How Big Can I Expect Him To Get?

[kestria]

My kitten is now 5 months old and weighs 7lbs. It seems a little on the heavy side for his age but he’s very lean with an athletic build. His mom is 7lbs and his dad is 10lbs. He has an older 8 month old sister that is 5lbs. Most of his older siblings finished at a weight around mum’s.

How big can I expect him to be as an adult? Will he be bigger than the parents?

 

[Kieka]

Kittens tend to get a majority of their growth by 6 months old. A general estimate is add half their weight to their 6 month weight. So, at a guess I'd estimate your boys final weight at 10-12 pounds.

As an aside, I really hope Mom has been spayed. It is very unhealthy to have two litters that close together.

 

[kestria]

Thanks for the info! For some reason I had always read that as 2x the weight at 6 months and thought he’d be way too big by those standards.

Unfortunately, he’s from a backyard breeder so I don’t own the mom. I didn’t know at the time of getting him what kind of home he was coming from. I agree it is very unhealthy. The breeder seems to be getting new litters every second month.

 

[Kieka]

Yeah, they get most of their weight by 6 months. The 6 months to a year mark tend to be more filling in then stretching out. If he was a big breed base I'd double but his parentage doesn't indicate that so I go with the add half method.

That's a little depressing about the BYB. Don't ever take it as a mark against you since you didn't know at the time.

 

[kestria]

He’s my first cat on my own and the breeder gave me some horrible advice that I actually listened to at the beginning but then started getting really sketched out. For example..

1. Feed him only Purina dry food. Any wet is unnecessary and gives them smelly stools.
2. Don’t neuter him. It won’t make a difference if you don’t have other cats.
3. If you have to neuter him, then wait until he’s at least 12 months old or else it’s not healthy.
4. It’s safe to give him weekly baths with dish detergent.

I’m so glad I found this site now he has a healthy diet, is neutered and not covered in dish soap.

I will absolutely not buy from these kind of people again. He is a Siamese and I always wanted one so I didn’t consider much else after seeing the ad.

 

[Etarre]

Wow, Kestria, that's shocking that the breeder gave you that advice. I'm so glad you found this site! Sounds like you're now taking wonderful care of him...

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh baby MEEZER --there goes my heart yet again
I just wanted to mention a couple things - you don't know what all else is in his DNA so you could very possibly end up with a big boy. Also until he's about a year or a year and a half old, feed him as much as he'll eat to fuel the growth of his nervous system, bones etc.
meezer footprints on my soul