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Cat Forum / General Topics / September 2004Newbie with kitten feeding issues
Hello, I'm a newbie to this ng but not to cats. I had an indoor cat for 10 years and I'm now realizing it was a way better cat than I gave it credit considering the new kitty we have - LOL. I need help with a 15 week old kitten that has been an outdoor cat but we are doing a trial run at making him an indoor cat. So far so good on most fronts except food. We live on a farm and have a multitude of barn / wild cats that are hunters (good ones) and also eat dry cat food once a day or so. They also eat all the food scraps we throw out into the field. So this kitten is used to eating dry food, scraps from the house and also fresh um... catches from the woods etc... I'll be the first to admit I'm not sure what is best feeding procedure. All dry, part dry/part moist etc.... My old cat ate Iams and was happy as a clam her whole life. THIS boy kitten will not eat dry food in the house (outside he will), he will not eat moist canned 9 lives except to lick the gravy off and leaves the rest, he will not eat Iams kitten food. He wants meat !! He will eat chicken like mad and also knaw on large chicken bones. What should I do ? We want to make him an indoor only cat but I do not want a cat that is constantly after us at dinner time - I could shut him in another room while cooking and serving meals but what a pain ! Logic tells me that if I stand my ground and only give him what I want him to eat that eventually he will eat and not starve himself but I'd rather not go that route if I don't have to. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your replys - I know we are all busy for sure ! Confused Connie in Ohio Have you tryed Fancy Feast? My spoiled cats really like the Fancy Feast, sometimes I put dry food in it to get them to eat more dry food, just a thought, it does work for me. I just sprinkle the dry food over and into the Fancy Feast and they seem to eat it and get used to the dry food. Good Luck, it's so easy to spoil these guys, Aimee > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Confused Connie in Ohio A canned food diet is much healthier than dry food if you select good-quallity canned. I use Wellness canned and Felidae canned (1/3 can for each cat, fed twice a day -- 12 hours apart, or as close to that as possible). It may take some time to acclimate your cat to a new diet. It should be done gradually, and may require you to simply refuse to "give in" concerning food. This can be difficult, I know -- I had real guilt pangs while I was adjusting my cats' diets, but they are much healthier as a result and now trot right along after me as I head to the kitchen to prepare their bowls. The fact that I keep them on a regular schedule means they know when it is "meal time." MaryL In the fine newsgroup "alt.pets.cats", "MaryL" <carstan101 @yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> artfully composed this message within <news:10jtnlbf02jqt27@corp.supernews.com> on 08 Sep 2004: > I use Wellness canned and Felidae canned (1/3 can for > each cat, fed twice a day -- 12 hours apart, or as close to that as > possible). I've seen you post this a few times, and I've always wanted to ask you if they each get a total of 2/3 can of cat food per day, or if this means that you mix 1/3 can Wellness with 1/3 can Felidae for each cat for each of their two meals (1-1/3 can of food per day). Also, what size are the cans of Wellness and Felidae? (3oz or ~ 5.5oz?) Shamrock is my exlusively-canned-food-fed cat and he eats 1 3oz can in the AM, and 1 3oz can in the evening (not Wellness or Felidae; can't get him to eat those). He's a slim cat, though tall and long.  SignatureCheryl > In the fine newsgroup "alt.pets.cats", "MaryL" <carstan101 > @yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> artfully composed this message within [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Felidae; can't get him to eat those). He's a slim cat, though tall > and long. Hi Cheryl, Each cat gets 2/3 can per day (1/3 on the morning and 1/3 in the evening). I buy several flavors, but I don't mix varieties in a given meal because I want to be able to monitor how well they eat each flavor. So, I end up using 2/3 can for one meal (for the two cats), 2/3 can at the next meal, which then leaves 1/3 can from each of two separate cans for the third meal. Thus, 2 cans is spread over 3 meals. I think I have made it sound complicated, but it is really a simple process. The cans are 5.5 oz. each. This is less food in terms of weight than when I used Iams (dry) and Fancy Feast (canned), but their weight has held absolutely steady. Duffy weighs a little more than 8 pounds and Holly is a little more than 9 pounds. Wellness and Felidae seem to provide more nutrition per ounce than what I previously used. It did take awhile to convert my twosome to this diet, but now they "dig right in." MaryL In the fine newsgroup "alt.pets.cats", "MaryL" <carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> artfully composed this message within <news:10k7h3c5jorqtd3@corp.supernews.com> on 11 Sep 2004: > Each cat gets 2/3 can per day (1/3 on the morning and 1/3 in the > evening). I buy several flavors, but I don't mix varieties in a [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > previously used. It did take awhile to convert my twosome to > this diet, but now they "dig right in." Thanks for clarifying. Shamrock is a little larger than both Duffy and Holly and I wondered how he would go for 1/3 can 2x per day. His weight stays very close to 11 lbs, but as I said, he's long and tall. It definitely does matter the weight of the cat how much is right per day for them. Bonnie, OTOH, is "fluffy" at around 10 lbs, as she's very petite in height and length. I thought I was doing right by her by cutting out the free-feeding of dry food (she won't eat canned no matter WHAT I do; she'd really starve because she's gone all day without food if I don't give in and give her dry). I learned all of the tricks when I had to get Shadow on