Big cat vs little cat

Hi guys! I have 2 cats, a male and female, Fiur and Nova respectfully. Fiur is a MUCH bigger cat than Nova. we had Nova first, and she did great as a grazer. We didn't have to monitor her portions really, she stayed at her perfect weight, and ate when she was hungry. When we added Fiur to the family, we did the same method. However, he ballooned. He eats as much as you will give him. We started them both on a feeding schedule, but it hasn't helped much. I guess Fiur isn't gaining weight, so that's something.

We tried feeding them separately, but Nova won't eat without her brother close by. Sometimes she gets a little dominant flair and starts with one bowl, and then switches to his part way through. Problem is, Fiur eats much faster than Nova, and so he ends up getting a bigger portion because he eats a good chunk from both bowls.

I'm not interested in switching food again, we are feeding them both Nutro natural choice, and had to go that route because grains are hard on fiur's tummy and gave him runny stool. This one works for him, and nova will eat it too, so that part needs to stay the same. We tried wet food, but nova wouldn't eat. In any case, does anyone have suggestions on how to get Fiur to eat slower?

You could try a interactive or slow feeder (I don't know the actual term but either of those work in a typical search).

The Northmate Interactive Slow Pet Feeder has some good reviews. It basically forces the cat to slow down and pull out each individual piece of food before eating it. Which, for an over eater, gives their brain time to catch up with their tummy. This version is dishwasher safe and listed on Amazon for under $15. 

Have you thought of feeding Fiur wet food (or a combination of wet and dry), and leaving Nova on 100% dry? Wet food makes portion control/weight management SO much easier, as it is far less calorific weight-for-weight than dry, and so can make a diet much easier to handle - for both cat and owner

Other than that, I'd suggest that mealtimes are strictly supervised, and when they go to swap, switch the bowls around so they're both getting their correct portion. We had brothers who liked to swap like yours do, but they were always perfectly ok with us quickly switching the bowls round :lol3:

If that doesn't work, then try crating Fiur for mealtimes (a small dog crate works well) - that way he's still close enough that Nova should be happy to eat, but he can't actually steal her food. This will also make certain that Nova gets enough to eat - you don't want her to lose weight because of Fiur's big appetite. [article="30987"][/article][article="33544"][/article]