Am I feeding my 6 month old kitten too much?

[beborice]

I have had Sammy since he was 9 weeks old. He always had a good appetite. Every time I walk in the kitchen he thinks its time to eat. He eats at least 2 cans of Fancy Fest and he usually finishes my other cats friskies. That doesn't include his treats. I didn't realize how big he got and was wondering if i am feeding him too much.

 

[vball91]

He's the equivalent of a human teenager, so he's still growing and eating lots. I wouldn't worry about it unless he's seriously overweight.

 

[smitten4kittens]

He's the equivalent of a human teenager, so he's still growing and eating lots. I wouldn't worry about it unless he's seriously overweight.

 You can reduce his food intake after he is full grown if you need to. He needs all the nutrition now.

 

[stephanietx]

I don't think you can overfeed a kitten, as their metabolism rate is so high.  As he gets to 8 or 10 mos, then you can look at cutting back on his food intake.
 

 

[mamabirdy]

On reading this, it's got me wondering if I am feeding my 6 kittens too much? They each have a (100gram) sachet of Whiskas kitten food in the morning and again at tea-time. They have access to dry food during the day. They were 18 weeks old yesterday. What do people think?

 

[vball91]

If you read all the replies, the consensus is that growing kittens should be fed as much as they want.

 

[gizmos mom]

When it comes to food Gizmo is a little piglet...lol  When he went to the Vets last week, she said that he was doing great and has a healthy weight.

 

[beborice]

Thank you to all who have replied to my post.  It's very helpful as usual.

 

[catmando13]

I don't think your feeding your kitten too much. As he or she gets older then their appetite will probably get smaller.

We have 8 adult cats and we feed them once a day.

 

[newkittyowner]

If you read all the replies, the consensus is that growing kittens should be fed as much as they want.

I somehow agree with this statement however every time I ask the vet tec at the animal hospital I take my two kittens who will be 5 months in September they tell me that each should get a cup a day of dry and 1/4 a can of wet a day. So I have scheduled a morning and evening meal times for them but am constantly wondering if this is too little as before we were free feeding the dry. We tried to make it was available all the time. I worry I feeding them too little but the vet tec assured me they don't need to graze and they need to be on this schedule. What should I do?

 

[franksmom]

I somehow agree with this statement however every time I ask the vet tec at the animal hospital I take my two kittens who will be 5 months in September they tell me that each should get a cup a day of dry and 1/4 a can of wet a day. So I have scheduled a morning and evening meal times for them but am constantly wondering if this is too little as before we were free feeding the dry. We tried to make it was available all the time. I worry I feeding them too little but the vet tec assured me they don't need to graze and they need to be on this schedule. What should I do?

I agree that it is not a good idea to let kittens graze on dry food all day. Dry food dehydrates, has too many carbs, and has a ton of calories and I do think it is possible to feed to much of it. If we look at the feline obesity epidemic there is a direct connection with free feeding dry food and I do think it is very possible for kittens to get too fat if they eat too much dry food. If you think of the obesity problem in humans you see that it is connected to eating a highly processed diet which is what dry food is. Babies are now becoming obese because of an inappropriate diet and the same could happen to kittens. 

On the other hand there should not be limits on wet food for kittens it is much lower in calories and is more bioavailabile.