Cats and a snake? Also overweight and dandruff cats, what do I do?

I currently have a cat, and another, okay, I admit it, I have 4 cats! 3 of them are litter mates, and one was a stray before we'd adopted her. The littermates are 5 years old and the cat is 6-8? Anyways, for awhile now I've been thinking of getting a milk snake, and most of the people I've asked have advised against it, claiming that it will be 'just another expensive chew toy' to the cats. I have a large bathroom, and if that's where I have to put the snake and it's things, then I'm willing to do so, I just want to know if I should try in the first place. 

The other question I have is that 2 of the 'kittens' are overweight, over 22 lbs each! They are all American short hairs so I don't think that they should be this huge. I have to keep them inside, and they all graze... The males have been known to push off the other 2 as well as gorge themselves on the food just so the other cats have nothing left to eat. I tried to fix this by spreading out the feeding and drinking stations, but this doesn't appear to be working.... Also, one of the males, a tuxedo, has severe dandruff problems. At first I thought that it was a skin condition, because he'd bite you if you'd touch a certain part of him, but that passed, and he STILL HAS DANDRUFF!!! I brush them all frequently, so what should I do?

If your snake's enclosure has a secure top, it shouldn't be a problem. Of course if you ever wanted the snake out of his enclosure you would need to shut the cats in another room.

If you want cats to lose weight, you need to put them on scheduled mealtimes and measure out their meals carefully. Canned food is better for weight loss as dry food is very calorie-dense. It would probably be best to contact your vet about how best to accomplish this safely, although many vets have limited knowledge of cat nutrition :/. But the vet should at least have an idea of how many calories each cat needs. If you can manage to contact a feline nutritionist that would the very best.

I own two cats and a frog and a corn snake. It has been a challenge to keep the cats from bothering them too much, but it is possible. I use a tin foil barrier to keep the cats off the top of the frog terrarium. As for the snake, her tank is on a book shelf so the cats don't have access to the screen top. I also put double sided sticky tape in front of her tank which keeps the cats off the shelf. Both tanks have locking lids to keep them in and the cats out! If the cats get too interested in them, I distract them with toys.

To sum up:
- Make sure your snake's enclosure has a locking top and/or door.
- If the enclosure has a screen top, create a barrier to keep the cats off.
- Distract cats with toys if they get too curious.

Good luck! Snakes are awesome!

Check the web site petobesityprevention.com
I agree to work with your vet to bring their weight down. It must be done slowly. Pick up their bowls. No free feeding.

Thanks y'all, your advice is much appreciated!