8 month old Kitten eating us out of house and home????
 

Hello...our 8 month old kitten, Nessa, seems to be hungry all the time...we did have her on a 4 meal a day schedule for some time...she gets a raw diet....

we are giving at least two tablespoons of raw at each feeding...she asks for food a lot...we have added more food and an extra feeding.....

She has been tested for worms...nope..no worms.....

Is this normal????

I have read that you should feed kittens what they will eat for the first year....really?????

thanks in advance...Kimmee

Nessa...hoping for more food....

[IMG]http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g263/sweetgarss/didnikoeattoo.jpg[/IMG]

My first thought would have been worms, but since she's tested negative I would say she's probably going through a growth spurt. And yes, kittens should be fed as much as they want in the first year unless they are overweight. Personally, I've never seen an overweight kitten though so feed away!

OMG, I just checked out her picture, what a cutie! I have a real soft spot for torties, my very first kitten was a tortoiseshell who looked a bit like your girl.

Think of her as an adolescent boy, they need plenty of fuel at this age, overeating isn't even in their vocabulary.
I've had ex-alley cats who eat indiscriminately because they came from situations of extreme under-nourishment; obviously this isn't Nessa's case.
I'd buy her a bag of good quality kibble to supplement the raw.

if you are feeding a well-balanced raw diet, it is hard to overfeed :) let kitty eat as much as she wants (remember, raw is 80% water!) and over time, her appetite will settle down. don't "bulk up" a cat's diet with unnecessary fillers such as fruit and vegetables, feed calorie and nutrient dense meat, bones, organ meats, fish, eggs, etc. good luck! :thumbs up

thank you...feed her I will......

and yes we avoid those carbs...am a firm believer in the carnivore diet....

please keep us updated on your beautiful kitty's progress to a big, healthy gal! and photos always much appreciated :p

Hello,

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but my kitten's seem to be overweight. I'm not feeding them "raw" (not really sure what that entails), but they are getting [url=http://www.nutroproducts.com/mcgckitten.asp]Nutro Max Cat[/url]. I did a little searching saw that it lists:

Protein - 34%
Fat - 20$

[url=http://www.proplan.com/product_detail.aspx?pid=109]Purina Pro Plan[/url] has:

Protein - 41%
Fat - 18%

That's about as much as I know. The 2 kittens are Bob and Larry @ 4 months. As of 10-17, they were 10 and 8.5lbs. The bag says 1/2 cup and I've been feeding them about that, maybe more cause they're ALWAYS hungry. I can't even eat food in the same room without them mauling me anymore. :( Here's a couple pics (click for larger) and a short movie of what they did tonight!

[URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Pets/IMG_1378.jpg][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Pets/th_IMG_1378.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Pets/IMG_1370.jpg][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Pets/th_IMG_1370.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[url=http://www.thenicetech.com/Bob%20and%20Larry%20Eat.wmv]1.3MB, 11 sec[/url]

Are they too fat? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers,

Jod

EDIT: I read the sticky about the "truth" and now have about 10 tabs up from a search on "kitten food". Forums rule. Thanks folks. :thumbs up
EDIT2: Just gave them a little vanilla yoplait and they liked that. Innova? came up quite a few times in the food search. I'm not really sure where to find this tho...and holistic something too.

My 3 kitties LOVE Evo! Even the fussy one. As for thefeeding guidelines, theyre just a suggestion. If you feel the cat is a bit over weight, cut back a bit. I know its hard with multiple kitties to get them to only eat their share. Do you have feeding times or just free range?

Free for all, but they've both turned into hoovers and finish at the same time. As a result, Larry's getting larger and Bob's leveling out.

Also, it seems there's a discrepency in the feeding charts for Nutro. The bag doesn't actually have a spot for a 6-9lber @ 16 months. And it says a 10-12lber should be eating a bit over a cup a day! I'm going to try feeding 1/4 2x a day til I can get some new foods. Any idea where to find Evo?

Try here

[url]http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=stores-tab[/url]

I am having a similar problem my 9 month old kitten. He is always hungry but at 9 months he's already 13 lbs. He's massive, not fat but just a huge kitten. I recently switched him to felidae 1/4 twice a day plus 1 ounce to ounces of wet (felidae,innova evo, merricks,dvp,wellness,etc). I feel so guilty fo not giving him more, but he inhales his food. I don't know if I'm feeding enough or if I should increase everything. Any suggestions on how to feed my 13lbs baby?

Thanks for the link Scott. I picked up some EVO today. The difference in ingredients made me sad. Basically the EVO's loaded w/ real foods, not rice and the like. The 2 devoured it.

Also, those weights of 8.5/10 lbs came from the vet. I weighed myself and then picked them up...difference of about 12 lbs max. So they're really not that fat...just carrying a bit of a pouch. I suppose I'll have to spend a little xtra time with the laser pointers and such. :D