Maine Coon Kitten Growth/Weight?? Chart? Advice is appreciated

[Baz84]

Good Day,

So Maine Coons are known to be larger cats. But he is still a KITTEN - so that "large frame" isn't expected at this point in his life. Right my kitten is 18 weeks old. I've had cats before.

I've had him for about 1 week now. When I first had him - he was 5.2 pounds (he was long and skinny). Now he looks better... but he's 6.2 pounds!!! That's 1 pound in 1 week. He eats and eats and eats. He always seems hungry... is this normal? In the past week he's had 3-4 bowel movements - they were quite large.

I want to keep my kitten healthy - so I don't want to overfeed him. But I also don't want to deny him food either if he is hungry or food is warranted. He roughly eats 4-6 cans (3 oz)/day. Is there a growth chart out there for kittens or Maine Coon Kittens? Any advice on how to handle this? Is this normal?

He will be going to a Vet tomorrow - but again - being it's possibly a breed specific issue, I'm not sure how familiar the vet will be

Thanks!

Baz

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Kittens, no matter the breed, need to be able to consume as much as they can eat. Since he's a big breed cat, his consumption will be more.

Is this normal?

Is the only reason you're taking him to the vet his appetite? Has he been checked for worms? Othewise his appetite may be perfectly normal for him.

(he was long and skinny). Now he looks better...

You are stating right here that he is looking better with unrestricted access to food. Try a little kibble in addition to the canned food.

You will be doing this cat and his future health an enormous disservice if you put him on a restricted diet. There is a huge amount of growth of all his systems going on, including nerves, brain, muscles, bones, etc etc.

 

[Baz84]

Hey

Thank you for your response. No taking him to the Vet for his first check since I got him. Making sure he's healthy (he looks healthy), check for worms maybe? Possible vaccines. I'll see what the Vet says.

He looks better - b/c when I first got him he was super slim look - very long but slim. Right now he looks healthier. I would NEVER restrict my cat's diet. But I don't want to harm him health-wise. I have seen images of obese cats when their owners let them go. I always have food available for him.

Brands of canned food I have are the grain free, high protein - blue wilderness, Weruva, Wholehearted, Aloha Tiki etc. You mention Kiddle - do you recommend dry food? If so why? I was sticking to canned food b/c of moisture.

Thanks!

 

[Kieka]

If he is looking better, he might have been underweight when you got him and is rapidly gaining as a result of being properly fed. I'd rule out worms, but if he is gaining weight they are unlikely. But a single pound in one week with a growing kitten really isn't unheard of, even in smaller breeds. It could be just a crazy growth spurt, which kittens do have where they seem to grow overnight. It could also be that time differences are impacting weight, if you weighed him the moment he got to you when he was (potentially) dehydrated and underfed he would be lighter then normal. You could have up to half a pound of variance just with hydration.

Do you have photos?

 

[Furballsmom]

I was sticking to canned food b/c of moisture.

...which is excellent.
I mentioned kibble since many kitten owners like to provide the extra variety, although it sounds as though you have variety of brands covered but additionally it can give the kitten something to eat inbetween wet food meals, especially in the evening/overnight since it's a long stretch of time from the last canned meal of the day, to breakfast for a small tummy.

 

[Baz84]

Yeah before I sleep I get him a fresh new can (normally I give him a full can 2 hr before I sleep - then as I sleep to hold him off).

Normally at night he goes overboard - aka crazy - with licking and hurtful love bites... maybe he's hungry again HAHAHAHAHAHA


Anyway at work - so I don't have the best pictures of his full body. But this is what I have on my phone. The last picture on the cough is from today. The other two are from 3 days ago.

 

[amethyst]

Looking over the weight record I made for my youngest kittens/cat (orphans I raised since they were around 4 weeks and kept) when they were 18 weeks a biggest two were around 7 lb (long and lean) and between 17 and 18 weeks they both gained about half a pound, so if he was a bit underweight when you got him I think a pound sounds reasonable. Now that they are about 15 months both are around 16 lbs and big boys (both are well over 20 inches long not including their tails).

I wouldn't really worry too much about him eating a lot until he is at least 6 months, before then they are going through growth spurs and eat like crazy, I noticed they would sometime eat a lot right before a growth spurt too, so they would look a little pudgy then grow and be back to normal again shortly after.

 

[Kieka]

He looks fine. I really wouldn't be worried about his weight gain at this point. The licking and biting at night. You probably want to put a stop to by ignoring him when he does it and covering up exposed limbs. My cats have a strict petting only rule in bed, biting or playing results in being ignored. Starting that early makes a big difference. Maybe a really energetic play session right before feeding and bed to get energy out?

 

[Baz84]

He looks fine. I really wouldn't be worried about his weight gain at this point. The licking and biting at night. You probably want to put a stop to by ignoring him when he does it and covering up exposed limbs. My cats have a strict petting only rule in bed, biting or playing results in being ignored. Starting that early makes a big difference. Maybe a really energetic play session right before feeding and bed to get energy out?

Hahahahha OMG - I have tried... but he goes crazy around 4AM (so ~4 hr post play time?).... tried ignoring him but it's hard when your face is getting exfoliated. Tried the NO!, STOP!, BAD KITTY!, OUCH!, HISSS! He pauses for a second then continues his mission. I have covered my entire body (except head)... he'll squeeze his way through to find a part of you that's not covered by the blanket. Today he kept licking and licking my cheeks so I covered them with my arms... he squeezed under my arm to find the cheek. At 5 AM I left him outside my room and closed the door - he started to cry. Felt bad and let him in 5 day later. He'll stop eventually.

I guess for now - when it comes to food - I'll keep going since he's likely growing. I'll start to document his weight vs length for fun.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

 

[Furballsmom]

He's gorgeous !!

Big breed cats can continue growing into their second and even third year, so your marvelous boy may have a very healthy appetite for some time to come .