Kitten Hasn't Gained Any Weight In Two Months.

[saleri]

So I have a 9 month female tuxedo kitten.


Estimated age of being born in August 14th based of her teeth.

She was very sick when I got her, and has being for a while, though mostly fine now.

So when I first took her to my current vet, we thought she was only 12 weeks old, vet estimated it was actually 16 weeks due to her adult teeth coming out. So that's where the estimate is from.

So she currently weighs around 6 pounds 10-13 ounces. She has being at this weight for almost 2 months at this point.

My vet thinks the weight is fine. But agrees it's just borderline being underweight.

So it seems like she really only eats once a day? I put food out for her in the morning, which she doesn't touch, and again during lunch, and again during dinner.

She seems to eat a bit during lunch, but only finishes it all during dinner.

She isn't losing weight I suppose, but she certainly hasn't gained any in two months.

I weight her every other day at night before her last meal.

Taking her into the vet on Tuesday cause she's shaking her head, and probably has some stuff again in her ears.

Any thoughts?

 

[Furballsmom]

Try different canned foods and different toppers, also you could try heating her food a little bit (be sure and mix it up if you microwave it so there aren't any hot spots).

Hopefully the vet is able to completely treat her issues

 

[saleri]

Try different canned foods and different toppers, also you could try heating her food a little bit (be sure and mix it up if you microwave it so there aren't any hot spots).

Hopefully the vet is able to completely treat her issues

Tried all that, no luck.

 

[catsknowme]

Glad that you are taking her to the vet! Are you feeding her wet food? If she has a common chronic health problem, such as feline herpes, she may have mouth sores & eating dry kibble will hurt. On the other hand, if it is her ears, she could feel nauseous.
Before her vet appointment, I would do some detective work. First, the litter box; are the stools soft, dry, runny, well-formed, what is the color, how often & when does she go, any scooting or excessive licking afterwards?; how is urination, amount & frequency?; does she have adequate water intake? What are her preferred foods (soft, dry, both)? Does she have any trouble swallowing?
It may be that she will be a petite cat. My daughter's 2 female kittens weigh only 7 pounds but their brothers are 11#and 12# respectively. They are all spayed and neutered.

 

[saleri]

Glad that you are taking her to the vet! Are you feeding her wet food? If she has a common chronic health problem, such as feline herpes, she may have mouth sores & eating dry kibble will hurt. On the other hand, if it is her ears, she could feel nauseous.
Before her vet appointment, I would do some detective work. First, the litter box; are the stools soft, dry, runny, well-formed, what is the color, how often & when does she go, any scooting or excessive licking afterwards?; how is urination, amount & frequency?; does she have adequate water intake? What are her preferred foods (soft, dry, both)? Does she have any trouble swallowing?
It may be that she will be a petite cat. My daughter's 2 female kittens weigh only 7 pounds but their brothers are 11#and 12# respectively. They are all spayed and neutered.

Wet, dry, raw, anything.

Maybe it's her eyes, but this problem has being going on for a while.

Litter box has always being perfect.

Water intake is good.

A petite cat is possible, but to stop gaining weight completely at 7 month is odd.

 

[duckpond]

It is a bit odd that she quit growing that young, but as long as the vet says she is healthy i wouldn't worry. A good vet visit, with blood work and a dental exam is a good start.

I have a little black girl cat that never has eaten much. She is about a 7lb, dainty little thing. sometimes i worry because she looks skinny. But vet said she is healthy, its just her body type. She has one spot she eats wet food, all my guys have different wet food stations. she hops up there 4 or 5 times a day to eat when im home, but she never eats more than a spoon full or so at a time. I waste a lot of food because of her She also has Dr. Elseys dry food available all the time, i see her eat a few bites here and there, just not very food motivated.

Feed her what she likes, frequently. And as long as her vet visits are good, then dont worry. Cats come in all sizes

 

[catsknowme]

My daughter's kittens stopped gaining at about about 6-7 months. They were spayed at 7mos.They are plump looking but small framed. They ate Royal Canin BabyCat followed by RC kitten canned/NutroMax kitten canned; RC Kitten and then Purina ONE kitten. Now they eat a blend of 4Health grain-free and Purina ONE chicken selects kibble and Fancy Feast/Friskies canned.

 

[duckpond]

Lovely girl and baby cats

 

[orange&white]

My kitty, Farrell, is also small but plump looking. Her weight gain and appetite markedly decreased right around 7 months.

