Transitioning from Free Feeding to Timed Feeding

Hi!

I recently took my Scaredy Coon Kitty to the vet to be shaved, only to be told she weighed 16 pounds (last I knew she was 15) and needed to go on a diet! Of course, you can't put a cat on a diet and free feed unless you lock the diet cat up, and as scared as she is (Jackson Galaxy would call her a cave dweller), if I were to put her in one room, she'd never come back out! So yesterday was our first day of timed feeding. I have been feeding grain free dry (Taste of the Wild) and am beginning to transition to half Dave's grain free wet food and half what they are accustomed to (T.O.W.). I let them have a good 2 hours while I was awake & home in the morning, then picked the glass dishes I bought the day before (with covers, so I know exactly how much they're eating, because I can just cover when done & save for next feeding!) with dry food up and covered to use later. I'd been giving them a small taste of wet food in the morning as a 'get to know you' with the new kitty, so that was already a timed thing. They have figured out if they don't eat it when it's down, Onyx eats the leftovers haha! As of last night, Jinny (the coon) did GREAT at timed feeding - she ate almost all the food I'd put out for her, but not all of it (yay!), but the 2 other girls Onyx & Azzy (Siamese) barely ate anything. Tom still free feeding, but changing that up today so they're all on the same page. So far so good. I don't think O & A like the dry food much, but you know, if they're hungry, they will eat, I'm sure - it's what they've been eating all along. Some days they eat more than others. If anyone has pointers or suggestions, would love to hear. I keep telling myself this is how it's done in the wild, and I'm not torturing them LOL

Have you seen this article? [article="31129"][/article]

You're not torturing them, even if they'd like you to think that! :lol3: How many meals are you giving them a day? It sometimes helps to start with three or four small timed meals a day, then gradually reduce it to two main meals and perhaps a few kibbles as a snack.

I'd love to do that, but I am not independently wealthy, and cannot be home enough to do so Oh, if only, right? LOL It's Maine, it's tourist season, which means work work work! At this point I can only do morning/evening - I didn't do a middle feeding because I can't depend on the time, so I thought at this point consistency is best.