How Many Calories For Kitten? Feed More If She Begs? Help For First Time Pet Owner...

[Mow Mow -^-^-]

How much should I feed my 20 week old kitten? (She will be 5 months in about 10 days). I got her at 14 weeks and have been feeding roughly 200 calories per day. This is one 3 oz can of fancy feast kitten food divided into 2 feedings per day. (Each fancy feast can has about 100 calories). Then, I also give her about 1/4 cup of Costco maintenance cat dry food (about 100 calories) per day to nibble on when she gets hungry. At first, the 1/4 cup dry was what she ate naturally when I free fed her. More recently though, she eats up all the dry food super early and then starts complaining. She runs in crazy circles making annoyed meows, staring at her empty bowl and looking at me expectantly.

I researched the issue and the only recommendation I can find is to give 200 calories a day for a 5 pound kitten per the National Research Council. Also, at 6 months, she should be roughly half her adult weight. At 14 weeks, she was 3.5 pounds (vet measured), now at 20 she is 5 pounds (measured on scale holding kitten minus my weight)

Another note - I also sometimes swap up the foods giving her different brands of wet kitten food and occasionally even an adult food. I also use Purina one kitten instead of Costco dry sometimes. (I want to make sure she doesn't turn picky!) Thankfully she eats all of it!!

Should I give her more food if she is eating it all faster and whines? Supposedly kitten food is better so most of her wet foods are kitten, but when I give her the Purina one dry kitten food I feel like she wolfs it down so fast, even considering she has been eating up her dry food faster. One day, I put a full half cup of Purina dry thinking it would maybe last about 2 days, but she ate almost the whole thing (AND her wet kitten food) in just a day! This is over 300 calories and I feel like that's just way too much! But then again, she is a growing kitten... But she mostly sleeps when I'm not home although she does run around hyperactively a lot when awake.

But would 300 calories be way too much? Or should I keep limiting her to 200 calories per day and maybe spread the dry into 2 feedings? Or just ignore her when she's being annoying? I don't want her to be a fat cat!

Help for first time pet owner greatly appreciated!

 

[LTS3]

You don't count calories for kittens. You just feed kittens as much as they want to eat Kittens can't get fat and need a lot of food for growth. If she's still hungry, offer more food. Many people feed both canned and dry to kittens. The dry is typically left out all the time for snacking on in between canned food meals.

I'm not familiar with the Costco brand of dry food. I suggest feeding your kitten dry and canned food that has real meat and few fillers and junk ingredients. Corn, rice, etc are indigestible.

Grain-free Cat Food – What Does It Mean?
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat
Choosing The Right Food For Your Cat - Part 2
What Makes The Best Canned Cat Food?
How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat?
The Essentials Of Kitten Nutrition

 

[tabbytom]

How much should I feed my 20 week old kitten?

Mow Mow, welcome to TCS!

I quote from my recent reply to a thread with a almost similar question as yours. This is the thread :-
how-much-wet-food-does-your-kitten-eat.380569 You can go there and check out what others have to say too.

"Kittens need to eat lots in their growing age and they need all the proteins and nutrients from wet food.

Feed your kitten as much wet food as he can eat at one sitting. He need to be fed 4-5 times a day. They have lots of energy and they burn off calories very fast. You can never over feed a kitten.
You can follow the calorie intake for growing kittens or be like me, I follow my boy’s tummy call. Instructions on the cans are just a guide. You may end up feeding more or feeding less which is depending on your kitten’s appetite.
Each can will state how much calories are in them. You just multiply the number of cans against the given calorie and you get a tough estimate of how much calories your kitten is having.

Choose wet food that are meant for kittens or those labeled ‘For All Life Stages’. Once they turn into adults, you can switch food meant for adults or stick to the one that is ‘Fir All Life Stages’. My boy is coming to 3 years old and he’s on this food since he was 3 weeks old.

They tend to eat more as they near the adult age which is one year for normal breeds. They’ll go through what is called a ‘growth spurt’. The intake amount and number of feeds will taper down as they near the adult age and slowly they eat less amount. So don’t worry if they are eating less. Only worry if they are not eating at all."

A growing kitten need at least 300 calories each day. If counting calories baffles you, just feed as much as your kitten can eat at one sitting and feed them 4-5 times a day with wet food.
You can never over feed a kitten.

 

[BlueJay]

My kitten is about 6 pounds at 6.5 months old. I give her at least 7oz of wet food every day, split up into 3-6 meals. She likes to nimble and come back to it, so I just put it in the fridge and pull it back out after a while. I also leave out dry food all the time, but she mostly eats it after I've gone to bed and before I get up in the morning.

I've heard some kittens at 5 months can eat a whole 3oz can in one sitting. Maybe try that in the morning and see if that helps keep her full longer instead of devouring the dry stuff, but continue to leave it out. I don't want to just give my kitten food whenever she asks, because I don't want to create a bad habit, and end up with her waking me up in the middle of the night or something.

 

[tabbytom]

I've heard some kittens at 5 months can eat a whole 3oz can in one sitting.

I’m not surprise. My boy ate 2 cans of 3oz can at one sitting In one day, he can eat up to 7 or 8 cans. That was during his growing up time and I thought he’s going to eat me out of my house

Now, he eats half of that and sometimes I have to beg him to eat

 

[Mow Mow -^-^-]

So definitely increase wet food over dry food? Wet food is more protein per less calories so that definitely makes sense.

I work 10-12 hour shifts, so I really can't feed her with wet food 5x/day. Even on my off days, I don't want her to get into the habit of 5x/day wet food if I can't do it regular.

When I give her half the 3 oz can of fancy feast or other wet food, she usually still leaves some of it unless I fall asleep on the couch after work or stay out too long (I thought my husband fed her, he didn't) and she's REALLY hungry. She almost always comes back and finishes the wet food within 1-2 hours though, so I just leave it out. She prefers the wet over the dry. The only one she finishes is Iams Kitten, maybe that one is her favorite... I don't want her hooked on it though because I can only find that one in ONE pet store and they might run out.

Maybe I can dry leaving out bigger portions of the wet food and monitor if she comes back for it? Or else try for a third wet food feeding...

 

[LTS3]

You can use a programmable timed feeder for canned food meals while you're at work. I like the Petsafe 5 compartment one. Canned food is cooked so it won't spoil if left out so day. You can also freeze canned food and put th frozen puck into the feeder to slowly defrost.

Yes, more canned than dry is best It's fine to leave a bowl of dry food out for a hungry kitten to eat.

 

[war&wisdom]

I have two six-month-old kittens. They get three feedings of wet food a day (once before work, once after, and once before bed). That's three cans of wet food a day, split between the two of them, so 1.5 cans each. I also "free feed" dry when I'm at work and overnight (more during the workday, less at night, but around 1/4 cup at a time per kitten, meaning around 1/2 cup per day per kitten). I have long work days, and this schedule has worked very well for us! They're growing so fast.

 

[Erin80]

I have two kittens....one is 7 months and one is 4 months. They are on all wet food. My 7 month old eats 9-11 oz and my younger one eats 7-9 ounces. They eat A LOT. They get fed 3oz at 6:30am, 1.5-3oz at 8:30am (if they gobble up the 1.5oz I give them another 1.5oz), 3oz at 5ish and 3oz at 8:30pm.

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, I would increase both a little bit.
If you're using 3oz cans, maybe try a can and a half.
I would increase the dry a little bit too, I use my 1/8 cup 3 times per cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! By the way, this will help as well for things
First-time Cat Owner's Guide