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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / June 2004questions about very hungry kitten
I've adopted a three-month-old DSH/Siamese mix kitten from the local shelter. Everything is going well, and she's getting along swimmingly with my two other cats. She weighed in at four pounds at the vet, but to look at her she seems smaller. She's in no danger of being overweight, which I suppose is typical for most shelter cats. She's basically eating everything that's not nailed down. I feed her three and a half 5.5 oz. cans of Nutro chicken and rice a day, which is about a full can ahead of their recommended serving. She eats in in six or seven servings over the course of a day. If I'm not timely with feeding her, she filches from the boys' dry food; otherwise, she shows a stunning indifference to dry, and has basically refused three different dry kitten foods I've tried. She had a bout of mild diarrhea when she first came home, but a worm test and smear at the vet confirmed she doesn't have any parasites or other intestinal afflictions. Should I just let her eat what she wants? Aside from wanting only canned food, she's not finicky at all: if Nutro made a wallboard and spackle flavor, I'd bet she'd eat it. No barfing or other gastric distress, just a very healthy appetite. When she eats, she usually cleans her plate, but doesn't rush or gulp, so I really doubt she's eating out of fear it will be taken away. She does leave some food from time to time, just not much nor often. At some point, do I need to start cutting her off? I got one of my other cats as a kitten at about the same age, but he liked dry food, and stayed pretty close to the recommended serving, so my experience is limited. This is not unusualy for a stray cat adopted from the shelter. I would feed many small feedings daily. I would not worry about over feeding her. My one year old cat (stray) did the same thing. He is beautiful now with silky coat and not over weight at all. Gail > I've adopted a three-month-old DSH/Siamese mix kitten from the local > shelter. Everything is going well, and she's getting along swimmingly [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > liked dry food, and stayed pretty close to the recommended serving, so > my experience is limited. Don't worry about it. She's a baby, she's growing, and she probably never before was in a position to eat as much wet food as she wanted too :> My recent adoptee was a not-quite two year old long-haired tuxedo who had been abandoned and was living with a feral colony when a kindhearted TNR'r noticed that she wasn't actually a feral cat and persuaded a "no-ferals" no kill shelter to take her. She too, was voracious for quite a while, and obsessed with wet food, which was presented to her 2x a day, an occasion which caused her to circle my feet, and cry out excitedly as the plate was lowered to the ground. It's been eight months and she is now about 1/2 wet food and 1/2 dry food and despite her scarfing in the early months, she's a healthy 10.1 lbs. She still loves receiving her wet food though. I'm not sure they ever fully get over the shelter experience. Even if she doesn't eat it, I think she's eternally grateful to recive it. She acts like having a plate of her own wet food everyday is the most amazing thing she's ever seen : > I've adopted a three-month-old DSH/Siamese mix kitten from the local > shelter. ... Bless you for adopting her. We want pictures! :') I agree with Gail, I'd let her eat what she wants, just watch her portions so that she doesn't gorge and get sick. She is adjusting to you and to her new home, you could send worse messages than "there is enough to eat and you don't have to fight over it." My skinny shelter girl also ate a lot, but settled down. She is full grown and has never weighed more than 8 pounds. Keep us posted! > Bless you for adopting her. We want pictures! :') Navigate to http://www.z28racer.net/ava for a modest collection. > > Bless you for adopting her. We want pictures! :') > > Navigate to http://www.z28racer.net/ava for a modest collection. OMG!! What a sweet little face! I love black and white cats. She is a beauty, and she looks so relieved to be there and so happy! Good job, and thanks for sharing. "Mary" <rosefan@email.com> wrote in news:OI6wc.14630$2o2.775191 @twister.southeast.rr.com: > OMG!! What a sweet little face! I love black and white cats. She is a > beauty, and she looks so relieved to be there and so happy! Good job, and > thanks for sharing. I don't mean to brag, but would you believe she's only been home for six days? If you look at http://www.z28racer.net/multicat, you can see that my "boys" Jack and Rizzo are taken with her already. > "Mary" <rosefan@email.com> wrote in news:OI6wc.14630$2o2.775191 . > I don't mean to brag This is the place to brag! She's wonderful. > but would you believe she's only been home for six > days? Wow, that is something. You have really made her feel safe. If you look at http://www.z28racer.net/multicat, you can see that my > "boys" Jack and Rizzo are taken with her already. I wish every introduction went this easy. How did you