Response to "Gary Brown" <garyjbrown@charter.net>:

Hi!

I guess you are asking how to limit the grub to the chubby kitty?

They could feed the healthier one separately from the chubby kitty.  
Or leave food out that is not excessive in amount and feed skinny
kitty again later by them self.

Alternatively or in addition to a rigorous feeding schedule they
could find the toys that chubby kitty enjoys and use them non-stop.

More effort, but definitely worth it -- for everyone.

Hope that helps, Gary.

Your daughter needs to feed these kittens twice per day, about 12
hours apart, and feed them separately from each other. Either shut
them in separate rooms or feed the skinnier one on a counter or
platform that the overweight one can't reach. They don't need food
available all the time. I also recommend feeding them a high-quality
canned food diet and NO dry.

I hope you can help your daughter with these cats. If the kitten is
seriously overweight at such a young age, she's destined for a lot of
health problems.

Rene

PORTION CONTROL!!!!!!!

Free feeding frequently leads to fat cats. If the cat isn't active it might
only need 1/4 of a quality dry food a day if that. Wet is better but still
needs to be a measured amount and no snacking in between. You can recommend
they try to get the portly one to be more active but with my cats, at least,
the answer was to get the weight off first by strict portion control and
then the cat felt like being more active. The kitty will beg and use every
trick known to cats to convince their person that they are starving to
death. Cats are very good at doing a guilt trip. Their person must stay
strong and resist the sad sack eyes and pitiful cries.

As someone else said it's best to feed them separately lest the fat one
steal the other kitty's food. I have three and have to feed them in separate
locations because they are all on a different food. One I feed in a small
pin cage that I set up in the kitchen for this purpose, another eats in the
old feeding location and the third dines in the bathroom. Once they got used
to it none of the cats complained because finally they all got their full
portions and didn't lose some of their dinner to my formerly fat cat.  Well
I can't say that none complained but he isn't complaining about the location
he eats his dinner in just that he's not free to scarf up the other cats
food.

W

Hi Gary!  Only one way to fix this up a bit.  Doubtless others said it too,
but have to take to 2 feedings a day, about 12 hours apart.  Also, helps
alot if you feed the fat one in another room and keep them in there till the
thin one is done.

I like to free feed too, but sometimes you have to adjust things a bit.
Cats in the wild dont have food out all the time.  They hunt and have gaps.
It's not cruel to feed a decent food at a set schedule.  Usually 3oz per
feeding if wet.  I'm not really sure how much on dry as we use that just for
little noshes (ours is a little overweight but not by a great deal so has a
noshe kibble bowl, but mostly she waits for her wet).

;-)  Yup.  And just like people who are overweight, it's self reinforcing as
it's harder for the overweight fellow to be very active.