Changing skittish free-feeder to a scheduled eater.

I'm at a frustrating point with my two cats and I'm not sure what to do.  My older cat Hootie is 4 and has been a free eater his whole.  He has never had any weight or health problems.  2 months ago we rescued a stray we named Sansa.  When we rescued her she was 6 pounds.  She now weighs 10 pounds and seems to be a bit of a food hog.    We figured it would be a good idea to switch them to a feeding schedule.  Our cats right now only eat grain-free dry food.  Sansa will eat wet food, but Hootie won't even look at it.

Last night we took their food away after reading a bit on how to switch the cats to a feeding schedule in a structured and healthy way.  This morning we sit them down measured portions of food and Sansa digs right in and eats hers. Hootie doesn't touch his.  After 20 minutes we take the food away and wait until the next meal.  Again we sit down their portions and Sansa eats her and this time Hootie doesn't ignore his food bowl, he runs from it like he's terrified and hides under the bed.  We just finished their third meal and the same thing happened, Sansa ate hers just fine, and Hootie ran and hid.  It's now been 24 hours and Hootie has only had a few mouthfuls of his snacks. I've tried to offer him just small amounts of his normal food and everytime he runs and hides.  I've just about decided to give up and let them go back to free-feeding a couple of days and try again later but I wanted to get some opinions first.

We just took Hootie to the vet this week.  His brother passed away a few months ago due to a congenital kidney failure so before changing Hootie's diet I wanted to get him checked out. The vet did some bloodwork and said his kidneys, liver, pancreas, and blood sugar are all tip top so we feel there's nothing medical going on, just for some reason after going hungry a while hootie became scared of his food.

You know, the first thing that comes to mind reading your post, is that I'm wondering if there is some way that Sansa has intimidated Hootie for his food, since as you said she is a food-hog.

Even if you don't think this is the case, why not try feeding them in separate rooms, if it works, there's the answer on why it happened.

There is no reason for him to fear his food, but there is reason for him to fear Sansa if she wants to control his food too. She may have come from a litter of kittens who, for various reasons felt hungry often. This causes food aggression and some never get over it and become food-hogs, like that meal is going to be her last, fear of starving. Especially now as you take their food away.

She no longer is confident that she will be fed.

It would make sense. Sansa was a stray so even though it's been a couple of months she may be a bit insecure about food.  We already feed them in separate rooms though.  I think at the moment I'm going to just let them go back to always having food out maybe until this weekend and then give it another try.  Maybe give them both a reset on the food insecurities.
 

Okay now in day 5 of my attempt to switch my kitties over to scheduled feeding. The eventual goal is to get them on a strict schedule then switch them to a high quality wet food.  Again Sansa is doing great, she is now pretty much eating the exact measure of food we put down for her and today she ate he first whole serving of Before Grain beef flavor wet food.  She has basically learned the timing and seems to expect each meal.

Hootie continues to be a problem. I dont know if maybe Sansa is just a particularly fast learner in this but Hootie doesn't seem to get it at all.  When I put down their portions he eats 3 or 4 bites and walks away to go about his usual cat business.  If I try to move the food near him he gets scared and hides.  Sansa does not try to eat Hootie's food at all.  Hootie only seems to be eating 1/4 a cup of Nature's Variety Grain Free dry food a day and has lost a few ounces since Friday.  I let his food stay out for 20-30 minutes then put it away. He immediately begins pawing at the pantry door where I keep to food. A couple of times I've broken down and got him another serving, again he eats a few bites then wanders off.  I'm not sure at what point I should begin to worry that he's not eating enough.  I have heard people say some cats can take a week or two to understand the schedule, but is there any risk of him damaging his body by not eating enough?

We lost his brother two months ago due to CRF and I worry about something hard to notice creeping up on Hootie.
 

Edit: This is my second attempt to switch the kitties to a schedule.

