Growth Spurts And Stops?

[Dacatchair]

So, I have a 6 month old kitten and assuming my digital scale is accurate he weighs about 7 lbs and has maybe gained 1/2 a lb in the past month. He weighed 3.8 lbs at 12 weeks and 5.5 at 16 weeks, about 6.5 at 20 weeks. And now he is about 25 weeks and he is up to 7 lbs.

Is it normal for a kitten to grow really really fast for a couple months and then slow right down? Will my kitten probably keep growing slowly? Once they slow down growing do they speed up again or do they just keep slowing down?

He seems entirely healthy and active. Long and lean. And a good appetite for the dry food he prefers. Getting him to eat canned can be a bit of a struggle.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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To your first question, yes - kittens do experience growth spurts and plateaus after their initial steady climb in the first twelve weeks, and especially through their first year, but keeping an eye on his weight certainly won't do any harm.

The answer to the second question will depend to some degree upon his breed, since the giant breeds grow slowly, seldom maturing completely until after the age of four years. Maine Coon Cats will develop fully in four to four and a half years; Siberians and Norwegian Forest Cats take a bit longer, and NFCs are prone to a growth spurt in their last year of development (mine climbed up to roughly twenty-four pounds and 94 cm nose-to-tail at the end of his fourth year, and then rocketed up to just over thirty-five pounds and not quite 112 cm between age four and age five), and NFCs who express the M2 mutation of Fibroblast Growth Factor 5 rather than the M4 mutation, also tend toward longer coats by the end of their fourth year.

Photos of your boy would help, and there are several people ( abyeb StefanZ and Alejandra Rico among them) on TCS who will give you a pretty accurate guess as to ancestry as well as an idea of how he might finish out size-wise if you simply post his photos on this thread, though at seven pounds in under just six months, he'd seem to be pointed toward being a bit larger than average.

Welcome to TCS, by the way.

Edit: I've just seen your cat's "Belly Photo," here:

Show Me Your Belly !!!

I can't see his back and sides (it is a "Belly Photo," after all), but from this angle, he's one heckuva good lookalike for a blue Bengal.
.

 

[Dacatchair]

Thanks for the reply and welcome 1catovertheline! I was told his Mom is an F7 Savannah who got out and had kittens with a cat who was not the intended stud. They thought the Dad might be a Bengal cross who had a white paw. ( Other kittens in the litter had white patches) I was only told this when I was arranging to go and get him and as he was not advertised as any particular breed and was only $25 I did not, at the time, think to ask a lot of questions though I am now curious. I saw 1 female adult cat when I was there that was not my kittens Mom but similar to a picture of another female cat they have that had kittens the same day my kitten was born. (Probably my kittens Mom) I would love to ask what kind of a mix that cat looks to be but it is not my picture and so I probably should not post this publicly. The adult cat I saw up close when I was getting my kitten was very long legged and large to the point I was a bit shocked. Definitely was the largest cat I have ever seen. My kitten is so stretchy he is hard to measure, but he is at least 34 inches from back paw tip to back paw tip when he stretches, and 11 or 12 inches from his shoulder top to the floor when he is standing

These pictures were all taken within the last week.. As you can see he is very long and stretchy but not unhealthy at all. Up until a month ago when his growth came to a screeching halt, I was starting to wonder if he might be Guinness book of world record material!

These below were taken about a month ago.. I have scattered the image of the rat he caught and killed as I don't want to offend anyone. They are a real problem in this rural area and have mostly moved somewhere safer now! (he gets monthly Revolution treatments) As you can see he has some interesting spots and markings but he has a lot of ticking so they only show well in some light from some angels and they are not well defined.

 

[StefanZ]

Are there photos? I dont see any at this moment. Oops, NOW a minute later are the photos visible in your next post. PS.

Perhaps best you start a tread in the Description Forum, most of us breed-interested use to patrol there.

 

[Dacatchair]

Thanks for the suggestion Stefanz... I will probably do that sometime soon..!

Since I got him I have done quite a bit of research on Savannah characteristics. I am pretty sure he has quite a few, especially as he would only be a late generation F8 A, but unfortunately I have also been told that without knowing if his Mom had a registered pedigree it is impossible to be sure where those traits came from- as everything from lankness to spots to oceli can be found in other breeds, and there is a lot of fake Savannahs out there. But I do wonder about maybe being able to see some Bengal influence in his seemingly longer then normal spine, arrow shaped spots that are almost rosettes on his shoulders? The person I got him from produces nothing but color pointed kittens. So I guess him and his siblings lack of color point traits made it obvious their color point stud was not the dad.

 

[abyeb]

I could certainly believe some Savannah influence! That's what I was thinking when I first saw his pictures.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

I could certainly believe some Savannah influence! That's what I was thinking when I first saw his pictures.

D Dacatchair - I agree with abyeb and with StefanZ - his wild heritage certainly seems clear, and did even from just his bellypic. Eventually, Alejandra Rico will doubtless weight in here, since it's really her bailiwick. As to size in later generations, my understanding is the male Savannah crosses typically don't exceed twenty-five pounds at maturity, and later generations seem to average sixteen to twenty pounds.

