Kitten Eating Too Fast?

[florine]

Hello! I have a beautiful kitten who is almost five months old. She's incredibly energetic (of course!) And she likes to cuddle when she's tired. There's only one problem I'm having with her-- her insatiable appetite.

I'm feeding her 2 cans of Fancy feast kitten wet food a day, the cans say to give one can for every 3 pounds and Juniper is about 5 pounds, so the two cans should be enough, right?

She also eats her food incredibly fast. I'd like to slow her down but the only tips I can find when I search it online is for dry food.

I guess I'm looking for two things-- validation that I'm not starving her like she's trying to convince me of, and ideas to get her eating slower? Or maybe some treats that she would have to take some time to eat? I've discovered she LOVES dehydrated rabbit ears and this occupy her for about 5-10 minutes, so just enough time to fill the dishwasher without her trying to lick all the dishes lol.

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[susanm9006]

Growing kittens need as much food as they will eat. So I would definitely supplement her wet food by leaving kibble out for her all the time.

 

[florine]

Growing kittens need as much food as they will eat. So I would definitely supplement her wet food by leaving kibble out for her all the time.

Thank you! I did have kibble out for her for the first month we had her, but we also have a 3 y/o cat who loves to get into the kibble herself... We were having trouble finding a solution to keeping the big girl out while the kitten could still get in.

 

[susanm9006]

If there is quite a difference in their size you might be able to use a big plastic lidded tub with a kitten sized entrance cut in it as a place for the kitten’s kibble. If the three year old isnt overweight I would just let her eat the kibble for a few months too. Or I suppose you could add another feeding for the kitten.

 

[maggie101]

Adding shredded chicken will make her eat slower. My cat Maggie insists on having shredded chicken mixed in her regular food every morning so it takes her 10 minutes to eat. She eats like a cardinal. Takes a bite then looks around. So easily distracted. I buy Miko online for shredded chicken

 

[florine]

Unfortunately when I had the kittens food in a box with a small hole cut out, my older cat would scratch at it relentlessly and knock it around to try and get the food... She would not let it go! So that's why we stopped giving the kitten kibble in the first place... And my older cat, Florine, is at a healthy weight but she definitely shouldn't gain any weight so I don't want to give her access to the kibble either... But I am concerned that Juniper isn't getting enough food!

 

[FetchingCat]

Kittens should be free fed. I've noticed (inadvertently discovered) that if you put wet food on a paper plate, the plate sort of slides around so the cat can't eat as fast.
As long as your grown up cat is active, I don't think free feeding her would cause too much weight gain.
We had a similar problem when the kitten needed kitten food and the 1 year old needed adult food. We ended up getting All Life Stages and free feeding dry to both. The older cat was basically a food vacuum when he was growing up but he slowed down a lot after the 1 year mark. I had never thought I'd see the day... haah

 

[FetchingCat]

Put wet food on a paper plate. It will slide around, making it harder to eat faster
If Big Cat is active, free feeding dry shouldn't cause weight gain

 

[FetchingCat]

Put wet food on a paper plate. It will slide around, making it harder to eat faster
If Big Cat is active, free feeding dry shouldn't cause weight gain

 

[FetchingCat]

Put wet food on a paper plate. It will slide around, making it harder to eat faster
If Big Cat is active, free feeding dry shouldn't cause weight gain

 

[maggie101]

Trixie puzzles! I use a pill cutter and cut up pieces of treats or use freeze dried treats.
Kept dropping ceramic bowls so I bought a whisker free bowl. It is almost flat

Expensive but worth it. $20.doesnt slide

 

[florine]

The paper plate is a good idea! I'll try that.

My big cat isn't super active, but I could try leaving kibble out and seeing how they do... I want my kitten to have all of the food she needs, and now I'm worried she hasn't been getting enough.

I think I'll go pick up some all life stages kibble and see how they do... I'd rather my big girl not get any kibble at all but if it's between that and kitten not getting enough, then kibble it is!

 

[maggie101]

My cat Peaches is bad about eating my other cats food so I have started letting her eat on the counter

 

[neely]

You may want to check out this Article also, scroll down to #13 dealing with gulpers: 18 Awesome Cat Feeding Tips By Thecatsite Staff Members
And the Eat Slow Bowl mentioned here: Fantastic Food And Water Dishes - A Product Guide (updated For 2019)

 

[RenM]

Indoor Hunting Feeder: Cat Food Dispenser | Doc & Phoebe’s Cat Co.

I put half of my cats kibble in a mouse that he has to actively attack to get food out of it. This could help both your kitten and adult cat get kibble without your adult cat putting on weight.