the fat one too fat to jump on something high? Because I know a few people that feed the skinny one up on a counter and the fat one eats on the floor - so that they can eat separate amounts.

I tried to move my cats to set feeding times and they lost even more weight, so just watch out and make sure they continue to eat enough. I don't think my cats are the norm. 

Kaiene

LuckyAngel07:

Set mealtimes. No free feeding.

It will take them time to adjust to the routine, but feeding half their recommended daily intake in the morning and the other half in the evening is the best way to ensure each of them is eating only what they should be, and no one is stealing from the other.

For fatty cat: either feed the recommended amount for his/her IDEAL weight, or feed a little less, since the recs are often a tad high.

For skinny: bump up his/her amount to the recommendation for the weight he/she should be.

I used to free feed. I stopped doing that over a year ago and my fatty kitty finally dropped some weight. It's a slow process, but it's the best bet.

This is what I was going to suggest too. We feed raw, so we have to do mealtimes. S would be a huge fatty if you let her free feed. L is smaller than S but eats more but she is more active. S sleeps 25 hours a day.