Kitten is bottomless pit?

Ladyrosee

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Hi! I know this is probably a dumb question/ concern but I haven't had a healthy kitten before and just wanted to share that my 3 month old kitten acts like he's never eaten in his life when I prepare his food. He only eats wet do you think that could be it? I know dry makes cats feel fuller because of the fillers but I will never allow him to have that! He eats about every 3 to 4 hours and i feel it's a lot of food. I also feed dinner before I go to bed then put more out in case he wants it overnight and he always does. he pees and poops a lot, overall very healthy acting and very playful. I'm just not used to a kitten being so good with an appetite I've had sick ones in the past where I'd have to beg them and pray theyd feel better and eat over night but this new kitten is very much in my face screaming. I feed him 4x a day along with my senior but he always wants more in between so I wait at him to yell at me. he's not over weight at all he's definitely at that long and awkwardly skinny phase but his belly is always full of food at least!

What age do you stop free feeding your kittens? Some say 6 months. Some say a year. He was a bottle kitten I fostered and he always had the best appetite for formula and he was the first to wean and ditch the bottle cold turkey
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tyleete

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My only thought that could give cause for concern, would be worms. Check his poop. A vet should be able to tell for sure if how worried. Always better to have a bigger appetite thannone though, right?😁
 
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Ladyrosee

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My only thought that could give cause for concern, would be worms. Check his poop. A vet should be able to tell for sure if how worried. Always better to have a bigger appetite thannone though, right?😁
Oh he has been dewormed and with the other parasite thing (starts with a d then a p for the other one) probably 5 times which destroyed his gut biome so I finally restored it back where his poops are almost all the way firm. Definitely no worms :)
 

maggie101

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One of my cats is like that she is almost 8. It is best to put them on a feeding schedule. When he gets older he may not be able to eat like that. He must be very active and/or high metabolism
 
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Ladyrosee

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One of my cats is like that she is almost 8. It is best to put them on a feeding schedule. When he gets older he may not be able to eat like that. He must be very active and/or high metabolism
This was him after every bottle. On his back passed out lol. I had to cut him off every time. My senior is like how you describe too I've checked him several times and twice a year to make sure hes not diabetic or hyperthyroid. he would eat until he died from over eating I swear. I thought maybe it would be different with this kitten since he only gets wet food he wont get fat so we will see. I just thought 3 months was too young not to free feed but maybe since hes a pig 4x a day is better
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maggie101

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This was him after every bottle. On his back passed out lol. I had to cut him off every time. My senior is like how you describe too I've checked him several times and twice a year to make sure hes not diabetic or hyperthyroid. he would eat until he died from over eating I swear. I thought maybe it would be different with this kitten since he only gets wet food he wont get fat so we will see. I just thought 3 months was too young not to free feed but maybe since hes a pig 4x a day is better
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I also use a food timer for wet food
He is beautiful. He's going to be a gorgeous big boy!
My cat Peaches, now 9 ate like a pig as a kitten. But starting 2 yrs old, she can no longer eat fast and 4x a day small portions. She's 7 pds. Small cat
 
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Ladyrosee

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I also use a food timer for wet food
He is beautiful. He's going to be a gorgeous big boy!
My cat Peaches, now 9 ate like a pig as a kitten. But starting 2 yrs old, she can no longer eat fast and 4x a day small portions. She's 7 pds. Small cat
I think this one will be a big boy. My senior orange tabby's target weight is 15lbs. Hes just huge. I'm sure this kitty will be a 15 pounder too.
 

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That's normal for Kittens. Their bodies need a lot of calories and nutrients because they grow fast, when with their mother they typically nurse every 2-3 hours or so until weaned.

Best answer is slow down on their food intake when they stop growing which is usually around 10-12 months, until then feed them whenever they want it. It's very rare for Kittens to get fat.
 
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Ladyrosee

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That's normal for Kittens. Their bodies need a lot of calories and nutrients because they grow fast, when with their mother they typically nurse every 2-3 hours or so until weaned.

Best answer is slow down on their food intake when they stop growing which is usually around 10-12 months, until then feed them whenever they want it. It's very rare for Kittens to get fat.
He weaned right at 5 weeks and didnt want formula at all anymore. His siblings weaned but I still gave them a couple bottles a day until they got adopted at 8 weeks. He had to always be cut off at bottle feeding times or his belly would look like it was about to pop! Yes he's in that slinky skinny stage right now
 

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haven't had a healthy kitten before and just wanted to share that my 3 month old kitten acts like he's never eaten in his life when I prepare his food. He only eats wet do you think that could be it?
Your 3 month old kitten is a eating machine, which is normal in all kittens. He need lots of calories to be kept full at each feed as he is very active at this age as he is very energetic and burn out calories very fast.

Wet is better than dry. Great to hear that he is on wet food as wet food provides all the nutrients and proteins which aid in their growth and keeps them fuller for a longer time and keeps them hydrated. Best is to feed him food labeled for kittens or you can get him food labeled 'For All Life Stages'. If you feed him with the latter, you need not transit him over to adult food when he matures.
A kitten needs to be fed several times a day depending on the amount of intake of food during one sitting. You may want you feed him 5 - 6 times a day. Feed him as much as he can eat at one sitting and see how much he finishes and that'll be your rough guide for the amount to feed him at one sitting. You can never overfeed a kitten. That is the reason he acts like he's never eaten in his life.

An active growing kitten need around 300 calories per day to keep up with his energy and to keep him full. Your kitty is still very much a kitten and he'll mature at one year old if he's a normal breed. Larger breeds will mature at 2 - 4 years old. At this tome, he'll eat more and when he reaches 7 months old (side note : also the time when all his adult teeth are all in. At this time, you may find him chewing on stuffs and he is teething. Get him a rolled up towel or a toy for chewing and as he changes teeth, he tends to bite things and you may find tiny teeth lying around), he'll go through a phase called Growth Spurt. During this time, he'll tend to eat more than usual and this will last through till maybe he's a year and a half and after that, the amount of food and number of feeds will taper down.

Once he's an adult, and active, he needs roughly 200 - 250 calories per day. At this time, you can transit him over to adult food or feed him with food labeled 'For All Life Stages.

Even though he's on wet food, remember to have fresh filtered water for him everyday if he does drink form a plate or drinking fountain. Or add some filtered water into his food but just don't over dilute it as too much water will dilute the nutrients and if he does not finish the food, it means he does not have enough nutrients for the day. Male cats tends to have UTI and keeping them hydrated is paramount.
 
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