Going out of town-Leaving cats behind...

Hello pet lovers! My name is Kim and this is my first post on this site. I have two adorable cats named Chicago and Slick. They were both given to me by friends. Chicago is 6 years old now and I've had her since she was 7 weeks old. Slick is 7 years old and I've only had her for about three months. Lucky for us, they get along very well. They play and sleep together, especially in the wee hours of the morning... :rolleyes:

My trouble here is with Slick's weight and food consumption. Slick is obese and eats everything in sight, including Chicago's food. Chicago is a very active cat and is a healthy weight, however she has been losing weight since we made the switch to a weight loss food (Iams if it matters).

We feed them at the same time in seperate rooms.Slick eats about 1/4 cup 4-5 times per day. Chicago will eat when we feed her, but only eats half of the 1/4 cup each feeding. When Slick is finished wolfing down her food she goes after Chicago's. We have learned to watch Chicago eat until she is finished and then hide her food bowl so that Slick can not get to it.

We don't mind the extra work at all, but the trouble is that my fiance and I are getting married next week and after that we go on our honeymoon for 11 days. His uncle will be watching our cats, but he will only be coming once every other day. I am worried that 1) Slick's diet will be ruined and 2) That Chicago might not get enough to eat while we are gone.

Slick will eat as much food as you put in front of her, and we don't want her to have more than 1 1/2 cups of food per day. If uncle Mark only comes to feed them every other day, how much should he feed Slick?

Chicago will not eat much in one sitting. Any leftover food is sure to be eaten by Slick in 10 minutes or less after Chicago leaves it alone. How can we make sure that Chicago gets enough food?

I should mention too that Slick is a tricky cat. That's how she got her name. We have thought about buying one of those time-feeder things, but I am afraid that if we buy a time-feeder, Slick will figure how to break into it and eat all of the food. She figured out how to get fish food out of a tupperware container before. She is very crafty. Thank Heaven she hasn't even noticed the fish. :)

Could Uncle Mark manage to stay long enough to make sure Chicago gets all she wants in one sitting? That, at least, would give her a full tummy until the next visit. oops gotta go now but welcome. I'll check back later, someone is here.

You could keep the younger cat closed in a room with it's litter box and let the bigger cat have the rest of the house. I think the small cat would still have enough room to play and they would both have the right amount of food.

I don't understand why Meowmie is so worried. I can make sure dat I clean up all the bols and then da Unca Mark don't have to do dishes...

1 1/2 cups a day? :eek: That's a LOT of food! Even my big boy Mishi only gets about a cup a day. Just how big is Slick? (Slick, I don't mean YOU, I mean the cat! :rolleyes: :p )