Nervous Mom - Is Kitten Eating Enough?

[beckbjj]

My adopted formerly feral barn kittens have overcome their ear mite issues nicely, so now I of course have another worry. They are presumed to have been born around May 10, so are estimated to be 7 weeks now.

The boy (Indy, the black one pictured) eats like a horse and is 2.25 pounds, having gained about 15 ounces since I adopted them on June 7. The girl (MJ, the brown one pictured) weighs only 1.87 pounds and has only gained about 10.67 ounces since June 7. Her build is a little more petite than Indy's, but not all that much.

I worry that she's not eating enough. She doesn't seem very "into" their food, which is Fancy Feast Kitten, turkey flavor. She'll eat a bit, then smack, and walk away. She seems to still want formula, but the plan was for them to be off it by now. I have reintroduced a little poured on their food which does make her interested, but mainly just in licking off the formula. She does also eat a few pieces of clay non-clumping gravel litter, no matter how much I discourage her (I can't be with them 24/7 unfortunately).

That said, MJ has every bit as much energy as Indy, pouncing and playing and all that, and she definitely has normal poop every day. She doesn't feel or look thin, can't feel her ribs any more than his...I just compare their weights and worry something is wrong. It's not an issue I've ever faced before. Their 3.5 year old biological (also formerly feral barn kitten) sister Grace has always eaten more than everybody in the house combined, including me and my husband!

Is MJ's current weight at approx. 7 weeks of age, and weight gain for the past three weeks okay?
Do I need to give them bowls of formula like I did at first, just to get her to consume more calories? Or is pouring a tablespoon of formula over the canned food and hoping she eats both enough?

They saw the vet on June 9 and were given clean bill of health besides ear mites. Next vet appointment is July 7.

If I've done it right, I've included a pic of them conked out on the bathroom rug after a wild play session.

 

[amethyst]

It doesn't seem like that big of a difference to me, a 8 week old kitten should be around 2lbs, so they sound like they are right on track to me. The difference could just be her and her brother had growth spurts at slightly different times or he could just be a bigger cat. Are you weighting them regularly? if so is it a steady increase of weight or did it suddenly plateau? If it's a steady gain I wouldn't worry, but if the weight gain has suddenly slowed or stopped there could be a problem. So long as there is around a 3 oz weight gain a week she is likely getting enough.

As for the not wanting the food, some kittens aren't ready to be fully weaned until 8 weeks, so maybe she just isn't ready yet. Was the plan to have them weaned already your plan or what the vet told you to do? When I raised an orphaned litter (mother was killed when they were about 3 weeks old) I mixed the formula into the food until they were about 8 weeks old. You could also try different flavors if you can, I know kitten food doesn't generally have a lot of options, maybe she just doesn't like turkey.

 

[StefanZ]

They arent thin, the girl is even somewhat rounded, so they prob get OK amounts. Yet, you can vary the food more. And they are young enough to still have formula or goats milk as useful supplement.
I would suggest goats milk if you want to try something different and new.

 

[beckbjj]

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, I am weighing them and photographing the weigh-ins every Wednesday and every Sunday, because I'm crazy! LOL!!!

MJ hasn't plateaued on her weight gain, but I do think it's slowed down a bit since I tried to drop the formula. I have yet to find a vet anywhere around here that's truly up on nutrition. He kind of chuckled last time I talked to him by phone (when they were about 5.5 weeks) and told him they still wanted some formula in addition to the canned food. I will say that when biological sibling Grace was 5 weeks old, if I had come at her with some formula she would've laughed in my face, then ripped my arm off and ate it! But I'll keep reminding myself that every kitten is different, even within the same litter (these guys' other littermate is *giant*, relatively speaking) and it's all good as long as they're obviously healthy.

I was hoping that since they've never had anything other than mom's milk, formula, and FF Kitten Turkey, I could avoid problems with being finicky. I figured they can't know they don't like something if they've never had anything else, but that may be a bad theory. FF Kitten has a fish version, but I generally avoid fish as much as possible. Should I try that, or is that just a slippery slope leading to a cat that only wants fish?

As I'm sure everyone would agree, "free" kittens are actually pretty pricey, so I'm trying my best to stick to a price point around that of the Fancy Feast, while still going good quality and preferably grain free. Three of my four adults eat FF beef/poultry pates, the other eats a Dave's one that helps with urinary issues (cheaper than Hills c/d, much higher quality, and works just as well).

Big sis Grace used to have soft stools sometimes and I used to get her plain full fat goat milk yogurt which she loved and helped tremendously (plus I got to eat the leftovers, LOL). If MJ is still wanting formula when my current can runs out, maybe I'll see if she's into some goat milk.

Thanks again!

 

[beckbjj]

Just wanted to update this a little bit. First, to avoid any suspense, MJ and Indy are both doing great. Their third vet appointment and second round of shots is next week. MJ is still not as chunky and still doesn't eat as much as I'd prefer, but at now about 12 weeks old they're both getting a little lanky anyway.

I've now tried about 300 different kinds of canned cat food. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration...but only slight. Seriously, ask my husband, I bought one can of pretty much everything. Thankfully, neither of them really is into anything fish flavored. I've found a couple that MJ is kind of into, though she still prefers dry food which, had she not refused to eat wet, I would never have given them.

So, the victor in the finicky kitten flavor war is.... Royal Canin Instinctive Kitten Second Stage. I don't know what's in it, because the ingredient list print is too small for human eyes to read. I strongly suspect what's really in it is crack. But what little I can read of it...gross and terrible. And not only that, it's WAY more expensive (like, double) than other foods with better ingredients. NOT a food I ever would've chosen for them. But MJ actually devours it like absolutely nothing else, so what can I say, I'm happy!

 

[momof3b1g]

I noticed that my now 3 month old kittens had trouble eating some of the so called kitten food. So i would run it through a hand blender or chopper and add some water. The boy didnt care for the FF kitten as much as the girl did. HTH

 

[beckbjj]

Even though they're a little better about eating now that I've found a couple they apparently like, I may give the blender thing a shot, just because two of the ones they will eat, including the Royal Canin, are that really smooth pate, plus they were kinda into the couple jars of human baby food I tried in desperation. The other one, oddly, is Purina One Grain Free beef flavor (only the beef, not any of the others, and believe me I tried), which has a texture similar to most pate foods.