Frozen Raw For 12 Week Old Kitten?

Should a kitten under 1 year be fed on a schedule?

  • It's fine

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  • Never!

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DeepSpaceCats

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Hey everyone, new to this forum! I need some help, and I heard this forum is very friendly and knowledgeable. :)

I adopted my 12-week old kitten 3 weeks ago, and as soon as we got her we began transitioning her to dehydrated raw. She loves it, and transitioned flawlessly. I decided to buy a bag of Primal frozen raw for her, but after I'd already measured it all out and prepped it for two weeks of meals, I read some things online that suggest a kitten shouldn't be fed frozen raw until they're 6 months old.

Is this true? Should I avoid frozen raw until she's older? Furthermore, I've read that a feeding schedule shouldn't be implemented until they are 1 year old, and until then they should be free-fed. I have her on a feeding schedule currently, she eats twice a day, morning and late evening. (But she acts like she's hungry all the time) Should I stop that and let her free feed? What do you guys think?
 

Neo_23

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I think it's okay to feed raw food to kittens as long as their tummies can handle it. I would start off slow and with small amounts to make sure it doesn't irritate her.

Feeding twice a day is not enough for a 12 week kitten unless you are leaving out a bunch of dry food so that she can graze throughout the day. If you're only feeding wet and/or raw and you want to have scheduled feedings then you should do at least 4 feedings a day and feed her as much as she will eat at each feeding. Kittens need to eat A LOT of food (up to 3 or 4 times as much as adults). They are active and growing, so if your kitten is hungry it is for good reason - give her more food.

Edit: One other important thing I forgot to mention. No matter what you feed your kitten, make sure it is a complete meal that is appropriate for kittens. Look for a label on the product that says it meets AAFCO guidelines for all life stages food (or for kittens).
 
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orange&white

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I just raised a kitten from 4 months old to a year on raw food. It doesn't make much sense to me to feed them a crummy processed diet while they're growing and need the best possible nutrition, and then switch them to the healthiest diet available when they're older. In other words, it's fine to start kittens on a balanced raw diet.

My kitten did eat 5-6 meals a day when she was really young, and I always served her more than she would eat in one sitting. I switched her to 3 meals a day at 6 months.
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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Thanks for being so quick to reply!! I'll up her feedings to 4 times a day and see if that helps her be a little less hungry!
 

Neo_23

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Thanks for being so quick to reply!! I'm feeding her twice a day now, so should I bump it up to 4 or 5? Or should 3 just about do it?
Kittens can't eat a lot in one sitting because they have small tummies. But, they need a lot of food. So if you only provide 2 or 3 feedings a day you don't give your kitten enough opportunities to eat and run the risk of undernourishment. I would do at the very least 4 feedings a day until she is 6 months and give her as much food as she wants at each feeding. Then, like orange&white orange&white said, at 6 months you can switch to 3 feedings, and then 2 feedings once she is a full grown adult.
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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I'll switch her to 4 feedings immediately, thank you guys so much! I haven't had a kitten in 15 years, so this is a totally fresh experience! Though I should have assumed that kittens and puppies are the same in this respect, my bad lol
 

lalagimp

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What I think I read when you first posted this is that you had already portioned out two weeks worth of food.
Based on what feeding guide?
My guys are adults and I give them 1-1.5 oz in each sitting, five times a day - but it's been tested that a cat can consume up to 4 ounces, I believe, in one sitting. Kittens, easily eating twice as much as adults.
So, no matter what your feeding schedule turns out to be, I would still hope the kitten simply gets to eat enough, not just spreading it out so it's more frequently.
 

LTS3

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I read some things online that suggest a kitten shouldn't be fed frozen raw until they're 6 months old.
Is this true? Should I avoid frozen raw until she's older?

Nope. My Aby has been eating raw since he was weaned. He's 7 years old now. He kind of had scheduled feedings as a kitten. I fed NV frozen raw so I gave him 2 medallions for breakfast, another 2 for dinner, half a medallion for a post-dinner snack, and the other half before bedtime. He didn't care for the canned food snack I left in a timed feeder for him.
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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Sorry I disappeared!! I immediately recalibrated Jadzia's feeding amount to the proper amount for a kitten her age, and I feel just awful for being so stupid! Poor little kitty much have been so hungry for a few days. :( However, now I have another problem!!

I'm now feeding Jadzia 5 times a day, but she's still acting ravenous, so I thought I would also put down some kibble for her to free-feed between meals. But after just a few days on dehydrated/frozen raw, she's no longer chewing the kibble!! She's just scarfing it down, and not even leaving it to nibble on, she's just eating the entire bowl in one go!! I feel so terrible, I feel like I've completely screwed this up! :(
 

Neo_23

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Sorry I disappeared!! I immediately recalibrated Jadzia's feeding amount to the proper amount for a kitten her age, and I feel just awful for being so stupid! Poor little kitty much have been so hungry for a few days. :( However, now I have another problem!!

I'm now feeding Jadzia 5 times a day, but she's still acting ravenous, so I thought I would also put down some kibble for her to free-feed between meals. But after just a few days on dehydrated/frozen raw, she's no longer chewing the kibble!! She's just scarfing it down, and not even leaving it to nibble on, she's just eating the entire bowl in one go!! I feel so terrible, I feel like I've completely screwed this up! :(
You haven’t screwed up. She’s just eating fast because she’s excited and a lot of cats actually don’t chew dry food. As long as she’s not vomiting from eating too fast she’s fine. My kitten is the same. I used to try leaving kibble out for him to graze on and he would just eat it all at once so I just stopped giving him kibble because there was no point since it’s not that healthy for him anyway. (Plus there’s some speculation that you shouldn’t feed dry kibble and raw together because they digest differently and might cause tummy upset).

