New kitten is obsessed with food and sometimes pees in randomly in random places

[McMims]

Hi! We just adopted a new 3 month old kitten, Kota. She's a total cuddle bug and loves to cuddle, purring all the time. Such a sweetheart! She's only had two issues that I don't have experience dealing with:

#1: She's OBSESSED with food! She came from a feral mom who had a litter of 8 kittens. They were all found when she was about 2 months old and the foster agency said they were all starving We feed her 3 times a day Stella & Chewy freeze-dried raw in the total daily amount listed for kittens her size. Also give her treats in between feedings. She gobbles every drop in ....what seems less than a few minutes (in a slow feeder bowl at that). I can't leave dry food out for her to "graze" on because she will eat ALL of it in one gulp. She constantly meows anytime we're in the kitchen now (she's learned all the food magic happens in there). We have another 3 year old cat, Asia, that is a picky grazer and only wants/eats dry. We can't leave Asia's food out at all anymore. We have to put Kota, the kitten, in another room so our big girl can eat. We also have to put her in another room when my husband and I sit down to eat our meals because she constantly jumps up trying to get at our plates. When she's in the room she yowls until she's out again. As soon as she comes out she RUNS straight to wherever she saw food last. Vet says no medical issues so I'm hoping this is just a phase from being starved and she will get over it in time? It breaks my heart how she seems so stressed about food

ANY Advice on how to handle a food obsessed kitten?

#2: She sometimes pees in random places She is litter box trained and knows where all the boxes are. She uses the litter boxes to both poo and pee. She has a tendency to pee in corners of the room she's playing in or on papers or textured clothes. Not in the same spot or particular place either. It hasn't happen a lot but I don't want it to become her norm. It's almost as if she's in the middle of play time and has the urge to go but simply doesn't feel like going to her boxes. She finds the closest corner or piece of paper and pees. I'm hoping it's just her age but has anyone experienced this? Do we really need to put a box in EVERY corner of EVERY room?

 

[hopscotch]

Kota sounds really sweet. I would think this could be a security issue for her since she was found to be starving. Perhaps try loving her up so she feels extra security?

 

[sunny578]

I might experiment with feeding her more! She is so young, and probably going through growth spurts. She will probably still have anxiety around food, but it might help a little.

I bet the urinating thing just has to do with her age. Is she spayed? I probably would get a few other small litter boxes and put them in the corners of her most frequented rooms. Some of the small ones are really cheap, and you could plan on donating them when she's a little older. Even though she is young, you are right--you don't want it to become a habit.

Keep us posted!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. A kitten at that age needs to be able to eat when they want. As Kola ages, you can gradually put her on a schedule, but for now her tummy schedule doesn't necessarily coincide with your desired feeding schedule. She is probably gobbling up her food for this reason and wants to make sure she eats all that she is being given because she knows she won't get any more, even if she is hungry, until you put more out for her. Set a small amount of food out for her to graze on - and add a few more pieces after she has gulped those down. At first, she will very likely eat whatever you put down each and every time (so don't make it a lot), but that will subside when she realizes that she can have food when she wants it. And sometimes 3 meals a day is just not enough times in one day for such a young kitten - so, try splitting up her meals into 4 instead of 3.

If your kitten has free roam of the house, then be prepared to block off access to other parts of the house while she is in a specific location - ideally where you are at - and make sure a litter box or two are in that location. You can move the boxes as you move with her through the home. Given her current, but likely temporary, pee issues, she really is too young not to have a fair amount of supervision.

Having her confined to given locations in the household throughout the day will also enable you to allow Asia more frequent trips to her own bowl.

 

[LTS3]

Hi! We just adopted a new 3 month old kitten, Kota. She's a total cuddle bug and loves to cuddle, purring all the time. Such a sweetheart! She's only had two issues that I don't have experience dealing with:

#1: She's OBSESSED with food! She came from a feral mom who had a litter of 8 kittens. They were all found when she was about

ANY Advice on how to handle a food obsessed kitten?

Totally normal for any kitten Kittens have huge appetites because they're growing so much. Free feed the kitten as much as she will eat until she's about a year old. Kittens can't get fat.

The Stella and Chewy's freeze dried raw is fine but it's going to be expensive with a growing hungry kitten. A bag won't last a week. I suggest adding canned food in the diet. A few small meals of canned along with a freeze dried meal or two should be plenty but adjust the amounts if your kitten is still hungry. You can switch over completely to freeze dried raw or any other type of raw diet when the kitten is a year old or continue to include some canned.

Since the adult cat won't eat canned, you can leave canned food out for the kitten to eat when hungry between meals. You can use a programmable timed feeder such as this one.

Limit the treats to once in awhile, not between every single meal. Some cats get addicted to eating treats.

#2: She sometimes pees in random places

How long have you had the kitten for? Kittens forget where the litter boxes are sometimes and will just go wherever is convenient. Be sure to clean up any urine spot with an enzyme cleaner. How many litter boxes do you have?