Kitten Eating Habits

nerdgirl5 · Apr 16, 2019

Hi there,

I have two kittens--one's 7 1/2 months old and one's 6 1/2. Both are spayed/neutered.

I'd been feeding them 3 cans of Wellness kitten a day and my vet told me that Wellness can cause crystals in male cats and urged me to switch. I did to Fancy Feast kitten (mixed in with a little Cats in the Kitchen chicken) and they love it. I had been feeding them for times a day (morning, around 1pm, then around 7pm then at around 11pm).

I decided to switch them to 3 times a day--but feed them the same amount of food. I wanted to get them used to, ultimately, eating two times a day.

Well, even though they're eating the same amount of food they are not happy campers. They are stuck on the old schedule and are hanging around the fridge at the old times.

Any suggestions for getting them to eat 3 times a day vs. 4?

Thanks.

Furballsmom · Apr 16, 2019

Hi!
I personally think they are a little young to be asking their tummies to go that stretch of time.

Is there any way you could let them have four meals for a couple months longer? Then when their systems are more developed start working towards three meals.

nerdgirl5 · Apr 16, 2019

I can. Except the rare times I go out to dinner with friends (I live alone).

I will, then. For a few more months. Thanks.

Furballsmom · Apr 16, 2019

ArchyCat · Apr 16, 2019

Cats are considered to be full adults until they reach one year old. Until then they actually need more calories and protein than an adult. Because they are still growing and are hyper active. By definition, you can not over feed a kitten. How do you know if you are feeding them enough? If there is food left over at the end of the day.

tabbytom · Apr 16, 2019

Agree with he above posters. Kittens need lots of proteins and nutrients from the wet food and they eat lots as kittens. Feed then as much as they can eat at one sitting and at least 4 times a day and any left overs at that sitting indicates that's how much they'll eat at one go but amount and number of feeds will change as they age.

They can forgo one meal at least or maybe for a few hours. So if you need to go out and they miss one or two feed time, it's ok.

As they age, their eating patterns will change. You just observe them and feed them accordingly.

nerdgirl5 · Apr 17, 2019

Thanks everybody!

maggiedemi · Apr 17, 2019

When Demi was a baby I fed him 3 times a day at 6am, 12pm, and 6pm.

Rhall · Apr 19, 2019

My kittens are about the same age. I feed them wet in the morning and at supper and they have dry to graze on during the day.

Richard2121 · Apr 19, 2019

I agree with the above posters! I also want to mention that I have 4 cats right now and all 4 of them I have raised since they were very little, about 10-12 weeks old. Daniel, my youngest is a happy, healthy, adorable 6 month old kitten that I found underneath my car when he was just 7 weeks old. All of them have been on a feeding schedule since day 1. I tried to feed Daniel more often but it was causing the other cats to walk away from their food and dink around at feeding times. I didn't have time to mess with "finicky" cats so I set 4 feeding times. Two before work and two after work spread out so the last meal is right before bed. They never go without food for more than about 8-9 hours. I feed all wet food too. Recently I noticed I can control how much I am feeding the older ones easier if I switch to 3 meals instead of 4. Daniel has adjusted well to this and just eats more food at each of the 3 meals. None of my cats has been labeled malnourished or too skinny by my vets. So yes kittens need a lot of food and "all they can eat" but they also need to learn when their food will be available and when it will not be available. Cats are very smart and also super instinctive, especially when it comes to food! So I tend to let them learn but also know who is in charge. I used to struggle with thinking my cats were very picky eaters but really the line between meal time, play time, and buffet was starting to blend together. After I became more firm in when their meals were, they stopped crying all morning to wake me up, they stopped walking away from their food bowls until they were truly done eating, and they ate more at each meal because they respected the time when their food dishes were down on the floor!

nerdgirl5 · Apr 19, 2019

Richard2121 said:
I agree with the above posters! I also want to mention that I have 4 cats right now and all 4 of them I have raised since they were very little, about 10-12 weeks old. Daniel, my youngest is a happy, healthy, adorable 6 month old kitten that I found underneath my car when he was just 7 weeks old. All of them have been on a feeding schedule since day 1. I tried to feed Daniel more often but it was causing the other cats to walk away from their food and dink around at feeding times. I didn't have time to mess with "finicky" cats so I set 4 feeding times. Two before work and two after work spread out so the last meal is right before bed. They never go without food for more than about 8-9 hours. I feed all wet food too. Recently I noticed I can control how much I am feeding the older ones easier if I switch to 3 meals instead of 4. Daniel has adjusted well to this and just eats more food at each of the 3 meals. None of my cats has been labeled malnourished or too skinny by my vets. So yes kittens need a lot of food and "all they can eat" but they also need to learn when their food will be available and when it will not be available. Cats are very smart and also super instinctive, especially when it comes to food! So I tend to let them learn but also know who is in charge. I used to struggle with thinking my cats were very picky eaters but really the line between meal time, play time, and buffet was starting to blend together. After I became more firm in when their meals were, they stopped crying all morning to wake me up, they stopped walking away from their food bowls until they were truly done eating, and they ate more at each meal because they respected the time when their food dishes were down on the floor!

nerdgirl5 · Apr 19, 2019

That's what I'm aiming for. I figure in a month or two, I'll switch to 3 meals per day (same amount of food--just spread out over 3 vs. 4). They used to leave a little in their bowls--sometimes even 1/2 in their bowls--and come back over an hour or so and finish it. Now that I mix in about a 1/2 a teaspoon of Chicken Frick a Zee with it, they literally finish it all and lick the plate.

Kitten Eating Habits

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