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- Oct 16, 2018
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How much should I feed my 20 week old kitten? (She will be 5 months in about 10 days). I got her at 14 weeks and have been feeding roughly 200 calories per day. This is one 3 oz can of fancy feast kitten food divided into 2 feedings per day. (Each fancy feast can has about 100 calories). Then, I also give her about 1/4 cup of Costco maintenance cat dry food (about 100 calories) per day to nibble on when she gets hungry. At first, the 1/4 cup dry was what she ate naturally when I free fed her. More recently though, she eats up all the dry food super early and then starts complaining. She runs in crazy circles making annoyed meows, staring at her empty bowl and looking at me expectantly.
I researched the issue and the only recommendation I can find is to give 200 calories a day for a 5 pound kitten per the National Research Council. Also, at 6 months, she should be roughly half her adult weight. At 14 weeks, she was 3.5 pounds (vet measured), now at 20 she is 5 pounds (measured on scale holding kitten minus my weight)
Another note - I also sometimes swap up the foods giving her different brands of wet kitten food and occasionally even an adult food. I also use Purina one kitten instead of Costco dry sometimes. (I want to make sure she doesn't turn picky!) Thankfully she eats all of it!!
Should I give her more food if she is eating it all faster and whines? Supposedly kitten food is better so most of her wet foods are kitten, but when I give her the Purina one dry kitten food I feel like she wolfs it down so fast, even considering she has been eating up her dry food faster. One day, I put a full half cup of Purina dry thinking it would maybe last about 2 days, but she ate almost the whole thing (AND her wet kitten food) in just a day! This is over 300 calories and I feel like that's just way too much! But then again, she is a growing kitten... But she mostly sleeps when I'm not home although she does run around hyperactively a lot when awake.
But would 300 calories be way too much? Or should I keep limiting her to 200 calories per day and maybe spread the dry into 2 feedings? Or just ignore her when she's being annoying? I don't want her to be a fat cat!
Help for first time pet owner greatly appreciated!
I researched the issue and the only recommendation I can find is to give 200 calories a day for a 5 pound kitten per the National Research Council. Also, at 6 months, she should be roughly half her adult weight. At 14 weeks, she was 3.5 pounds (vet measured), now at 20 she is 5 pounds (measured on scale holding kitten minus my weight)
Another note - I also sometimes swap up the foods giving her different brands of wet kitten food and occasionally even an adult food. I also use Purina one kitten instead of Costco dry sometimes. (I want to make sure she doesn't turn picky!) Thankfully she eats all of it!!
Should I give her more food if she is eating it all faster and whines? Supposedly kitten food is better so most of her wet foods are kitten, but when I give her the Purina one dry kitten food I feel like she wolfs it down so fast, even considering she has been eating up her dry food faster. One day, I put a full half cup of Purina dry thinking it would maybe last about 2 days, but she ate almost the whole thing (AND her wet kitten food) in just a day! This is over 300 calories and I feel like that's just way too much! But then again, she is a growing kitten... But she mostly sleeps when I'm not home although she does run around hyperactively a lot when awake.
But would 300 calories be way too much? Or should I keep limiting her to 200 calories per day and maybe spread the dry into 2 feedings? Or just ignore her when she's being annoying? I don't want her to be a fat cat!
Help for first time pet owner greatly appreciated!