I would just stick to the wet and raw food and do the 5 feedings like you’re doing. But if shes scarfing down the meals and cleaning her plate then just give her more per meal. Just give her as much as she will eat at each feeding.
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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You haven’t screwed up. She’s just eating fast because she’s excited and a lot of cats actually don’t chew dry food. As long as she’s not vomiting from eating too fast she’s fine. My kitten is the same. I used to try leaving kibble out for him to graze on and he would just eat it all at once so I just stopped giving him kibble because there was no point since it’s not that healthy for him anyway. (Plus there’s some speculation that you shouldn’t feed dry kibble and raw together because they digest differently and might cause tummy upset).

I would just stick to the wet and raw food and do the 5 feedings like you’re doing. But if shes scarfing down the meals and cleaning her plate then just give her more per meal. Just give her as much as she will eat at each feeding.
Okay, I'll give up on the kibble! As far as giving her as much as she'll eat at each feeding, is it possible to overfeed her?? I really want to make sure she's a good weight, and I definitely don't want her growing up into a big ol' fat cat!
 

Neo_23

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Okay, I'll give up on the kibble! As far as giving her as much as she'll eat at each feeding, is it possible to overfeed her?? I really want to make sure she's a good weight, and I definitely don't want her growing up into a big ol' fat cat!
I don’t think you can overfeed her at this age. Once she hits maybe 5 months you can start being more cautious but even then I wouldn’t worry. Kittens will look pudgy on some days but then they will go through a growth spurt and balance out.
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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I don’t think you can overfeed her at this age. Once she hits maybe 5 months you can start being more cautious but even then I wouldn’t worry. Kittens will look pudgy on some days but then they will go through a growth spurt and balance out.
Thank you so much.... I'm definitely over-stressing about all this, I want to make sure she's perfectly happy and healthy! Any tips on what to do when a kitten SCREAMS at you when you're ready to give her her food? She throws an absolute fit whenever we go to put her food bowl down. What we've been doing is ignoring her until she's quiet for a moment and then putting her food down, but it doesn't seem to be getting through to her. (Sometimes we're standing there for several minutes waiting for the quiet!)
 

Neo_23

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Thank you so much.... I'm definitely over-stressing about all this, I want to make sure she's perfectly happy and healthy! Any tips on what to do when a kitten SCREAMS at you when you're ready to give her her food? She throws an absolute fit whenever we go to put her food bowl down. What we've been doing is ignoring her until she's quiet for a moment and then putting her food down, but it doesn't seem to be getting through to her. (Sometimes we're standing there for several minutes waiting for the quiet!)
No problem, I am the same.

I don’t know what to do about the screaming because my kitten does the same thing. He demands food... ah well. :angrycat:
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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No problem, I am the same.

I don’t know what to do about the screaming because my kitten does the same thing. He demands food... ah well. :angrycat:
lol :p Well, I'll keep using the ignoring tactic and I'll let you know if there's any improvement!! Thanks so much for helping me out, I was super stressed and you helped calm me down. :3
 

orange&white

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How much raw is she eating? I didn't start weighing my kitten's meals until she was 5 months and bought a good scale (I got her at 4 months). She averaged 6.5 ounces of raw food every day that month, so some days she ate more than that and other days less. Before I started weighing her food, I remember telling my boss that "little 4 pound kitten is outeating my 25 lb Corgi", so I think she ate as much as 8 ounces during her 4th month. The younger they are, the faster they are growing, so they eat. And eat. And eat. :p I'm chuckling because about the time you think you need to take out a second mortgage on the home, they grow up and eat a lot less. So garbage disposal mode only lasts a few months.

All my kitties meow when they see a food saucer in my hand. In between meals if they're begging, I give them a hug or pick up a feather toy and engage them in play. They don't beg much now unless they see the food plates out.
 

stormrunner1981

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Any tips on what to do when a kitten SCREAMS at you when you're ready to give her her food? She throws an absolute fit whenever we go to put her food bowl down. What we've been doing is ignoring her until she's quiet for a moment and then putting her food down, but it doesn't seem to be getting through to her. (Sometimes we're standing there for several minutes waiting for the quiet!)
Put her on a timer. I mean a alarm of some sort she can get use to. I use my phone for my babies. She'll get use to the alarm going off and shouldn't scream as much. Though she may still whine when you are putting the food down, mostly because it's an instinctual thing to do.

Other then that I have no other solution, hope it works for you!
 
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DeepSpaceCats

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How much raw is she eating? I didn't start weighing my kitten's meals until she was 5 months and bought a good scale (I got her at 4 months). She averaged 6.5 ounces of raw food every day that month, so some days she ate more than that and other days less. Before I started weighing her food, I remember telling my boss that "little 4 pound kitten is outeating my 25 lb Corgi", so I think she ate as much as 8 ounces during her 4th month. The younger they are, the faster they are growing, so they eat. And eat. And eat. :p I'm chuckling because about the time you think you need to take out a second mortgage on the home, they grow up and eat a lot less. So garbage disposal mode only lasts a few months.

All my kitties meow when they see a food saucer in my hand. In between meals if they're begging, I give them a hug or pick up a feather toy and engage them in play. They don't beg much now unless they see the food plates out.
Put her on a timer. I mean a alarm of some sort she can get use to. I use my phone for my babies. She'll get use to the alarm going off and shouldn't scream as much. Though she may still whine when you are putting the food down, mostly because it's an instinctual thing to do.

Other then that I have no other solution, hope it works for you!
Thank you so much for your tips, but actually, since I've been feeding her as much as she wants, she's no longer freaking out when we prepare her food!! Today she was very calm whenever I was setting her food down, and there was one feeding where she actually didn't even finish all her food!! I'm feeling so much better now that I'm feeding her the proper amount, and I know she is too!
 
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