Kitten Has Increased Appetite??

[mmin]

I have a 3month old kitten that i've been feeding on both wet and dry royal canin kitten food.
I've been giving it around 40grams of dry food daily + 1 pouch of wet food. It's been going well, however these few days, i've noticed that he seems to finish all the dry food and half of the wet food pouch in one setting, (i split the wet food into 2 meals).

I only started getting concerned when I saw him eating random fluff from the carpets Should i stick to the feeding guidelines (30-50g of dry + 1 pouch) or should i feed him more because he's a growing kitten?

Also, not sure if his recent increased appetite is due to a side effect of a course of antibiotics he is on..?

 

[lalagimp]

feeding guidelines go out the window with kittens.
It's just a guide, not a rule.
depends on the cat, build, activity, genetics, if they are revving up for another growth spurt...
Feed them as much as they want. It's either pica, or he's hungry.

 

[tabbytom]

M mmin , please feed your kitten as much as he can eat at one sitting and feed him wet food 4-5 times a day.

At 3 months old, he is still very much a growing kitten that needs lots of proteins and nutrients from the wet food and wet food keeps him hydrated. Dry food are full of carbohydrates and they do not clean teeth and does not keep your kitten hydrated if he does not drink water.

When he reaches the growth spurt stage, he’ll tend to eat more and after that he’ll slow down and his food intake will taper down when he reaches 1year old (for normal breeds. Bigger breeds takes 2-4 years to reach maturity).

From 1 year old onwards, you’ll notice he’ll eat less amount and less frequent which is of no health concern unless he is not eating at all.

You can never overfeed a kitten. So go ahead and feed him till his heart content.

 

[Daisy6]

Good question! Welcome to TCS. What is your kitten's name?

It would be much easier to feed him 3 ounce cans than buy food in small pouches because that would give you a more accurate estimate of how much he eats each day (especially if it is pate). More important for kittens though is what they eat: it has to be high protein, moderate fat, and low carbohydrates.

 

[maggiedemi]

That might not be enough food. I'm not sure what 40 grams is because I use my measuring cups. My cats have always eaten over 6 ounces of food per day, but never more than 9oz. I'm not sure how to convert that to grams.

 

[Tillybug]

To give you an idea- my kitten is 4 months old and is free fed dry (probably eating about 1/2 cup) and currently eating about 4, 3oz cans of wet food per day. I swear Friday morning he woke up huge

 

[PASHAMARTLI]

at 3 months my kitten used to eat 3 x 85g pouches of wet food a day plus a bit of kitty milk daily. Not sure if youre giving enough food

 

[mmin]

i followed the feeding guide on the royal canin packet! which states around 35-50g of dry + 1 pouch, but for some reason, my kitten isn't particularly interested in treats? he is, occassionally, but more often than not, he doesn't even seem interested. i've been increasing the dry food a little.. not sure if that's enough?

at 3 months my kitten used to eat 3 x 85g pouches of wet food a day plus a bit of kitty milk daily. Not sure if youre giving enough food

 

[mmin]

M mmin , please feed your kitten as much as he can eat at one sitting and feed him wet food 4-5 times a day.

At 3 months old, he is still very much a growing kitten that needs lots of proteins and nutrients from the wet food and wet food keeps him hydrated. Dry food are full of carbohydrates and they do not clean teeth and does not keep your kitten hydrated if he does not drink water.

When he reaches the growth spurt stage, he’ll tend to eat more and after that he’ll slow down and his food intake will taper down when he reaches 1year old (for normal breeds. Bigger breeds takes 2-4 years to reach maturity).

From 1 year old onwards, you’ll notice he’ll eat less amount and less frequent which is of no health concern unless he is not eating at all.

You can never overfeed a kitten. So go ahead and feed him till his heart content.

ahh, he actually just went to the vet for his vaccine and the vet told me he's a little round, he's about 300grams more than he's supposed to be, and the vet told me to cut the food down.. haha. kinda confused : /

 

[tabbytom]

he's a little round, he's about 300grams

A little round is ok. As long as not heavily overweight. He’ll burn it off by running and playing.

I like me boy a little pudgy, so that he’s nice to hug.

 

[leechi]

ahh, he actually just went to the vet for his vaccine and the vet told me he's a little round, he's about 300grams more than he's supposed to be, and the vet told me to cut the food down.. haha. kinda confused : /

How did the vet determine that he’s 300 grams overweight? If it’s based on what an average kitten should weigh at that age, then I would disregard it. Cats are not all the same size. To make them all weigh the same, large cats would have to be starved, and small cats would have to be overweight.

Even if the vet assessed his body condition individually and isn’t using an arbitrary number, I still wouldn’t restrict a kitten’s food. His roundness might be him preparing for a growth spurt. However, if he has a distended belly that doesn’t go down, you might need to have him checked for parasites. That can also cause an increase in appetite.