When do Kittens start eating less?

2crazykittens

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So for the last week my one kitten has been eating less and seems less enthusiastic about meal time than he used to be about a week ago. He will be officially a 1 year old June 2nd (6 weeks). I thought he was 10 months old but I just looked at his adoption papers and I was mistaken by a month.
His weight is a healthy 9lbs maybe a little more and he seems to be a happy healthy kitten. His mate is also 11 months old and will be 1 year a week after Mumsy.

They have been offered 3 meals a day every day since they were adopted, they were always hungry and gobbled up their meals in their entirety. They were being offered up to 9 oz of food a day and now one of the kittens is really slowing down in the amount he want to consume in a day. He seems to be able to handle around 5-6oz a day for the most part. His pal still gladly eats up all the meals offered and will also eat the other cats unfinished meal if I have not come into pick it up first.

As I stated before in another post, the boys are offered raw as part of their diet, maybe around 30% if they eat it all and a grain free canned food. I would just like to know what is considered normal intake daily for a cat of almost 1 year. Is 5- 6oz enough food? Everything seems normal otherwise with both cats, just the whole eating less thing kinda stumps me, more so because the other cat is still eating like he did when he was 6 months.


So when do kittens finally slow in their eating habits? My vet is of no help on the subject, when I called they just said to read the instructions on the pet food bag and that they did not recommend the diet I feed them.
Not helpful at all.

I am new at raising kittens, the whole experience has been very interesting. Just wish there was more information as to what to expect as they change into adult cats.

On another note, both kittens are around 9lbs and both neutered males. One kitten is a orange tabby, the other a domestic medium hair. What is a normal adult weight for male cats in general? Will they gain more weight as they continue to mature even if they start to eat less food?

Any information is always appreciated, I am such a noobie at kitten raising and this is a great site to pick the brains of experience cat owners!
 

stephanietx

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They're really getting to be adult kittens, so they're kind of like older teens.  I'd be a bit concerned about the one's decrease in appetite, though.  Have you changed what you're feeding?
 
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2crazykittens

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They just started getting a little raw primal pheasant formula, they are not too crazy about it though. I offer more canned though and he still does not seem too interested in eating it all. They loved the Turkey though. I was trying to rotate the flavors. Other than that they eat Fancy Feast Classic formulas since they are grain free.

He does eat, but just not as much as he used to. He usually eats most if not all of his meal in the morning, but he doesn't really want to eat as much of his dinner. He also will eat his bedtime meal, he eats most or all of it.

He is acting totally normal other than the change in eating habits.
He has not lost any weight either.
 
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lucentstreak

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I don't know... but could it be the weather? I noticed Hugo tends to eat less when it started to get warm.
 

stephanietx

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I'd cut out the mid-day meal and see how that goes.  You might also look into some different grain-free canned food such as Wellness or Innova EVO.
 

jclark

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It depends entirely on their weight, activity level, and whether they are intact. The recommended feedings on pet food packages is the best starting point but keep in mind the amounts listed are usually for cats who have not been spade/neutered. As a result you may have to cut back on the listed amount if you notice too much weight gain.
 

lisahe

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Our two (spayed female) cats are about a year and two months old and they started slowing down about a month or so ago. They still eat a lot and are very active but they don't swarm me in the kitchen first thing in the morning to beg for food. (For that I am grateful!) They also seem to have days when they eat a little more and days when they eat a little less. That might be partly because they have a variety of canned foods in their rotation; they eat a fairly set amount of raw food and like that best. (Like yours, raw is usually 1/3-1/2 of their diet. It's also mostly Primal, and I make various mixes of frozen and freeze-dried.) They're happy as long as there's variety.

All in all, despite the slight variations in how much they eat, it seems they're the right sizes -- the vet was very happy with their weights and sizes a month ago -- and have far more stable eating habits than before. That's a relief because they ate so voraciously during their first couple months with us, when they were underfed 10-month-old kittens!
 
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2crazykittens

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This morning seemed to go well. I came in with the usual half can of Fancy Feast ea and 1 nugget of raw ea for both boys. Mumsy ate most of his meal leaving around less of 1/4 of an oz left uneaten. Simon ate all of his and ended up pushing Mumsy out of his bowl to eat what he had.
That has always been a big problem for us, Simon is always pushing Mumsy out of his dinner bowl and Mumsy just steps aside. I usually have to come in and move Simon out of the bowl and try to offer it again to Mumsy to finish, but sometime by that point he is no longer interested.


I was thinking about cutting out the mid day meal @stephanietx, hoping that might drive up his appetite. But I still end up offering something because I am still feeding Simon something since he is always hungry. I just let Mumsy nibble if he wants to. I will start to offer only canned for him since he usually wastes the raw.

@JClark both boys are at 9lbs give or take. They are very healthy looking and are neutered. I was trying to go with the feeding guidelines on the pet food label but it got harder to do once I started feeding some raw in their diet. When the first were adopted, the were fed by the foster home free fed kibble and a tsp of canned. When they moved in with me I removed the kibble and fed wet only. They were eating Friskies wet, 3 cans between the two of them a day. That gave them roughly 270 calories each daily and 8.25 oz ea.  They seemed to do well with that. Then Simon started to display skin allergies. I decided to change them over to grain free and a little raw. I chose Fancy feast classics to start because I could afford that. I also got them on the Primal frozen turkey formula. That changed the amount they were eating. I started to split 3 cans a day between them and they also were fed 2oz of raw each a day. This brought the calorie intake to around 230-250 calories a day ea and 6.5-7 oz of food a day. Mumsy just does not want to eat that much anymore, just seems to need right around the 5.5-6oz mark.


They both have slowed a little in the activity they once had. They both sleep more and seem to reserve playtime for the evening when they are out roaming the house. Some nights though, they still would rather just sleep or take it easy sitting at a window and trying to catch a bug or 2.


Simon still acts the same when it comes to food, he has always been a little hoover and will eat anything and everything in sight. I am sure if I were to let them free feed he would be pretty large by now considering he can't stop himself from pigging out. Mumsy has always been the complete opposite though, he does stop eating once he is full, he's a slow eater which only helps Simon steal his food too.

I just want to make sure they are getting enough food, with Simon he is always hungry so I never know with him but Mumsy seems to be letting me know that he is satisfied with the amount. What is a normal weight for a male cat at 12 months? Should they continue to gain at this point? 9 lbs seems like a good weight for a female but I always though males were a little heavier in and around a pound or two more.
 

stephanietx

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You may be onto something with Mumsy.  The other kitty has learned that it doesn't matter if he finishes because Mumsy will.  I patrol my cats as they eat.  When they are done if there is anything left, I quickly pick it up and place it in the microwave or the oven so the others can't get to it.  I set the timer for 15 mins, then offer it again hopefully without the intrusion of the other kitties.
 
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