Get a grazer to eat scheduled feedings?

As the title suggests, how can I get my cat who prefers to eat small meals throughout the day to eat bigger meals twice a day? I've had her on an AM/PM feeding schedule for at least 5 months and she still doesn't seem to "get" it. When she's fed, she will take a few bites then walk out of the kitchen. Then 30 minutes later she's hungry again and wants food! She is so bad about this that I have to sit with her in the kitchen and constantly put her bowl in her face so that she'll take more bites. It's gotten to the point where she KNOWS she needs to eat and can't leave the kitchen unless she eats most of her food. As you can imagine, this is just completely inconvenient for me.. and soon I won't even have the time to do this every single morning. Also, I would lock her in the bathroom, but it makes the bathroom stink of wet food and she'll just yowl at the door unless I sit in the bathroom with her..

Why not give her a bowl of food for the day and let her eat what she wants, when she wants? I'd be completely willing to do that, but there are two reasons I don't. The first is that I have her on a wet/dry food diet. And also, I have another cat who is the complete opposite of her and if given the chance, I'm 99% sure he would eat himself to death...

I've also tried different foods since she is a bit picky. She LOVES her dry food (blue wilderness) but she'll still take a few nibbles then walk away. It's not as bad as with the wet food, but she still does it. I was finally able to get her off of the "junk" food (i.e. friskies, fancy feast) and have her eating EVO and Natural Balance.. but I refuse to pay for a higher end wet food that is mostly gravy.

I don't have time to feed her smaller meals throughout the day. My fiance works full time and I will be soon so I NEED to get her eating ALL her food and to the point where I can feed her without supervising. 

She's a little on the thin side because she won't eat big meals.. as soon as I pick the food up, she doesn't get fed until her next meal. On a BCS she's probably a ~2.5 and for obvious reasons I want her to be at least a 3.

Help! I'm running out of ideas! Thank you in advance. At this point, I will try ANYTHING! 

--I will not separate the two cats ALL day so that she can eat. I am trying to BREAK this habit of hers, not accommodate it. Also, the two cats play and keep each other company throughout the day, and they will just cry if I separate them--

Well actually, your kitty has the right idea in preferring to eat a little bit through the day. However, if this is dry food she gets then you do need to change this pattern.  Free-feeding of dry food can lead to weight gain over time.

You could go with a timed feeder which opens slots of food at specific times during the day for when you are not at home. There are models apparently which accommodate freezer packs in which you can place wet food, along with some dry. I have not used these things myself, but there are members here who have and hopefully they will see this, and be able to provide more feedback around this idea.

Best of luck! ...

Thanks for the suggestion! But I do have another cat, so a timed feeder is out of the question.

I have the exact same issue. Once Sabbath is better (god hoping, she has fatty liver and is being tube fed) I need to get both my cats on a scheduled diet. Sabbath is the nibbler and Ichabod is the one that devours everything in site and whatever Sabbath does not finish she goes after. That is what happened when I tried it in the past. Sabbath then comes back later and there is nothing there for her. Naturally cats are supposedly nibblers so she is actually eating by instinct from what I have read. I ended up with them on a all dry self feeder diet with wet food as more of a treat from time to time. But the down fall is the weight gain and the fact I had no idea Sabbath was not eating until it was too late cause it's hard to monitor. I am not sure what I will do with them once she is better. 

I was considering maybe offering them each a portion (whatever that is.. still clueless) each of wet food in the morning. Then when we get home at night measure out a portion (whatever that would be) of dry for each of them for the rest of the night since most likely we will be home with them then after work. Maybe even an added treat later in the evening or on top the dry. I could also always take it away and offer again to them later in the night. Maybe then do 2 feedings in the evening or something.

I am not sure what to do either! Hopefully bumping this thread will help us both!

Here's an article on that very subject.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transitioning-free-fed-kibble-kitties-to-timed-meals

Thank you, LDG, for posting that link. The article was very helpful and is now my guide for making the transition at my house.

To much of my surprise Ichabod is doing rather well getting use to scheduled feedings. Sabbath (god bless her soul) would have never been as cooperative so I am grateful Ichabod is not giving me a hard time with this. 

I give her wet food in the morning for breakfast. Then in the evening she gets her dry kibble when we get home from work. Since it's measured out I leave it out for her because otherwise she is one to over eat and then throw up. She is doing really good and not trying to devour the whole bowl all at once and is keeping things down and eating whatever I offer her. 

Now I can keep track of when she does and does not eat. I am going to be a lot more cautious of this after everything that happened with Sabbath. 

I'm glad Ichabod (great name!) is taking well to the transition.

Earlier, I implemented some of what I read on the linked page and am giving it a whirl. Hope it goes smoothly for me as it is for you. :-)