introduce them? "Mary" <rosefan@email.com> wrote in news:yr9wc.14003$tH1.395865 @twister.southeast.rr.com: > I wish every introduction went this easy. How did you introduce them? I brought her in the house in her carrier, and said "hey boys, look what I've got!" Jack and Rizzo ran over, excited at seeing a new kitty. I let her out, and the boys sniffed at her for a while. She, overwhelmed by two giant kitties, growled and hissed for a while. I think she mistook Rizzo's puffy tail for aggressiveness, so she gave him more of a hard time. Jack is pretty much unflappable. Within a few hours, there was detente. By the next day, there was playing. After two days, there was mutual grooming and affection. For the first five days, I kept her in her own room at night, both because I didn't want her to get into trouble in an unfamiliar house in the dark, and I wanted her to be very close to a litterbox, as she still had diarrhea. She's over both now, so she's chosen to sleep on my pillow. Jack and Rizzo are very friendly and outgoing, and very secure. They didn't feel threatened by the new kitty, so I have to give most of the credit to them. > "Mary" <rosefan@email.com> wrote in news:yr9wc.14003$tH1.395865 > @twister.southeast.rr.com: > > > I wish every introduction went this easy. How did you introduce them? > > I brought her in the house in her carrier, and said "hey >boys, look what I've got!" [...] Within a few hours, >there was detente. By the next day, there was playing. >After two days, there was mutual grooming and >affection. [...] Jack and Rizzo are very friendly and >outgoing, and very secure. They didn't feel threatened >by the new kitty, so I have to give most of the credit to >them. Well, clearly you have great boy cats, and have made them feel very safe and happy and loved. Kudos to you! I think in a way cats can mirror our own personalities. Mine tend to be neurotic (;>p). I wonder, too, if part of the smooth introduction has to do with her being a kitten and them being adults; and them being boys and her being a little girl. They might just catch that female scent and think "hmmm, future babe, wonder if she'd let us bathe her." :') In any case I am really happy for you and your cats. What a great family! >> Bless you for adopting her. We want pictures! :') > >Navigate to http://www.z28racer.net/ava for a modest collection. I ;pved the pix where she is standing on her hind feet looking out at the world. >> Bless you for adopting her. We want pictures! :') > > Navigate to http://www.z28racer.net/ava for a modest collection. She is ADORABLE. She looks great, too. As far as how much food goes, keep on feeding as much as she is eating. "Watch the cat, not the dish." If she starts to get pudgy then you can gradually back it down. But a little extra wouldn't hurt her, and it might not even be extra at this point. And it's really fantastic that you are able to break it down into 6 or 7 feedings a day -- very good work. I also *love* the other pictures with the other cat. The bigger black one is so cute!!  SignatureJess K. > I also *love* the other pictures with the other cat. The bigger black > one is so cute!! I have two other cats. The one in most of the pictures is Rizzo, who is a very furry Maine Coon mix. The one that looks just like Ava is Jack, who's Siamese in everything but coloring. circa Fri, 04 Jun 2004 21:04:39 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Rick Vigorous (rick@normanbombardini.hairloaf) said, > Navigate to http://www.z28racer.net/ava for a modest collection. That is one cute little kitten. :-) Laura SignatureExperience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. -Oscar Wilde > Should I just let her eat what she wants? Aside from wanting only > canned food, she's not finicky at all: I'd let her eat however much she wants unless she starts getting pudgie. Canned food is generally better for cats than dry (more moisture, better urinary health), so go ahead and go with it. Signature-- ~kaeli~ A man's home is his castle..., in a manor of speaking. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace I'd just give her whatever she wants. -- Barb Of course I don't look busy, I did it right the first time. >At some point, do I need to >start cutting her off? My own opinion is to give kittens as much as they want to eat. They need lots of calories and their tummies don't hold all that much at each meal anyway, so they need to eat frequently. The time to start cutting down is once she is close to adult (at least nine months old and with the Siamese in her, I'd say more like a year) and starts getting pudgy. But again, with the Siamese genes she may be one of those cats that can eat all they want and never gets fat, even as an adult. We have one like that. >From: Rick Vigorous rick@normanbombardini.hairloaf >I've adopted a three-month-old DSH/Siamese mix kitten from the local >shelter. Everything is going well, and she's getting along swimmingly >with my two other cats. Congrats! :) >Should I just let her eat what she wants? Aside from wanting only >canned food, she's not finicky at all: if Nutro made a wallboard and [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >liked