How do I switch from free feeding, or should I?

Here's my problem, Sven is very underweight (kidney disease) , Callie and Stinkpot are the correct weight, and Darko is obese. We have free fed our cats always, and always only fed dry food. None of these cats seem to like wet, even Darko. I guess maybe they are just used to dry? When we were integrating "the boys", at least they seemed to like canned food, but now they don't seem interested in wet, because I still try to temp Sven with any and everything, and, naturally, when I do that, everyone else thinks they should have some, so I put a tiny bit out for them, and they ALL turn up their noses.

Anyway, they are nibblers, and I hear them nibbling lots throughout the night, since their food dish has always been in our master bathroom. The situation currently is that we hove lots of water dishes throughout the house, and only two dry food dishes, one in the master bath for everybody, and one in the upstairs closet for Sven with KD food and Purina One. Darko cannot squeeze through the almost closed door of the closet, but everyone else can. I've seen Callie eating from Sven's KD dish, but not Stinkpot. (He's pretty finicky - doesn't even like Wellness Core).

So...what can we do not to upset the applecart too much, yet help Darko lose weight? I was thinking that going to specific feeding times with rationed portions for everyone might be best, but since Sven needs to gain weight desperately, not sure we should do that, or HOW to accomplish it. Or should we just have plenty of food in the upstairs closet and just ration Darko? I'm afraid there might be food fights if they are all in there trying to eat the only food available.

By the way, I try to make Darko exercise whenever possible. When I give out treats, he is limited to only 3, and I toss them across the room to make him run for them, I use the Cat Dancer, Laser Pen thing, go up and down the stairs all day so he'll follow me, etc., but he's been overweight basically since we got him as a 7 month old kitten. And he and Stinkpot DO chase each other around like crazy. But he's a food hog too, and because he eats so much, I have to put out more food so the others can eat too!

Any advise? OH, and by the way, as I was typing this out, I heard someone in the closet eating, and Sven was lying on the Futon next to me, so I checked it out, and it was Darko! I have NO IDEA how it squeezed his fat butt in there, but he's a sneaky little devil! Obviously he will stop at nothing. Their dishes are already raised, and I've seen him frequently with his paw reaching into the closet trying to pull the entire raised platform closer to the door, spilling the water while he's moving it. As I said, he's a little devil when it comes to food.

Please have a chat with your vet... I do think scheduled feeding may help but with an under and a over wt kitty the vet needs to be involved

I prefer to have kitties on scheduled feedings myself. With free feeding you just can't guarantee that some cats will regulate themselves as needed - then you risk overweight or underweight kitties.

As suggested, talk to the vet. Use dry measuring cups to measure out the exact amount per feeding as suggested by your vet. You may have to shut someone in a bathroom or bedroom depending on how long they take to each their portion.

You may also be able to eventually get them to eat some wet this way. Instead of nibbling all day they'll be hungry when their meal times come and could show more interest in eating anything you put down.

We had to switch from free feeding to scheduled feedings when my vet told me that Callie was getting too plump and that could lead to other health issues later on down the road. It was soooo hard for the humans, not so much the cat. So, after discussing it with your vet, here are some tips to help you.

1. The cats will think you're starving them and will protest, LOUDLY and RAMBUNCTIOUSLY. Try to divert their attention by playing or simply tell them, "It's not time for you to eat yet."

2. It will be harder on you than on them. So mostly, you're training yourself.

3. For your underweight kitty, let him eat whenever he wants, but stand guard and keep an eye on him while he's eating to prohibit anyone horning in on him. When he's finished for that feeding, pick up his bowl and put it away.

4. Get bowls for each of them to eat from. Also, get measuring cups and label with their names. Measure out the appropriate portion for each and when that's gone for the day, there is no more.

5. Put the food bowls and measuring cups up and away from little paws. We keep ours in a cabinet near the feeding station, but up where they can't get to it.

6. Be patient and don't expect success overnight. It's a gradual process and you'll soon develop a routine and the kitties will get used to it.

The only problem with #3 is that the other kitties will know that Sven is getting something that they're not. Some cats can get aggressive with others over that. I have one that does.

One way to avoid that is to put Sven in the bathroom with his proper serving amount and offer the others (especially big kitty) playtime with low calorie treats or a few pieces of dry food. So you fool them into thinking they still got something and they forget the kitty in the other room crunching away at his food - otherwise they'll pile up at the door and fuss.

I tried scheduled feeding because Attitude us fat and I had to quit. They weren't eating well enough. I have grazers so they never caught on to only getting food at certain times. After Attitude dropped over a half a lb in a week I stopped it before Nuts and her starved themselves into liver failure.

You have to do what works for you and your cats. I would try it and see if it helps, like the others said talk to your vet and see what he says.

Taryn