how much should I be feeding my 6 month old kitten? Options

[ciggggg]

Hi Guys :)

I'm at Bermagui right now visiting my mum n dad for the weekend (mothers day).
I think my mum is the one person who could possibly love Penny as much if not more than I do haha...I havent seen mum for a couple months, and the first thing she says when i walk through the door is. Wheres my little Penny! hahaha rejected much ? lol anyways point is, we had a discussion about how much i feed her, mum thinks its too much..
I feed her :

1 whole 85g pouch of whiskas kitten wet food with a small amount of dry food mixed in ( cant remember the brand).
twice a day morning and night.

Penny weighs just over 2kg.. am I feeding her too much or too little, orjust right?
thanks guys


Craig

[Herbert]

Hi Craig!

I'm not knowledgeable like so many of the members here, and I can only tell you how much I fed my two cats when they were kittens.

I never measured their food in weight.

I'd give them a golf-ball size meal twice a day with high quality kitten food from a tin. ('Science Diet' tinned food for kittens up to 12 months old).

And 24/7 I always had a bowl of kitten cat biscuits topped up ready for them to eat at any time. PLUS a big bowl of fresh water on the kitchen floor.

And two kitty-litter trays for them to take a dump during the two weeks I kept them in the house after bringing them home when they were 6 weeks old.

'Penny's' a nice name for a cat!

Whatever you do - don't forget to get them micro-chipped! A beautiful cat came to me around 3 months ago. Hid under the house for two weeks and was scared of its own shadow. It was a nervous wreck, and petrified of every movement and sound.

Slowly, during two weeks, my two cats and I coaxed it out from cringing under the house... and now, it's a wonderful addition to the home. He's relaxed and very comfortable, and has a very warm personality.

I feel sure he was owned by someone who loved him very much. Somehow they got parted - and because there's no microchip to tell me who he belongs to, someone Out There is feeling very miserable and worried that their beloved cat is pining for them while being lost in a hostile and scary environment full of noisy traffic and strangers who don't care about him.

Regards,

Herbert

[fleabag]

That sounds less than I'd feed a kitten ..lol...My plan would be dry food available 24/7 and split the wet food into two meals,( every so often give her some raw meat ..any type is fine as long as it's fresh human grade..variety is the spice of life )..morning and night ..
I think kittens need food to grow on ..and growth isn't a straight line. so providing enough or even too much isn't a problem at her age. She'll podgy up and look fat but it's getting ready for the next growth spurt ..then she'll shoot up and use that fat . You really don't need to think of quantities until they're 12 months or so...
And I'm with Herbert ..loads of fresh water and clean litter ..grin.

[ciggggg]

Thanks guys for your responses!!!

Fleabag, do you mean 1 whole pouch morning and night and dry food out 24/7? or half a pounch morning and night?

I will start randomly getting Penny some chicken wings, heard cats love those hehe :)

Thanks guys :)

[Lee Lee]

Totally agree with what Fleabag has advised. I dont ever worry about how much my kittens eat...I give them as much as they want.

Variety is good...I dont feed any tinned food to my kittens instead preferring to feed human grade cooked chicken and raw beef and roo. Like the others I leave out 24/7 a good quality kitten biscuit, atm I am using a mix of Science Diet and Black Hawk.

Is your kitten a Persian? I know that girls are usually smaller in size than boys...but I would not have said your girl is too big for her age. I have a litter of Birman kittens here atm they are 12 wks old and all weigh 2 kgs or more. They are classed as a medium sized cat.

[ciggggg]

Totally agree with what Fleabag has advised. I dont ever worry about how much my kittens eat...I give them as much as they want.

Variety is good...I dont feed any tinned food to my kittens instead preferring to feed human grade cooked chicken and raw beef and roo. Like the others I leave out 24/7 a good quality kitten biscuit, atm I am using a mix of Science Diet and Black Hawk.

Is your kitten a Persian? I know that girls are usually smaller in size than boys...but I would not have said your girl is too big for her age. I have a litter of Birman kittens here atm they are 12 wks old and all weigh 2 kgs or more. They are classed as a medium sized cat.

Hi Lee Lee, well the woman I got her from informed me that her mother was a scottish fold and her father was a Himalayan. The dry food I feed her is that Purina kitten dry food. So maybe I should start leaving a bowl of that out every day? as well as incorporate some real meat in the mornings and night :)

[Furrballz]

Hi Craig, like the others, I fee more than that and I also dont feed commercial wet food in any huge quantities due to gathering more info on cats nutritional needs, over the years.

What I feed my babies (and adults) is good grade raw Beef mince with yoghurt, shredded cheese, (we do have 1 can of cat food mixed into 5kg of mince) and some extra water in the mix. This is placed twice a day, and topped up if necessary thru the day
We also have a high grade dry food mix of kitten foods down. At the moment its Advance, Royal Canin & Iams... we have also used Nutrience as well

I would look carefully at the ingredient label of the dry food you are giving your girl Craig, as cats are carnivores and need a mostly meat based diet. If it has meat/chicken as the first ingredient and not corn etc, then you know it is a higher based carnivore diet.

