My kitten seems to be hungry all the time

DaizyMae

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I have a persian kitten that is underweight when I adopt him. Fast forward, he is now 6 months old and I try to keep him in a good weight range. He’s around 6.5-7lbs and I feed him around 250 Calories/day. I also give him around 20 Calories worth of treats daily. However, he always seems hungry (hanging around his food bowl, meowing) and I feel like I don’t feed him enough. I’ve tried to feed him 300 Calories/day and he gains weight way too fast. Any opinion on this? Thx!
 

rubysmama

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With kittens, the general rule is to let them eat as much as they want, until they are about 1 year old, as they are growing and need lots of calories. But all cats are different, of course.

Here's a TCS article that might be helpful: How Much Food Should I Feed My Cat? – TheCatSite Articles

Plus these ones:
What Do I Need To Know About Feeding My Cat? – TheCatSite Articles
How To Choose The Right Food For Your Cat – TheCatSite Articles
Choosing The Right Food For Your Cat – Part 2 – TheCatSite Articles
 

Nice Loki

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What food are you feeding him?
Does the food have vegetable protein or vegetable by-products or any kind of grain filler?
The quality of cat foods vary enormously between ranges and brands, with some being so low in animal protein that they really are questionable.

If he isn't getting enough animal protein then he could be still really hungry.

The poorer quality cat foods are really not much better than junk food.
 
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DaizyMae

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I mainly feed him pate for kittens and also minced wet food mixed in with some kibble. The brands are Fancy feast and Nulo. Sorry I don’t know much about ingredients but I think these brands are not too bad. I’ve tried feeding him food with simple ingredients (just shredded chicken with a little broth in a bag) and he got diarrhea for a week. So I just stay with those 2 brands.
 

LTS3

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Fancy Feast pates are ok to feed. How many of the 3 oz cans are you feeding daily? I'm guessing at least 3 or 4.

You can feed a food that is labeled "for all life stages" to your kitten. You have to read the teeny tiny AAFCO statement on the label. 6 month olds kittens are still growing so they need all the food they can get. They can't get fat and a bit of weight gain isn't a problem at all for them. Around a year old is when you really want to start counting calories and feeding enough to maintain a healthy weight.

Most people stick with grain-free foods. Some try to avoid feeding gums and other fillers.


I'd limit the treats to maybe once or twice a week instead of every day. Some brands of treats are awfully addicting to cats.


I’ve tried feeding him food with simple ingredients (just shredded chicken with a little broth in a bag) and he got diarrhea for a week.

If the only ingredients are meat and broth / gravy with nothing else, those foods are not complete diets. They are treat foods.
 
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DaizyMae

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Fancy Feast pates are ok to feed. How many of the 3 oz cans are you feeding daily? I'm guessing at least 3 or 4.

You can feed a food that is labeled "for all life stages" to your kitten. You have to read the teeny tiny AAFCO statement on the label. 6 month olds kittens are still growing so they need all the food they can get. They can't get fat and a bit of weight gain isn't a problem at all for them. Around a year old is when you really want to start counting calories and feeding enough to maintain a healthy weight.

Most people stick with grain-free foods. Some try to avoid feeding gums and other fillers.

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I'd limit the treats to maybe once or twice a week instead of every day. Some brands of treats are awfully addicting to cats.





If the only ingredients are meat and broth / gravy with nothing else, those foods are not complete diets. They are treat foods.
I feed him 3 cans of 3oz/day and I admit that I do give him a lot of treats. I teach my cat to do tricks (he can do 8) and he’s really looking forward to doing tricks to get treats every day. It’s like the most exciting time of the day for him. Thanks for the insight on food ingredients. I really need to do more readings on that!
 

LTS3

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What brand of treats do you use? Some of the big name brands are pretty unhealthy. Many people here prefer to give freeze dried meat or fish treats.

Rawz is probably the highest quality brand of dry and canned out there. It is expensive and sold at at limited authorized pet stores and online sites. Most chain pet stores sell good quality affordable brands these days. I feed my cats raw but keep some canned Instinct and Weruva on hand. Both are good brands IMO.
 
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