As long as he's not overweight, there isn't too much risk for Hootie. The risk for Fatty Liver is basically when a normal or fat cat eats nothing, or when a super fat cat eats very little. Him eating just a little bit for a week or two won't hurt him. The biggest factor in all this is actually his hunger.
As hard as it might be to see him pawing at the cupboard, you have to be strong. Putting him on a schedule is for his own long term good. Not only will it ensure that being fat isn't in his future, but it will also help point out future problems.
Think of it this way. The amount that he is eating now could be how much he normally eats. With his food out all the time, you really have no way of knowing. Sansa could have been the one eating her way through the majority of the food, with Hootie always having been peckish. Or they could have been the same. Or Hootie could have been eating more.
On a schedule, you will now know exactly how much everybody is eating.

We definitely know Sansa overeats. She's a small framed cat and weights 10 pounds. She looks like an orange and white beach ball.  Hootie is very long limbed and big framed. He weighs about 12 pounds and looks perfectly normal, maybe even a touch skinny.  Part of it is also that Hootie is very skittish and easily distracted. If there is anything going on he'd rather investigate than eat.
 

Patience is the key word here.  It's taken me a year to get mine away from free feeding dry, with 2 wet meals daily,  to timed meals on a 90% wet to a 10% dry diet.  It was very frustrating the first few weeks.  Now they're all accustomed to the diet and feeding times.  I have timed feeders that dispense their 10% dry over 3 separate times throughout the day and they have their main meals, the wet, twice daily.  They are happy.  They have a smidge of kibble to graze on but their main diet source is wet.  I'm happier too
 

Things seem to be going somewhat smoother. Hootie is still just very easily distracted from his food.  However it's been just over a week and he has barely dropped any weight.  He has gone from 12.4 pounds to 12.2...and that could just be the scale.  Unfortunately Sansa has not dropped any weight either and she is the entire reason we switched to this type of feeding, lol.  We are going to have to cut back on her food, even though it doesn't seem like much food the recommended amounts on the bags and cans seem a little high.

Yup, the amounts on the cans/bags are usually way too much. The amounts we feed seem like so little I think because we unconsciously compare to our own portions. *nod*

invadernny said:

Things seem to be going somewhat smoother. Hootie is still just very easily distracted from his food.  However it's been just over a week and he has barely dropped any weight.  He has gone from 12.4 pounds to 12.2...and that could just be the scale.  Unfortunately Sansa has not dropped any weight either and she is the entire reason we switched to this type of feeding, lol.  We are going to have to cut back on her food, even though it doesn't seem like much food the recommended amounts on the bags and cans seem a little high.

Click to expand...

Those recommended amounts to feed on bags and cans are meant to be "guidelines".  There is a science to those guidelines but I've found that the recommended amounts on the cans and bags are generally more than what the animal requires.  Every animal is different so I suppose a guideline is a necessary starting point.

So a quick update on the kitties. Sansa is completely on wet food already. Not surprised honestly I think she will just eat whatever we give her in whatever amounts.  Hootie is still being quirky.  He eats about 1/8 a cup of dry food a serving.  I don't want to even try him on wet until I get him on a good schedule.  From time to time he'll eat more but he's steadily losing weight.  He's at exactly 12 pounds now and I feel a bit more bone around his hips now.Overall he's lost about a half pound in just under 2 weeks. He's a big cat so 12 pounds actually looks pretty thin on him.  It's close to being the second week and I figure Hootie is just catching on slower and doesn't understand that the food is only out for a limited time. He eats a few bites and leaves.  Once or twice now he's eaten the whole amount in his bowl (which at the moment is 1/4 a cup while we try to see how much he should eat to maintain).  I'm being pretty strict about taking the food bowls away after 20 minutes (which for Sansa is no problem since she eats her food in 2 minutes). 
 

Edit: A question for those who do this style of feeding. My girlfriend and I will be out of the apartment for the weekend for Christmas. Will it completely undo all the work we did if we leave them food out while we are gone? There really isn't anyone nearby who could feed them at the times we've got them somewhat used to now.