My kitten eats HEAPS???

Question

I have a kitten almost 4 months old, and right now I'm feeding her half a cup of food per day, I feed her 3 times a day, but she is still constantly hungry and stands near her bowl meowing at me all the time! What should I do?? I also feed her a saucer of milk (cat-type, that you find in supermarkets) daily and occasionally some chicken/fish.

Answer 1

Hi there...kittens can eat a lot of food as they are very active so they burn calories and need those to be replenished. Additionally, kittens all are born with intestinal parasites passed from the mother cat's colostrum milk so kittens need to be dewormed for a few months, which will help curve the hunger pangs as well.

Here's an article on how much to feed your cat by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for Feline Health: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/feed.htm

excerpt from the above website: Kittens require more food per pound of body weight to support their growth than do adult cats, and therefore should be fed more often throughout the day. "Growing kittens up to six months of age may require three meals a day," says Francis Kallfelz, DVM, PHD, board certified by the American College of Veterinary Nutrition and James Law professor of nutrition at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. "From age six months to maturity, most cats will do well when fed two times a day."

Once the cat becomes an adult, at about one year, feeding once or twice a day is appropriate in most cases. Senior cats, age seven and above, should maintain the same feeding regimen. "Once cats reach adulthood, once a day feeding is fine as long as they are healthy and have no disease problems suggesting a reason to feed differently," says Dr. Kallfelz.

Answer 2

She will keep eating anything you give her, not because she is hungry but because the food is there and you are willing. Unless you want her to be a large cat (I have 2 obese ones) you need to cut her off at the 1/4 - 1/2 cup per day limit on food (weight depending). No more 3 Xs a day feeding, no more milk needed. No more table food whatsoever.

She will cry/meow incessantly for a couple days. That's OK. Her stomach will shrink back to kitten size if you don't give in. If you do, well ... you know what will happen (all that toleration of cries for no reason). You may want to take this food reduction time as a time for getting out the new playtoys, to get her mind off the hunger. Give her extra cuddles too, so she knows you aren't being mean, you're just doing it so she grows up normal.

EDIT -- I stand corrected. I just read Seattle's post. I thought she was old enough to wean off the extra feeding but it appears I was wrong. Sorry!

Answer 3

The important issue is the quality of the meat that goes into the cat food.

All grocery store brands, Purina, Science Diet are very poor food made with by-product meat not considered fit for human consumption. That meat includes heads, feet, entrails, feathers from chickens, the most common protein source in pet food.

Try brands like Eagle Pack, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Felidae, etc. It will pay off in better long-term health for the kitten. Their canned foods are the same high-quality.

Answer 4

She ACTS like she's hungry. but she really has you wrapped around her little finger(toe?) And as long as you give into that little "meow", you're gonna end up with a fat cat! Yes, she's a kitten, and may grow into her own, but if you dont stop these bad habits now, they'll only get worse.

Answer 5

Maybe there is some food it can smell around the bowl and its meowing as it feels hungry around the smell, but I'm not quite shaw how to fix its hunger

Answer 6

As cats grow they need more food, once they reach full grown-size, they tend to eat less.

Don't worry, she is active and hungry.