It’s trickier with multiple cats, but in general, we don’t free feed. We feed twice a day.

Also, we feed raw food, which is controversial around here and with some veterinarians. Our cats live to be 17-18 years old in general, and we currently have a 20-year-old and two 16-year-olds. Anyway, raw fed cats don’t tend to overeat and we have never had an overweight one since we started almost 20 years ago, even in a multi-cat household.

makes a huge difference if it's an only cat or not

Just feed twice a day. Find out what the correct portion is and don’t overfeed. Kitty won’t like it, but will adjust.

Feed twice a day and if they haven't finished in 15 minutes, pick it up and either put it back in the bag (if it's dry) or put it in the refrigerator/trash if it's wet food.

I've had better luck with grain free food too. Cats are obligate carnivores. Grains just add extra calories, not nutrients they can use.

"Cats are obligate carnivores." Exactly.

When we free-fed ours dry food, one in particular had problems with her weight while the others stayed thin. Once we switched, their weight normalized. The younger ones we have now just don't know any different, and the 20-year-old, who was 6 when we got her, adjusted very nicely.

I took in a pair of sibling cats after their owner died. The owner had been sick for a long time and hadn’t been able to tend them properly. The male was so obese he could barely raise or turn his head. It was terrible to see. Not a large-framed cat, he weighed well over 22 pounds. (I couldn’t bear to weigh him until I made some progress with him, so can’t say for sure.).

Luckily, he was still young enough, 5 years old, that he wanted to play. So I tied a twist tie onto a long string and enticed him to chase it, and then we ran around the house, over and over. His sister took her turns, too. I did this a few times a day for as long as I could keep him interested. It worked pretty quickly. I did not really restrict his food, but did, with the vet’s advice, put him on a dry formula for overweight cats and measured it.

I know it was the exercise that made the difference. He never was slender, but he became in a few months a more normal looking creature, quite lively and handsome. At his prime he weighed about 13 pounds, I think.

... heavy. He's still playful, runs around the house like a maniac and can jump up to the top of kitty tower.

There's too much food around the house.

2. Exercise; Having more than one cat can be helpful in increasing exercise; if that is not an option it falls to you and your family members to get the cat moving through play (lasers, feather-chasing, running up the steps, whatever)...

3. Diet is all-important

Hill's Prescription Metabolic Diet for Cats WORKS. It is not inexpensive and it will require a prescription, but if you stick with it and use only authorized treats (or none at all), it does work. You can talk to your veterinarian about it, but without a doubt, diet is the most important thing.

https://www.chewy.com/brands/hills-prescription-diet-6879

That is not the only specialized prescription diet for feline weight loss, but it has the most scientific evidence behind it.

Metabolic Weight Control both wet and dry. Twice a day means she is promptly reminding me at 6:30 am and 5:30 pm that it is time to eat.

As soon as I turn on my light in the morning at 6:30, the 20-year-old is on the bed and in my face with, "Where is my breakfast???!!!"

and I certainly like to be fed on time! Go figure!

It is more expensive, than the big names like Purina.

But combined with using this exercise wheel, she was losing weight.

She said kibble is likely to make the cat gain weight. You might have to try several brands and/or flavors of canned food to find out which ones your cat likes. Trial and error.

And I agree with earlier posts. Don't free feed. Feed the cat twice a day at the same times. Whatever the cat doesn't eat within a half hour or so, remove.

I'm struggling with a chubby 18 month old. I have 4 cats in the house, one of whom is old and blind, so it makes it harder to isolate the fat kitten to keep him from eating the old blind cat's food. Sigh. It's a good thing we love the little monsters.

Best of luck to you and your tubby kitty.

With fosters and personal cats.

prescription diet he is on, which is not loaded with carbs, is a good weight control food, and he seems to like it OK. It's a bit expensive ($62 for an 8-pound bag), but one cat doesn't eat all that much.

I also learned that wet food has fewer carbs than dry.

upper hand. I feed mine cat food for indoor cats. First, figure out how much it’s eating. Then start feeding it a little less. Also, increase activity with toys.