One cat is 8 pounds. The other is 14. They share a bowl. The 14-pounder eats everything. The 8-pounder waits. This is a problem.
I see this every week. Multi-cat household, one overweight cat, one normal weight cat. The owner says "they share fine." They do not. The fat cat is a bully. The thin cat is anxious.
Here is what happens. You put down two bowls. The fat cat eats from both. You try feeding in separate rooms. The fat cat finishes in 30 seconds and goes looking for the other bowl. You try microchip feeders. The fat cat figures out how to steal from them.
I do not have a perfect solution. I have strategies that work most of the time.
Strategy 1: Elevated feeding. Put the thin cat's bowl on a counter or cat tree. The fat cat might not be able to jump. Or might not bother. This works for about 60% of cases.
Strategy 2: Scheduled meals, supervised. Put both cats down. Watch them. Remove bowls after 20 minutes. The fat cat learns that food time is limited. The thin cat learns that food is safe.
Strategy 3: Different food types. Fat cat gets weight management wet food. Thin cat gets regular. They might not want to steal each other's food. This works if the cats have different preferences.
Strategy 4: Microchip feeders. Expensive. Bulky. But effective if your cats are not too clever. Luna figured out how to steal from her roommate's feeder in three days. Some cats never figure it out.
The real solution is usually a combination. Elevated bowl + scheduled meals + different food. It takes time. It takes patience. It takes accepting that your cats are not going to behave perfectly.
I had a client with three cats. One obese, one underweight, one normal. We tried everything. Eventually we settled on: obese cat in bedroom with closed door for 30 minutes, underweight cat on kitchen counter, normal cat in living room. Three separate spaces. Three separate bowls. It was ridiculous. It worked.
Your situation is unique. Your cats are unique. There is no one-size-fits-all. But the principle is universal: the fat cat cannot access the thin cat's food. Everything else is details.
Use the feeding schedule tool to plan separate meals. It supports multiple cats.