Help With Feeding New Rescues?

[AislinCosmos]

Hi. Quite a long story... I hope it all makes sense. I have 2 kittens. One is 12 weeks old and one is 20 weeks. They’re both underweight for their age due to a hard start (they’re both rescues). The younger kitten was a stray we rescued and the older kitten is also a rescue but came from the shelter. The 12 week old has been eating well and “normally” since we got her comfortable and happy. She’s been gaining steadily. Then we adopted her brother. Lol. The shelter was feeding him 2 5.5oz cans of the Hill Science diet urgent care dog/cat food to help him gain. He is now back to a good weight (although still underweight) but when we took him home they gave us 4 cans of the hills and told us to wean him off to the food we feed our current kitten (Wellness Kitten Pate & Iams proactive health kitten dry food) she usually eats a can a day of the wellness along with about 1/4 cup of the Iams. Give or take her mood lol.

I’m guessing since he was starving for so long and also was fed really large portions of the Hills (10 ozs a day) he’s just used to overeating. We’re having trouble getting them to stick to their own bowls and eat properly now. We’ve long weaned him off the Hills but he’s just never satisfied. 2 cans of Wellness + ~1/3 cup of the Iams and he’s still begging and meowing like he’s starving even though that’s a full 350 kcals. the 12 week old on the other hand has always been a slower eater. She still eats 4-6 times a day so I portion hers out but he tries to get to her food once he’s done scarfing his down. I’ve tried to feed them separately but he is done way faster than her. If I kennel her to eat she just cries and wants out like no mom please. Same with putting her in a separate room. I’ve also tried to slow him down by using a large plate to spread his food out and mixing it with a little kibble so he’s having to stop and actually chew. He’s like a vacuum cleaner!

How do I get the 20 week old to stop overeating while over getting my 12 week old to start eating a little more at a time?

 

[Libby.]

Maybe feed him smaller portions more frequently? You may have to separate them so he doesn't steal her food. You can give her some kitten milk to help her gain weight too.

 

[GalaxyGirl]

They are both kittens and need to eat as much food as they can. They are very young. My male cat is now 1.5 years old and could easily eat 10oz of wet food a day along with kibble. Kittens need 2-3 times what adult cats need. 350 calories isn’t enough. Mine easily ate 500-600 calories a day. It only becomes and issue when they are adults and still eating a lot and gaining excess weight. Since my kittens were starved they grew pat a year and all are healthy and happy. Please do not restrict his food. Kittens are rapidly growing and need all of those calories.

For the one who doesn’t eat as much it shouldn’t be an issue unless she’s very under weight. One of my cats is a slow and doesn’t eat a lot in one sitting. She was The runt of the litter and wasn’t as big as her sister and brother.

 

[AislinCosmos]

According my multiple vets 350 calories is more than enough per day. Lol. Feeding guides, the back of the cans etc all recommend the same amounts. Eating 500-600 calories a day would be like us feeding our children 3000 calories a day and being surprised when they’re overweight. Growth is already calculated. . But good try.

a similar issue happens when people who are used to overeating go on diets. Their stomached still feel empty because it has been stretched beyond means.

The vet recommended I add a couple of small toy balls to his food bowl so he has to move them around to get to the food and make it sort of a game along with mixing hiskibble in with his wet food so he has to stop and crunch/chew. Tada the problem is solved! He’s eating slower and taking twice as long as the smaller kitten to finish his meal giving the small one PLENTY of time to eat comfortably and she is finishing all her food. I also switched her food again to see if maybe it was an issue with her not really liking the wellness and that could also be why she has sped up eating.

 

[AislinCosmos]

He has also stopped begging for more now that he has slowed down. I still only feed him half a can at a time + half his kibble and feed the smaller kitten 1/4 can 4 times a day. When she’s eating and he’s not I get down and play with him and keep him distracted with a couple of treats while she eats her meals I’m surprised this is all we needed to do!