Niel Humphreys wrote:

You said try and feed him small bits of food at a time. When food is always
around and he is used to that I can't force feed him when I want him to eat.
Doesn't work with cats.


I had to do this with Jay Jay when I first got him. He had diarhea from
the food change, so he went on a special diet. I had to remove the
feeders from my bedroom, and close the door to the bathroom where the
other feeders were. The other 3 cats had to get limited access to food
to make sure that Jay Jay only got the special diet.

Later, we determined that one food still bothered Jay Jay, but it is
Chase's favorite. So, we keep that food in one bowl in my nephew's room
where Jay Jay will not go. I also made his food easily available in his
favorite place, so while he has access to 5 kinds, he mostly eats the
one I want him to eat.

I also had to limit the amount for awhile because he was a former stray
and free feeding was too tempting for him. He was gaining weight too
quickly. So, I had to put food in his bowl 2x a time and let it run out
to keep him limited. After several months, I increased the amount in
the bowl and could see the leftovers, so he can free feed now.

If you remove the feeder and just add small amounts to the bowl during
the day, he can still eat when he feels like it, but the amounts will
be limited by the amount available to him.