How young is too young to meal feed?

I just adopted a 12-week old kitten. I also have a resident adult cat. He's about 5. Since the adult eats adult light food (he's chubby) and the kitten eats kitten food, I'll eventually need to meal feed them to keep them from eating each other's food. The kitten wants the adult food and the adult wants the kitten food :-) For now, my husband has designed what I call a "food hut" It's a cardboard box with a little door cut out, so the kitten can get in and the big cat can't.

My question is, is it better to start meal feeding the kitten right away to get her used to it, or is she too young for meal feeding?

12 weeks should be perfect since the baby is weaned and would be leaving mommy at this time .... I was scared when I read the title cause some try to feed meals to very very young kittens

I don't think it's too young. Sounds great to me!

Oh, and by the way, I LOVE your idea of separating the food!!! Wonderful idea!

The "food hut" was actually my husband's idea. It still doesn't keep the kitten out of the adult's food, though. He's on a diet, so his food is portioned out. Usually I just leave it out for him, but he often eats it within half an hour or so.

I am thinking of feeding them 3 times a day, before work (during breakfast), after work and then at bedtime. This is how often I feed Prego now, but I plan to take up whatever the 2 cats haven't eaten in half an hour or so. Does this sound like a good plan? Will the kitten still eat enough if she's not free-fed?

Sounds like a good plan to me! The kitten will eat enough... a lot of people don't free feed their animals, and a lot of people do.