How do you prevent cats from eating each other's food?

I live in a shared apartment, and now we have two cats, one of whom is super assertive (she’s an old lady) and always tries to eat from the other cat’s bowl. Mine is much more shy and usually backs off, so the assertive cat is overeating while the other one is not getting enough food. So, how do we deal with this?

I’ve thought about setting up separate feeding areas, but it doesn’t just work since they both wander freely around the apartment, and it would take time to teach them to stay in their spaces. We’ve also looked into timed cat feeders that would only open at specific times so they each have a short window to eat their own food, but setting it up for when nobody is home is still difficult - how would they know their feeding hours?

The best idea yet is using feeders with microchip sensors or collar tags, so I’d take recommendations for something that works well and isn’t way too expensive. So, yeah, I’d love to hear any tips you have on this situation. Thanks!

I got a timed feeder with an ice pack thing underneath to keep it cold, and I found out that they figured out real quick what times it opened. I could hear the ‘click’ of the latch opening and they’d trot over. It was super cute.

I invested in facial recognition cat/dog doors. Yes, that’s a thing. But that might not work for wooden doors that are typically inside an apartment.

Scheduled feedings could work. If you can do scheduled feedings, put them in separate rooms with a closed door and make sure they have eaten everything before picking up the bowls.

They get a certain amount of food twice a day. They are separated by a closed door. Timed feeders don’t work since there’s no way to be sure who eats from which one. There are feeders that only open when the right collar is close enough.

I use the SureFeed microchip feeder for my cats, and it works really well. I just wish it plugged into the wall instead of running on batteries.

Our little cat has a separate bowl on a bookshelf that is 8.5’ tall. The big cat is too fat to climb that high.

Train and supervise, or separate. I have a fast-eating bossy cat who gets his food in a slow feeder, and I give the empty can or spoon to occupy him. If I don’t have time, I put the bossy cat away with his food so the sensitive cat gets to enjoy his meal.

Auto feeders that are triggered to open by the pet wearing a chip. Or feeding separately in closed rooms. Or putting the bowls in inaccessible places.