How Much Should My 7.5wk Kitten Be Eating Or Gaining A Day?

[PaleFreckles24]

I'm going to ramble, but I am a first time kitten mom. We got Lacie on 8/13 and she weighed about 481g. Her previous owners said she was about 7 weeks old, so we are guessing her birthday is June 26th. As I've googled, this seems very underweight. She is very bony and you could easily feel all of her ribs/hips/shoulders. If she wasn't so fluffy she would've looked like a skeleton. We have been free feeding her wet kitten food and she has been gaining a lot of weight. Google says they should gain around 10 grams a day, but she's gaining a lot. On 8/15 she weighed 499g, 8/16 520g, 8/17 556g, and last night she weighed 584g. I think maybe she is just catching up to where she is supposed to be.

I don't know if she is eating too much or gaining too much I just wanted to post this and see if someone else has experience with this or can give me any advice.

We got her dewormed and 1st set of shots on 8/18, I haven't seen any parasites in her poop yet. I added an adorable picture of Lacie just for fun.

 

[Sarthur2]

She is very much underweight if she is seven weeks old. At eight weeks a kitten should weigh two pounds, which is 907 grams.

She needs to gain about a pound a month her first six months or so. After she is one year old you can move her to adult kibble and wet food 2x/day.

Continue free feeding wet food and also make dry kitten chow and water available 24/7. She has a lot of catching up to do!

 

[Kieka]

Thank you for taking her in and looking out for her well being. When it comes to kittens, there really isn't such a thing as gaining too much. The first year of a cats life they will go through growth spurts rapidly and could need as much as a 100 calories per pound to keep up. Most kittens will go from round waddling fluff balls to skinny bean poles and back again several times that first year as they go through spurts. Right now, feed her as much as she will eat and don't worry about feeding guidelines until she is a little older. Typically recommedation for kittens is wet feed on a schedule four times a day with dry food out between feedings.

Usually, sometime between seven months and eighteen months is when you need to start paying attention to feeding amounts and transitioning to a solid feeding schedule with measured amounts. It's a wide window because it varies depending on kitten. Most cats will be right around a year old when they need some measure of portion control. You'll know it's time when she stops growing longer/taller and is filling out with muscles. At that point you need to figure out her calories to maintain weight and keep her there. Of course, there are adjustments as they get older but a mindful owner can help their cat maintain a healthy weight.

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, my goodness, she IS adorable!!

These might help too
Kitten Development Stages - Illustrated Guide

The Essentials Of Kitten Nutrition

When To Spay Or Neuter A Cat?

First-time Cat Owner's Guide

 

[PaleFreckles24]

Oh, my goodness, she IS adorable!!

These might help too
Kitten Development Stages - Illustrated Guide

The Essentials Of Kitten Nutrition

When To Spay Or Neuter A Cat?

First-time Cat Owner's Guide

Thank you for your reply! I guess I should've specified, I have a cat but I got him after his kitten stage. We will be getting her spayed as soon as she is big enough to handle the surgery. I've read on multiple sites that they need to weigh at least two pounds to be spayed or neutered, and we might wait until she's a little bigger than that just in case. Its worth noting that she is strictly inside and her brother (my other cat) was neutered years ago.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Kieka]

Thank you for your reply! I guess I should've specified, I have a cat but I got him after his kitten stage. We will be getting her spayed as soon as she is big enough to handle the surgery. I've read on multiple sites that they need to weigh at least two pounds to be spayed or neutered, and we might wait until she's a little bigger than that just in case. Its worth noting that she is strictly inside and her brother (my other cat) was neutered years ago.

Health wise, spaying before the first heat does reduce cancer risks. That is usually around the six month mark but can be earlier. Cats don't have the same "wait for growth" item that large breed dogs do so there really isn't any reason to wait past the safe point (so anywhere between two pounds and four months old is my ideal target range, safe to do and before first heat). Anecdotes about early spay impacting chances for UTI have not held out in studies. There is minimal impact on overall growth with an early spay; since it affects hormones there is some impact but not significant.

I do prefer private practice vets for female pets spays even though it costs more then clinics. Just because of personal bad experiences with the clinics where they are doing a lot of procedures very quickly plus there is more after procedure support with your regular vet then a clinic. The downside is some private practices won't do until six months which does increase the risk for a first heat before the spay. But again, this is my personal preference. I know plenty of cats go to clinics with absolutely no problems.