Piglet vs Mr. Picky

[Julz]

I have a question about feeding habits. My two boys are a year old this month (happy birthday babies!) and have always been very good about eating what's been given to them. They don't necessarily eat it all at once though. They'll both eat a little bit and then come to see what I'm doing. Once they're assured I'm not doing anything interesting, THEN they'll go back to eating. This has been the case up until about two months ago. The boys and I have been struggling to find adult kitty food that we all can agree on. They had been doing Merrick BG wet and dry without much of a problem. Recently, Sammy has decided he doesn't like the wet and won't eat it unless specifically coaxed. I want to leave it out so he can come back to it when he gets hungry enough, as he usually does (eventually) but this is where Alex, my little piglet, comes in. I already believe him to be overweight though I don't own a scale (my boyfriend calls him Tank). Once he's done with his bowl he'll move right over and start in on Sammy's if he's not there. I'm at a loss as to how to leave the food out to entice Sammy but still keep Alex from eating it. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[catloverami]

I had a Mr. Piggy one time too. Mr. Piggy would eat until there was nothing left. I used to put a laundry basket over him while the other cats finished their food. But then he learned to move the basket and get his paw underneath and scoop up food with his paw (lol). So he had to be separated into another room or a dog crate until the others finished as much as they wanted to eat. Then I had to put the food away in a cupboard. The cats learned that if they wanted more, they had to ask me, and then I would stand guard over the cat until he finished eating, or had to put Mr. Piggy in the crate. It was always a juggling game.

Alex is overweight if when you look down on him while he's standing up you cannot see a slight indentation of a waist, and if you cannot feel his ribs under a thin layer of fat while he's standing.

[Julz]

Thanks for your response!

That is a determined cat! lol

I wanted to try lifting the dishes after a span of time but I was concerned that, with as picky as Sammy has become, he'll just stop eating all together. I've read that it takes a surprisingly short amount of time for cats to start experiencing the effects of the fatty liver disease (not sure what the exact name is) and I don't know how many meals it will take them to figure out that they have a time limit to eat.

As far as separating them at mealtimes, it can take Sammy an hour to eventually go back to the food dish. Even then he'll eat only enough that he doesn't feel hungry, run around and play and come back for a smidgen more. I can't leave Alex locked up for that long and I really don't have that much time in the mornings before work.

I am a little perplexed.

I tried doing the rib feeling thing on Alex last night. You can feel them a little but not as much as Sammy. But then I don't know if that means Sammy is underweight and Alex is normal... ugh.