I showed his photo to my NFC, Bob, this morning, and Bob replied, "nice little kitty." Here's Bob now!

Your young fellow truly is beautifully marked, and will grow into an absolute beauty.

Edit: your user ID - "dacatchair" - makes me want to crack some J. D. Salinger joke about, "da cat chair in da rye," but the boos from this crowd would be just too overwhelming.
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[Alejandra Rico]

Your boy does sure have the Savannah looks, he is a handsome and slender boy.
As far as I know about Savannahs (and Bengals) they are prone to have these growth spurts: they look the same for weeks, and then, suddenly, they seem to almost doble the size they were the previous night. I would say he is going to be a big boy.
When you say that breeder produces colour pointed kittens you mean that they breed "snow" Savannahs? It would be useful to see a picture of the mother. As you said, if both parents were color points all kittens would be color pointed too, so father was obviously no carrier of this trait.
At this point, I won't dare to say wether or not there is some bengal Blood in your boy. His spots are nice for a Savannah (or so I think, as I do not actually see any rosettes) and you mentioned that his pattern is symmetrical, which is something that does not usually happen in Bengals.
It would be nice if you opened a thread about this and let us see more in depth pictures of his pattern and body features, as well as face shape and furr appeareance under different lights. Also, monthly updated would be nice so we know how he evolves. Savannah and Bengal kitten are not so super different when we are not talking about show/breeding quality individuals, but differences get more and more obvious as they approach their adult size and weight. A Savannah male is supposed to remain svelt whereas a Bengal male is expected to become fairly muscular. Thus, most Savannah male cats would be bigger in size but not necessarily heavier than a Bengal one.

 

[Dacatchair]

Thanks for the replies and Wow on the size of you NFC Bob! I had not heard Savannah kittens have a tendency to seem to stop growing for a while so hearing this is reassuring. I will be happy with whatever size he ends up, and whatever size that is it will probably be too big to fit on my lap! Here is a picture of him taken June 26th when he was 19 weeks old, and a smaller one of the night I brought him home. he fell asleep on the floor and then suddenly woke up, climbed in my lap, curled up and fell back asleep.
He really hasn't grown much since then. Which may not be a bad thing ! (though looking at this I think maybe he has gotten longer?) So hard to measure as he is like an accordion!
I will start a thread in the what breed does my cat look like section as I would love to show and discuss some specific stuff I find interesting. I will post a link here once I get it posted. And I will also post some updates for people who wonder what a similar cat may grow into. From what I have read later generation Savannahs are usually not much larger than domestic cats, but I think maybe the person who owned his Mom was selecting for size as they thought a larger kitten they had was worth a bit more. Alejandra, I would love to hear what someone who knows cat breeds thinks of the cat that was probably my cats Mom. I will try and use the message system here to send you a picture privately. I suspect she has more of a Bengal head and body than many Savannahs, but then as I understand it, Savannahs usually have some Bengal ancestry. Thank you for sharing my curiosity!

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

I will be happy with whatever size he ends up, and whatever size that is it will probably be too big to fit on my lap!

D Dacatchair - Ahhh... finally a problem I can solve. Do what I did to increase lap size - eat chocolate cake!
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[Dacatchair]

LOL ... I can do that. Maybe he is waiting for me to catch up with his growth spurts!

 

[mightyboosh]

Aww I was going to say Savanna but I dared not do so because I'm not usually good at that sort of thing eg. anything fluffy with lynx tips I say is a MC or anything spotty/stripy is a Bengal. I'm biased though.

 

[Dacatchair]

I started a thread in the section discussing what breed a cat looks like..
What Might Be In The Mix?

 

[orange&white]

My kitten weight 4 pounds at 4 months when I brought her home. I've tracked how much she has eaten every day and tracked her weight weekly. It was certainly normal for both her appetite and her growth to be variable day-to-day and week-to-week, but fairly consistent over time up to 7 months. "Spurts" is a good description.

She gained 2 pounds between 4 to 5 months. She gained 1 pound each months 5 and 6. At 7 months, her weight and appetite plateaud at 8 pounds. She's 10.5 months old now and weighs 8.75 pounds, so the "spurts" are over, but she is still very slowly growing a bit more. I think she'll end up at 10 pounds or less.

The genetics are different though, so I'm not sure how "average" my kitten's growth has been. She's a medium-coated blue/cream tabby moggie with short legs.

 

[Dacatchair]

That information is helpful orange&white! It sounds like your cat did the same crazy rapid growth spurt before 5 months and then slowed down as mine has done. And my kittens genetics for size and growth may be very similar! I guess it is just the contrast of watching them grow like someone is blowing up a balloon and then not. I began wondering if there was a leak somewhere ...

 

[orange&white]

Yes, while she was growing quickly, I'd be looking at her one day, thinking she was getting fat. Two days later, she'd look long and skinny. Back and forth. Her appetite did the same. I'd worry that she wasn't eating enough, and then she'd eat like a little pig for three days. Your balloon analogy is great!