canned food with his IBD and if *that* cat could switch over to canned, I figured I could switch any cat over, but she will have no parts of it. This cat can't even be tempted into any food with a consistency other than crunchy. I've tried cooked chicken, a little tuna, lunch meat, anything to let her know that food doesn't have to crunch. No luck. She's young so I won't give up trying but in the meantime trying to find the right amount for her. She gets 1/4 cup of Wellness dry 2x per day with nothing in between and she's learned that when she finishes it (usually within an hour now) there is nothing more until dinner. They both eat at 6am and 5-6pm. I was interested in a thread in another group where the correct amount for one person's cat only eating dry is 3/8 cup per day, so that means Bonnie's 1/2 cup per day is obviously too much, since she isn't losing her tummy. It just seems that a little over an 1/8 of a cup of food per meal is so little. Heck, I had a hard time seeing her bowl with just 1/4 cup in it and expect it to satiate her until dinner. I know my own attitudes about food have to change so that she loses weight, before she ends up like Shadow. I won't allow that. She's active and likes to play, but I see that slowing down some now too. SignatureCheryl > In the fine newsgroup "alt.pets.cats", "MaryL" > <carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> artfully composed this [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > that. She's active and likes to play, but I see that slowing down > some now too. Much depends on the quality of the food and the amount of calories being fed. Mine are getting between 13 and 14 calories per pound per day. That is much less than the amount recommended by most pet food manufacturers (including the brands I am using). In my opinion, the "recommended" amounts are too large and are unhealthy -- and will probably result in overweight cats. Here is a link to a longer response I posted to someone else recently. However, keep in mind that I am definitely not a nutrition expert. http://www.google.com/groups?q=calories+author:MaryL&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=10i vuonmtr6se92%40corp.supernews.com&rnum=1 or: here is the TinyURL for that long URL: http://tinyurl.com/42ph4 MaryL (take out the litter to reply) Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly) http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in") > In the fine newsgroup "alt.pets.cats", "MaryL" > <carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> artfully composed this [quoted text clipped - 47 lines] > that. She's active and likes to play, but I see that slowing down > some now too. My TIgger (who's idea of exercise used to be moving from chair to bed to couch) was put on 1/4 cup of food / day to get her to lose weight (from 13lbs. down to 8-9 lbs. where she belongs). We increased her food a little once she lost the weight and she is gradually gaining it back (up close to 10 lbs now) - so she's back on her diet. Her idea of exercise now is getting up to eat and use the litter box and then move from the living room couch to under the bed (she can't get on or off the bed) at night. Her arthritis is reallllllly bothering her again :o( Isabelle is on the hairball light but isn't losing squat. I have become the breakfast referee to keep her out of everyone else's bowl. Look away for a second and she's into someone else's food. W | > In the fine newsgroup "alt.pets.cats", "MaryL" | > <carstan101@yahoo.comTAKE-OUT-THE-LITTER> artfully composed this [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] |... |...she can't get on or off the bed) at night. Her arthritis is |... reallllllly bothering her again :o( | | W I don't know if this is on topic or not anymore but our arthritic elderly cat has been recommended Vit E by our vet. Just the same gel caps as for humans. 200-400 IU/day (=1 capsule). Pierce the cap and squirt it in her mouth. The effects are astonishing and rapid with seemingly no harmful side effects except she doesn't like the taste. We've been using it for over 4 years for her, sometimes more often, sometimes less. > | "Cheryl" <jlhshadow@nospamhotmail.com> wrote in > message [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > like the taste. We've been using it for over 4 years > for her, sometimes more often, sometimes less. I've got her on Cosequin and Arnica Montana (for pain). Any clue what the Vit E is supposed to do? W | "DL Farnworth" <knd.9cats@spoof.earthlink.net> wrote in message news:Sxj1d.84$Y65.72@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net.. . | > | "Cheryl" <jlhshadow@nospamhotmail.com> wrote in | > message [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] | | My vet told me it worked as an anti-inflammatory. She also uses it on arthritic dogs with good result, as did my sister whose pooch was run over twice. We used to use it for treating grease burns in the restaurant. Spread it on quickly and the spot doesn't even blister. That's all I know. I looked on the internet for other users but didn't find many. But come to think of it, that was for a sick rabbit. It may not even be the Vitamin E but the oil it comes in. I'd be interested in knowing if it worked for anyone else. We use it on our cats now for wasp stings and mu scle strains and inflamed gums and such. It seems to alleviate much of the pain. I just hate the idea of these little guys crippled up with pain. The day after Tiffy gets her dose she'll play with the kitten, jump up on the perch to be brushed and dash off down the stairs to avoid being dosed a second time. I must say though that one gel cap seems to produce its effect for even 4 days afterward so we've never strictly followed the 1/day routine, thinking that good enough was sufficient. dlf > in message > | [quoted text clipped - 73 lines] > > dlf I'll have to ask the vet about that. I know we used Vit E on Boots' nose when he had rubbed the fur off. The vet said it would keep the skin from drying out and itching until the fur grew back. W |
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