I adopted a kitten from a shelter about a month ago, and she's always hungry! She cries for food, perpetually, and devours whatever I give her. If I'm not home when she's hungry, she steals food. For example, I had a pack of blueberry muffins on the counter, and when I came home yesterday she had gotten them open and eaten two entire muffins. Despite this, she's very small- around five and a half pounds when we got her spayed about 2 weeks ago. I feed wet food (wellness core kitten and blue wilderness kitten) basically as often as she cries for it, and there is always wellness core dry (adult) available for her to eat (I have an adult tom cat as well- I can't leave the dry kitten food down all the time because he eats it and consequently put on some weight.) She's apparently a normal healthy weight for her size, the vet says she's "petite" and we have dewormed her twice. Is this normal? Should I feed her as often as she wants?
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Six month kitten always hungry???
- Thread starter musicnl12
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Absolutely. lt sounds like she's truly hungry. What are you feeding her, and how much?
Kittens should be fed kitten-specific, high protein, moderate fat, low carb (preferably wet) food, 3 to 4 times a day.
Their appetite naturally tapers at 10 or 11 months but until then they're very active and growing quickly.
Kittens should be fed kitten-specific, high protein, moderate fat, low carb (preferably wet) food, 3 to 4 times a day.
Their appetite naturally tapers at 10 or 11 months but until then they're very active and growing quickly.
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i would say no, don't feed her as often as she wants because cats will never say no to food, whenever they can have some they will eat.
perhaps she just really really likes the food you're giving her. and always wants more cos its yummy. or maybe another worm, or maybe she plays alot and burns lots of energy, but also kittens need to grow so it is okay if she eats more than the adult cat.
maybe you can distract her with toys so she plays or with petting.
as long as she is full like she should be, there is no reason to feed her more otherwise you might end up overfeeding her and she will become obese.
perhaps she just really really likes the food you're giving her. and always wants more cos its yummy. or maybe another worm, or maybe she plays alot and burns lots of energy, but also kittens need to grow so it is okay if she eats more than the adult cat.
maybe you can distract her with toys so she plays or with petting.
as long as she is full like she should be, there is no reason to feed her more otherwise you might end up overfeeding her and she will become obese.
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She's eating wellness core (kitten) and blue wilderness (kitten) prob about 4+ ounces a day, plus she always has access to wellness core adult dry food (she shares this with my tom cat- having issues putting the kitten dry food out, my big tom eats it and has consequently put on a little weight!)
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i don't think you should, and since the vet said she is okay, then you shouldn't
I would go with what your vet recommends. Cats are like people; they have different body sizes. My cat is 15 lbs, which to some people is obese, but to my large-boned and muscled kitty, my vet says he's just on the high end of normal side.
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I guess she just looks so small next to my twelve and a half pound cat. I have a vet check up/vaccine appt on Friday, I guess I'll ask then- I just wasn't sure what to do in the mean time. I am also curious to see if she's gained any weight. 5.5 pounds is just so tiny to me.
Seconded (thirded?
).
My youngest ate upwards of 8 oz a day when he was growing. At 11 months his appetite slowed way down and he now eats only 4 or 5 oz. He's slim at 9.2lbs.
They will grow to be the size they were meant to be if fed appropriately.
Good food choices btw
Which dewormer did they use? Maybe they just treated for roundworms?
My youngest ate upwards of 8 oz a day when he was growing. At 11 months his appetite slowed way down and he now eats only 4 or 5 oz. He's slim at 9.2lbs.
They will grow to be the size they were meant to be if fed appropriately.
Good food choices btw
Which dewormer did they use? Maybe they just treated for roundworms?
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I'll ask at the vet on Friday. Maybe she does have worms! She's very active and bright, her coat has developed a lovely sheen (it was very dull when we first got her.) her pre op blood work was also fine (before he spay.) I'm not sure what she was being fed before we got her, but I am thinking cat food (not kitten.) maybe she's just growing! In the mean time, any suggestions to keep her off the counter and table? [emoji]128533[/emoji] she's definitely eating things that aren't good for cats...
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My almost 6 month old kitten has been eating 7-9 ounces of wet a day plus about 1/8 cup of dry at night. Yes, feed her whenever she is hungry. They grow like crazy as kittens. When she hits 1 year, you can start controlling amounts (or slightly sooner if she's looking overweight). 4 ounces sounds like too little. She may just require small feelings more often.
4 ounces of wet food a day for a 5.5 pound kitten is not nearly enough. Feeding instructions usually say 3/4-1 ounce per pound of body weight for adult cats and double that for kittens. So a 5.5 pound kitten should be getting closer to 8-10 ounces a day. Since you're feeding kitten food you could reduce that amount a little. Blue Wilderness kitten food is slightly higher in calories than the adult cat food. Wellness Core kitten and adult food are almost exactly the same. I know it's difficult (impossible) with multiple cats sharing the dry food, but can you tell how much of it she's actually eating?
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Sorry to inject myself into this thread, but I was just wondering the same about my kitten, who is just over 6 months old. He is nearly 8 pounds, and eats around 12 ounces a day, 100% canned diet. It struck me as a bit much, and I was worried I was overfeeding him. Especially as he's an indoor cat and would get less physical exercise than an outdoor/indoor. Do my numbers sound about right?
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