I just got my first kitten, Bastet, almost two weeks ago. She is a Devon Rex and is 15 weeks old. She weighs just barelyyyyy 2 pounds, so she's a tiny little thing. Despite being so small, her appetite is HUGE! You would think I was starving her, with the way she meows and basically attacks anything she thinks is edible (I cant even eat my own food around her because she WILL try and climb up my arm to get to the food in my hand). I am feeding her Primal freeze dried nuggets, chicken and salmon, and she loves it of course. She would eat it dry if I let her, but I make sure to rehydrate it so she's getting more water intake. Recommended water addition is 1 tablespoon for every nugget, I usually add a little bit more, like 1.5-2 tablespoons so its just on the edge of being soupy. I feed her three times day usually, unless I know im going to be gone all day and in that case she gets two meals. I'm a student and also have a job so there are some times where I simply cant make it home for lunch to give her that third middle meal. Some days I end up feeding her at normal dinner hours and then again late at night before I go to sleep, since im not usually in bed until late.
I've been giving her half a nugget in the morning, half a nugget in the afternoon, and then a full nugget for "dinner". I was wondering if that seemed like enough? The Primal food calculator says I should be feeding just one nugget a day, so I'm already doubling the amount they say. Since I got her, she's definitely developed more of a stomach and filled out a bit. I know kittens are supposed to be able to eat as much as they want, but I think if I truly let her, she would eat until her stomach exploded lol. My vet just told me to switch to a kitten specific canned or dry food, and then let her free feed on as much dry food as possible (while giving me a sample bag of science diet, of course). I have a dog who is just as much of a chow hound so free feeding where he could get at it is a huge no for me. I also am worried about cost, since the bag of primal is 30 dollars on amazon and if I have to buy a bag more than once a month its going to get expensive!
I've been giving her half a nugget in the morning, half a nugget in the afternoon, and then a full nugget for "dinner". I was wondering if that seemed like enough? The Primal food calculator says I should be feeding just one nugget a day, so I'm already doubling the amount they say. Since I got her, she's definitely developed more of a stomach and filled out a bit. I know kittens are supposed to be able to eat as much as they want, but I think if I truly let her, she would eat until her stomach exploded lol. My vet just told me to switch to a kitten specific canned or dry food, and then let her free feed on as much dry food as possible (while giving me a sample bag of science diet, of course). I have a dog who is just as much of a chow hound so free feeding where he could get at it is a huge no for me. I also am worried about cost, since the bag of primal is 30 dollars on amazon and if I have to buy a bag more than once a month its going to get expensive!