A long legged cat with short hair, thin face and long thin body

[hospicenursewithcats]

I adopted Bandit this past summer, he is now 7 months old and is as big as a full grown cat. Without officially measuring him, I’d say with the length of his body including his tail, he is probably close to 1-1.5 feet long. His tail,drags on the floor sometimes. His paws are the size of half dollars. His legs are so long he can reach up to the edge of the kitchen counter on his hind legs.
I am enclosing a picture but it won’t show the full effect. He is shorthaired white and black and very slender despite me feeding him more than the other two cats. I figured I’d ask here before I spend money on a DNA kit.

 

[Furballsmom]

He looks like he's in pretty good body condition, out of curiosity what are you feeding this handsome fellow?

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

I WAS feeding him a half a can of Fancy Feast twice a day along with a small amount of Hills Science for kittens. He gobbles it up and is asking for more food, so I have been starting to give him “lunch”. That helps somewhat, but always wants food. My husband gives all 3 of the cats treats also, so the vet advised especially for the 7 year old I have, to just alter the amount of food so they don’t over eat. I try to keep them on mostly wet food and snacks.
he had a rough start with ringworm and stomatitis but both have resolved. He is a love. I’m so glad we buckled and got him as an after thought.

 

[Furballsmom]

He's a kitten and no matter the vets perspective, ( they are typically overly concerned about obesity and don't know anything about nutrition for kittens) .. .. that means you absolutely can't overfeed him, probably until he's a year and a half or two years old. A half can isn't enough. My boy, who was also a big cat, could easily eat a can at one meal. I don't know his specific breed, but he's going to be growing for a long time and will need a lot of food.

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

Yea. Let me clarify that. I have altered, somewhat, my 7 year old’s food since she weighs 12 pounds….thanks to daddy. Bandit, and his sister, Genny, I pretty much give them as much as they want. I try to stick to healthier treats (dehydrated salmon, and things like that). Although I like Greenies because of the dental benefits. Genny (who is 6 months) and Bandit (who is 7 months) are not lacking in energy. As I type this, they are having heir nightly crazies and chasing eachother around the house,

 

[Furballsmom]

Maybe talking to a nutritionist would help, because you need to feed him more. Both of them are not only growing but are expending a huge amount of calories. They need more food.

Diplomate Directory

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

I will look around and see what I can find. I read somewhere that kittens under 10 months need, I think it said, 65 kcal per pound, the total for the day, I know came out to 660 a day. Yea, i have a lot of wiggleroom with them.
and I really do think I will get a dna kit for him. I just can’t believe he is this big and only 7 months. His paws have always been huge even when he was a little kitten.
thanks for the advice.

 

[Margot Lane]

Can’t wait to hear what you find out, as your handsome fellow looks a lil bitty like mine! Looks like he needs to grown into his ears some too!

 

[StefanZ]

Observe, this calories per kilo is a very rough measure. If he is underweigh (or fatty) it will give false results...

As a tip, goats milk is always a good supplement for cats of any age.

Re you question: if he is visibly biggish and has this triangularish face, I would guess he may have a Norwegian Forest cat ancestry... Had a hairy granddad perhaps?

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

Thanks. I have never heard of that breed before. I think I’ll look it up and read about it.
i never considered goats milk. I assume it doesn’t give them diarrhea like cows milk does? .

Can’t wait to hear what you find out, as your handsome fellow looks a lil bitty like mine! Looks like he needs to grown into his ears some too!

I know right?

 

[StefanZ]

Hoats molk is safer. Why I dont k now, but many rescuers and cat owners are happy

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

I may try it. I assume it would be a good way for them to get vitamins? Not to mention calcium.

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

I also just want to add he was a kitten that was left behind from the litter his sister came from. He was the reason I chose that specific foster mom. Then his sister came into the room and into my heart as I say. When I learned he was not adopted after another month, and he was being put back on the adoption floor, my non-cat husband got worried and after going back and forth about whether we wanted another cat, we went to the shelter and took him home. It’s been a challenge considering he had a bad dose of ringworm and then developed stomatitis. But I am SO glad we took him in. (He was tested for leukemia, parvovirus and distemper and all were negative) he’s such a sweetheart. I’m totally taken by him.

 

[BeccaCat]

He's a kitten and no matter the vets perspective, ( they are typically overly concerned about obesity and don't know anything about nutrition for kittens) .. .. that means you absolutely can't overfeed him, probably until he's a year and a half or two years old. A half can isn't enough. My boy, who was also a big cat, could easily eat a can at one meal. I don't know his specific breed, but he's going to be growing for a long time and will need a lot of food.

I'm glad you said this. I got my Tessa as an adult and she's not a big eater. But my new little Smudge eats like a HORSE!! I was afraid I was overfeeding him, but he just won't stop eating. Currently he gets almost 2 cans of Fancy Feast kitten a day, and I put kibble in his dish but he always finishes it. Like as soon as I put it in there. He came fully vetted and all, but after he settles in I'll take him to our vet and double check his food intake. But from what you're saying here, no, I'm probably not feeding him too much. It's just crazy that I kind of have to remind Tessa to eat, and Smudge eats like a vacuum cleaner.

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

They must be from the same litter. Bandit will inhale his food, then go to his sister’s bowl and lick up the crumbs, THEN go to his oldest sister’s bowl and lick the crumbs left there. If I’m not careful, he is digging in the trash to see what he can find.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm probably not feeding him too much.

I promise, it is absolutely impossible to overfeed these guys.

Bandit will inhale his food, then go to his sister’s bowl and lick up the crumbs, THEN go to his oldest sister’s bowl and lick the crumbs left there. If I’m not careful, he is digging in the trash to see what he can find.

He is having to work way too hard to find food. Since he is obviously this hungry, please try giving him more. The stress he's under being hungry all the time is a definitive negative for him and for his growing system.

He knows what he needs, and he's not being capricious about it or doing these things for the fun of it. This is serious.

 

[Meowmee]

View attachment 436143
I adopted Bandit this past summer, he is now 7 months old and is as big as a full grown cat. Without officially measuring him, I’d say with the length of his body including his tail, he is probably close to 1-1.5 feet long. His tail,drags on the floor sometimes. His paws are the size of half dollars. His legs are so long he can reach up to the edge of the kitchen counter on his hind legs.
I am enclosing a picture but it won’t show the full effect. He is shorthaired white and black and very slender despite me feeding him more than the other two cats. I figured I’d ask here before I spend money on a DNA kit.

What a cutie maybe he has some forest cat ancestry as suggested. Or he could juts be a big dsh like my Merlin, who is overweight too.
His pattern looks like is a bicolor brown mackerel tabby. Bicolor pattern looks like harlequin to me.