Can you overfeed an 8 month kitten?

[czuva]

My kitten is a large breed (Maine Coon) and seems to be hungry despite eating ~550 calories a day. She cleans every meal I give her and seems like she could eat more.

She's a perfect body condition score right now according to the chart. I can just feel her ribs, and she has a noticeable waist from above.

She's spayed and currently being weaned off steroids (prednisolone) after a bout of asthma. I've heard steroids increase appetite.

Should I give her "as much as she can eat" because she's still growing, or keep her at ~550 calories? I don't want her to become overweight as that'd make her asthma worse.

Can 8 month large-breed kittens be overfed?

 

[sivyaleah]

Yes, kittens should be fed as needed.
If she's a purebred MC, for sure she needs those extra calories. When our MC was a kitten, she easily was eating 4 - 3 ounce cans a day PLUS some kibble. Probably close to 500 calories or just under and she was lean the whole time.
Now she's 2 and her intake is more like 225-275 so about half, or even less some days. She's still very lean.
Kittens burn up everything they eat LOL. Stinks for the wallet but eventually they even out.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I say feed her as much as she wants, and just keep an eye on her. If it looks like she is starting to get a bit chubby, then you can discuss with your Vet whether or not to cut back a little bit on her food. But large breed cats don't mature as quickly as smaller breeds, so she may continue to eat lots for several more months still.

The steroid probably did increase her appetite, and since she is being weaned off, you may see a change in how much she actually eats now. But she still needs to eat plenty!

 

[czuva]

Thank you both! I’ll give her a bit more then and see how she does.

 

[Trev]

Regular feeds of a quality kitten food (wet or dry) is the best way to go. Your kitten will stop eating when satiated.

If the kitten food lacks the nutrition you kitten requires for energy and growth, then she will likely want to eat more. This will be due to her body craving nutrients. The problem with this, is she will eat more calories trying to get the nutrients.

So read the kitten food labels carefully to ensure you have a premium kitten food.

A quick guide - what to look for in a premium cat food:

#1 ingredient should be real meat.
avoid grains such as wheat, corn, rice, soy- these just overload the kitten with starchy carbohydrates that their sensitive canine digestive systems can't cope with.
High protein (dry food will usually have more than wet)
Avoid artificial flavors, colors and preservatives.
Look for a natural blend of omega fatty acids, vitamin, minerals and probiotics
Don't include too much fish ingredients with kittens
Avoid foods listing meat by-products
Avoid dairy ingredients
Avoid excessive fish oil and animal fat