I tracked her food daily and weighed her weekly while she was a kitten.
She grew quickly and ate like a little horse from 4 months to 7 months. Her weight increased from 4 pounds to 8 pounds.

Between 7-9 months, she only gained 1/2 pound to 8.5 pounds. Between 9 months and 1 year she topped out at 9 pounds. Only 1 pound gain her last 5 months of kittenhood.

The vet was happy with her overall health at her 1-year exam and vax.

I think it's just genetics. Some cats keep growing for several years, and some don't.

 

[ArchyCat]

I adopted what appeared to be a half Abyssinian (partially ruddy fur, with ticked hair) female that had been rescued. She had been a pet, apparently escaped during first heat cycle, she was rescued pregnant off the street. I adopted er fro the local P.A.W.S. group. She never weighed more than 5.5 lbs. One of the sweetest, affectionate cats I have ever had,

Good luck with your girl.

 

[Monk'sMom]

I've had many cats, and never encountered this issue of a small/stop-gaining-in-size-and-weight-early sort of cat, until our latest addition.
Nougat weighs seven pounds and is mistaken for a kitten all the time. She's about a year old now. She's also a choosy eater who eats less than any cat I have known. Other than Fancy Feast, (she'd gobble that, but it gives her diarrhea so we stopped giving it to her) she only eats wet food if the bowl is held under her nose, and then only a bit at a time.
Like Furballsmom said, try tempting your kitty with tasty food. Otherwise, if vet isn't worried, you may accept you've got a wee-one, just as we have.

(Our seven-pound Nougat^. She looks impressive in the photo my daughter took, but seeing her next to our other cats she's half the size frame-wise and weight.)

 

[saleri]

I've had many cats, and never encountered this issue of a small/stop-gaining-in-size-and-weight-early sort of cat, until our latest addition.
Nougat weighs seven pounds and is mistaken for a kitten all the time. She's about a year old now. She's also a choosy eater who eats less than any cat I have known. Other than Fancy Feast, (she'd gobble that, but it gives her diarrhea so we stopped giving it to her) she only eats wet food if the bowl is held under her nose, and then only a bit at a time.
Like Furballsmom said, try tempting your kitty with tasty food. Otherwise, if vet isn't worried, you may accept you've got a wee-one, just as we have.

(Our seven-pound Nougat^. She looks impressive in the photo my daughter took, but seeing her next to our other cats she's half the size frame-wise and weight.)

Very nice photo!

 

[rgwanner]

If the vet says there are no problems she may just be a small cat I had a cat once who ate but never weighed more than 4 or 5 pounds She was a rescue from an abusive home and lived to be about 10 I had all kinds of tests done and everything was always negative. Hope she is OK

 

[saleri]

If the vet says there are no problems she may just be a small cat I had a cat once who ate but never weighed more than 4 or 5 pounds She was a rescue from an abusive home and lived to be about 10 I had all kinds of tests done and everything was always negative. Hope she is OK

Huh, got any pictures of her?

Yeah I guess, just worried about her eating at this point.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Just in case there's something here,
There's goat milk, kitten glop - lots of recipes on the internet, tuna, mackerel, salmon, kitten milk replacer powder or liquid, bonito flakes, fortiflora as a topper, shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled dry treats, crumbled freeze dried treats, unflavored gelatin.
There's also animal essentials plant enzymes and probiotic if you're interested, to help her digestive system function as well as possible.

 

[catsknowme]

Lovely girl and baby cats

Thank you! That is my disabled daughter & her cats are very important to her. She has a severe speech impediment that interferes with her social skills& is physically unable to sign. As you can see, her 2 girl cats combined are only 14 lbs and she can carry both at once.

 

[StefanZ]

Some females are petite, and if its the case, 6+ pounds is really good for an petite female...

You had got some suggestion, I will second the suggestion of raw goats milk + some vitamine paste as an improvement.

You can also give some pedialyte as part of her drinking water, to maximize the energy intake.

 

[jen]

My cat has been about 7lbs her whole life and she is now 15 years old. Some cats are just tiny. If the vet ruled out any health concerns she seems to be regulating herself and has topped out at a smaller size. I would get a baby scale, or a regular one and weigh her regularly and as long as she isn't losing weight she is obviously just fine. Anything is better then an overweight cat so I would just stick to weighing her. That is the only definite way to know that she is eating properly.

 

[saleri]

Yeah I'll just see what the vet says.