dry food, and stayed pretty close to the recommended serving, so >my experience is limited. I think it's great that she likes canned food so much. Canned food is actually healthier and more species appropriate than dry cereal/kibble. She is still very young and growing so she needs more food than an adult. I would let her eat as she wants, but I would also not free feed her, but rather feed her at set times. Kittens should preferably be fed 3 times a day but if you can't, 2 times a day is fine. Free feeding can cause finickyness and also does not allow the stomach to fully empty properly between meals. One thing I would recommend is feeding her a variety of foods, not just one brand and flavor. That way if a company ever stops making a flavor, or the company goes out of business, you won't be stuck with tying to find something your cat will eat. Wellness Kitten, Petguard and Precise are other brands of food you might want to try. Lauren ________ See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm Just for the hell of it I'd have the stool rechecked for worms. Your post reminded me of a cat I adopted many years ago, who was taken to the vet right away, she was living in an abandoned bldg in NYC and the fire inspector/insurance guy took her and gave her to me cause he knew I liked cats. She turned out to be older than her size would have made you think she was, but the vet saw her adult teeth and informed us. The vet had to give her a hysterectomy because her uterus was infected, and some other operation, maybe a hernia or something, I don't remember, it was a LONG time ago. Anyway she had worms and ATE a LOT too. I didn't know about the worms, I didn't know what that white thing hanging out of her a.s was, then it moved, and AAACH , it was alive!! This cat latched on to me like a leech, man, I love my cats, and I am affectionate and everything, but this cat obviously knew we saved its life/health and wouldn't forget it. I kind of wished she would just go on with her life, but she was emotionally scarred or something. Too sad. That was a sad cat, desperate little thing. Now I'm sad thinking about it. Ann > I've adopted a three-month-old DSH/Siamese mix kitten from the local > shelter. Everything is going well, and she's getting along swimmingly [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > liked dry food, and stayed pretty close to the recommended serving, so > my experience is limited. >This cat latched on to me like a leech, man, I love my >cats, and I am affectionate and everything, but this cat >obviously knew we saved its life/health and wouldn't >forget it. I kind of wished she would just go on with her >life, but she was emotionally scarred or something. Too >sad. That was a sad cat, desperate little thing. > Now I'm sad thinking about it. > Ann Ann, she was certainly lucky that you rescued her but I don't understand what is so sad about her being very affectionate with you. How exactly would she "go on with her life?" Their lives are pretty much us, anyway, especially if they are indoor. Your story made me feel happy. This is just the sort of cat that makes rescue rewarding, I think. How long did she live? > > I've adopted a three-month-old DSH/Siamese mix kitten from the local > > shelter. Everything is going well, and she's getting along swimmingly [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > liked dry food, and stayed pretty close to the recommended serving, so > > my experience is limited. She was beyond affectionate, she actually clung to me. When I say I wish she could have just gone on with her life, I mean I wish she could have been more secure and happy, instead she was insecure and seeking reassurance, as in any relationship that can be draining after a while. There was a constant sibling rivalry with my other kitten, if one was on my stomach, the other would go to my chest, if one was on my chest, the other would climb right up under my chin. They would slowly hopscotch up my body to be the closest to my head. My cat was stolen by a jilted boyfriend and I dreamed about finding her for at least a year or maybe two. I would wake up thinking there she is, I can't believe she is right there in the garden, and look closer and closer and then she was gone. This is kind of bad memories for me, I don't know why I'm dreging this up, I have two happy and healthy cats right now, and my son LOVES them so very much and of course I do too. I am going on with my life. Ann "Ann" <nospam @ noware.com> wrote: My cat was stolen by a jilted boyfriend and I > dreamed about finding her for at least a year or maybe two. I would wake up > thinking there she is, I can't believe she is right there in the garden, and > look closer and closer and then she was gone. OMG, that really is horrible. Now I understand. These events and memories are connected in your mind. This is kind of bad memories > for me, I don't know why I'm dreging this up Lots of times it just helps to express it. Part of the purging process/ > I have two happy and healthy > cats right now, and my son LOVES them so very much and of course I do too. Wonderful. |
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