11 month old female kitten

l3lulan

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I have an 11 month old female kitten and I received her as a gift around the middle of March 2021.

I am feeding her 5.4 tsp of Performatrin Ultra Grain-free, original recipe, kitten dry food and 3.6 tsp, wetfood, of Performatrin Ultra Turkey Stew, Chicken Stew and Royal Canin Kitten Thin Slices in Gravy. I alternate between the 3 flavours. Now, I noticed about a week and a half ago that she only takes the gravy leaving the meat bits. I have added some water, no more than 2 tsp, and she will lick that up. She will not touch her wet food if I add more water. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I would also like to know if Sunset is fed on a nutrition and healthy basis.
I had included her picture.
 

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sivyaleah

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This to me sounds like a very low amount of calories for a growing kitten.

Going by teaspoons really isn't the right way to measure out food. You need to know how many ounces or grams you are feeding. When you scoop out food on a spoon, it will always wind up being a different amount.

Kittens should be fed as much as they want until about a year old. They need it to get enough nutrition to grow properly. Remember too kittens are very active so they will burn off calories fast. Honestly, it sounds like she's being grossly underfed unless you meant to write tablespoons.

You cat sounds like they aren't crazy about the food you're feeding (which, I'm not familiar with) so perhaps trying a few new items might be a good idea. Maybe you will land on one or two she prefers.

Being as she's still relatively new to you, I would also suggest you take her to see a vet if you have not already, to be sure she has no parasites which may be effecting appetite. Not eating isn't normal for a kitten, they are eating machines. And cats in general do not do well without eating daily.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I agree - measuring the food and determining the calorie count of each meal/daily intake is your best bet. She doesn't look to be thin, but it is difficult to tell when a cat is laying down like in the pic. Also, try some pates. Feeby will only lick the gravy off any 'chunky' food, but she will eat the pates. If you have a blender you can try blending the chunky food to see if she will eat it that way.
 
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l3lulan

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This to me sounds like a very low amount of calories for a growing kitten.

Going by teaspoons really isn't the right way to measure out food. You need to know how many ounces or grams you are feeding. When you scoop out food on a spoon, it will always wind up being a different amount.

Kittens should be fed as much as they want until about a year old. They need it to get enough nutrition to grow properly. Remember too kittens are very active so they will burn off calories fast. Honestly, it sounds like she's being grossly underfed unless you meant to write tablespoons.

You cat sounds like they aren't crazy about the food you're feeding (which, I'm not familiar with) so perhaps trying a few new items might be a good idea. Maybe you will land on one or two she prefers.

Being as she's still relatively new to you, I would also suggest you take her to see a vet if you have not already, to be sure she has no parasites which may be effecting appetite. Not eating isn't normal for a kitten, they are eating machines. And cats in general do not do well without eating daily.
In my conversation, I forgot to mention that she is fed twice daily. The recommended of dosage for feeding was found in my kitten book. I did have 2 cats that had diabetes so now I am being extra cautious.
 
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l3lulan

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Hi. I agree - measuring the food and determining the calorie count of each meal/daily intake is your best bet. She doesn't look to be thin, but it is difficult to tell when a cat is laying down like in the pic. Also, try some pates. Feeby will only lick the gravy off any 'chunky' food, but she will eat the pates. If you have a blender you can try blending the chunky food to see if she will eat it that way.
As a treat, I give her 3 tsp of pate (Royal Canin for Kittens, Loaf in Sauce, and she really loves this and also I give her Pet Greens, Cat Craves in turkey & duck flavor and she is crazy about that. The Pet Craves that I give to her is 3 times weekly (3-4 treats) and the pate is almost every second day. I also use the pate if Sunset does something good. For example: using her scratching post instead of the furniture.
 

sivyaleah

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In my conversation, I forgot to mention that she is fed twice daily. The recommended of dosage for feeding was found in my kitten book. I did have 2 cats that had diabetes so now I am being extra cautious.
Ok that makes more sense.
I would not worry about diabetes yet - she has plenty of growing to do. Being cautious is a good plan once she is an adult to avoid putting on extra weight but for now, find something she loves and stick with it in the right amounts for her stage of growth.
 
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