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I have two indoor cats. One of them is pretty fat and he eats and sleeps alot. The other one is more slim. I have tried to make the fat cat eat less (since my other cat doesn't get that much to eat, they only get a certain amount per day). But so far I have not managed to get them to share in an easy way - other than forcing the fat cat away from the food when he tries to eat.
Is there a way to get him to eat less or force him to, without me having to guard the food?
Instead of forcing the lean cat to eat in a "prison", like a carrier box or a closed room, you could take advantage of the fact that the fat cat is just that; fat. Can he jump as high up as the lean one? Can he fit through a hole so tiny that the lean cat is just able to wiggle through?
Find such place in your home that only the lean cat can jump onto, and put the food bowl up there. Show the place to the lean cat, so it'll know where to find food. The fat cat can't get there; problem solved.
Example of a cat's ability to jump and climb:
(This animated gif is found in several pages in internet, I don't know whom to credit for it.)
I currently have this situation with our cats. We have five cats, the youngest of which is overweight. I feed four of the cats on kitchen counter. This one cat is not willing to jump even this much, a relatively low (85 cm/34 inches) height for a cat, but simply waits on the floor until I give him the leftovers after the other cats have all eaten.
We have a similar situation where one bunny needs more food then the others. They all share a common bowl, with a share for each of the 3.
When we need to feed the bunny who requires more food, we place him into a carrier and he gets a separate feeding all by himself.