[fleabag]

Well I'd split the sachet, don't mix the biccies in just leave them out in a bowl that never empties...2 kg isn't huge ..so she can eat whatever she wants ..
The wings are good ,tho some cats find them hard work..a friend gets a drumstick and tatters the meat so a kitten can chew on it..
In my house wings are a toy ..fly little wing fly..and they get tossed all over the place ..
If you get raw meat ..don't get mince ..get strips or cubes..( I look for marked down human grade meats..make it into cat size bags and freeze it..then thaw in the fridge overnight as needed..They don't get raw every day ,or cans every day ..just a variety.
I too get a mix of food ..Royal Canin Kitten is well received..
My adults get RC maine coon, Optimum Furball from the supermarket and Blackhawk all mixed.

[Mymphf]

It's been a few years since I had a kitten in the house but I'd be leaving a bowl of dry out for grazing all the time and two wet feeds a day would do... Kittens eat often and plenty...

A beautiful cat came to me around 3 months ago. Hid under the house for two weeks and was scared of its own shadow. It was a nervous wreck, and petrified of every movement and sound.

Slowly, during two weeks, my two cats and I coaxed it out from cringing under the house... and now, it's a wonderful addition to the home. He's relaxed and very comfortable, and has a very warm personality.

I feel sure he was owned by someone who loved him very much. Somehow they got parted - and because there's no microchip to tell me who he belongs to, someone Out There is feeling very miserable and worried that their beloved cat is pining for them while being lost in a hostile and scary environment full of noisy traffic and strangers who don't care about him.

Herbert! This is news!!! Have you named him? Are we allowed pictures of said foundling?

[Furrballz]

:o
For some reason Mymph... I read foundling as FONDLING!!!

Brings a ENTIRELY different meaning to your question... and the answer!! lol

[Mymphf]

Why does this not surprise me in the least TA?

[Herbert]

Herbert! This is news!!! Have you named him? Are we allowed pictures of said foundling?

Hi Mymphf!

I called him 'Sooty' (the Second) because I couldn't think of any other name for an all-black Bombay breed of cat.

I had another 'Sooty' about 10 years ago that was a semi-feral and never let me touch him, but used to come in through the backdoor cat-flap and stretch himself out luxuriously on the lounge-room carpet while my own 'Pepsi' (a female Bombay of the same breed) would ogle him admiringly. He was an enormous cat. It was like having a small black panther rolling about on my living room floor.

Sadly, one day a neighbour killed him as he was crossing through his backyard.

I always judge people by how they react to animals. It's one of the best gauges of character that I know of.

If children grow up without a family cat in the home, it leaves them open to becoming cat abusers in later years.

I think it was the same neighbour who killed my 'Archie' - a fabulous little ginger cat that was my best friend at the time.

But enough of sad stories. 'Sooty the Second' is now all 'booked up' and registered with the council. Had all his shots - including the optional one for cat AIDs (FIV). Years ago I lost 'Pinkie' from FIV. The white cat in my avatar.

Sooty 2 is a godsend to my two other cats, because he protects them against any cats that come onto the property to harass them. He's fiercely protective of them. He has a head like a Staffordshire Bull Terrier - twice as big as Muffin's or Gizmo's.

I'll post a photo soon.

Herbert

Why does this not surprise me in the least TA?

Freud must be spinning in his grave.

[Herbert]

@ Mymphf - Unfortunately I'm unable to post any photos. The Photo page here has no button ie 'New Thread' for me to post up my pictures.

Very odd.

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/forums/inde...highlite=photos

[fleabag]

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/forums/index.php?showforum=7

Start a new topic... you'll also see a pinned thread with how to upload..ya might wanna read it first.have fun.

[Herbert]

http://www.catsofaustralia.com/forums/index.php?showforum=7

Start a new topic... you'll also see a pinned thread with how to upload..ya might wanna read it first.have fun.

Thanks fleabag!

But can you see a 'New Topic' button in this page that's full of photo entries by different members?

There ought to be one. Definitely.

[Heather Sharada]

Well I'd split the sachet, don't mix the biccies in just leave them out in a bowl that never empties...2 kg isn't huge ..so she can eat whatever she wants ..
The wings are good ,tho some cats find them hard work..a friend gets a drumstick and tatters the meat so a kitten can chew on it..
In my house wings are a toy ..fly little wing fly..and they get tossed all over the place ..
If you get raw meat ..don't get mince ..get strips or cubes..( I look for marked down human grade meats..make it into cat size bags and freeze it..then thaw in the fridge overnight as needed..They don't get raw every day ,or cans every day ..just a variety.
I too get a mix of food ..Royal Canin Kitten is well received..
My adults get RC maine coon, Optimum Furball from the supermarket and Blackhawk all mixed.

Well that about sums it up....as much as the baby wants to eat, some "real" raw meat - stir fry strips of beef are good, quality kitten biscuits left out 24/7 and go with the tattered meat drumstick to encourage chewing on the bone.