My kitten eats and eats and eats.....?

Question

Hi everyone!

I have an 8-month old kitten who is kept indoors. This is just a case of me being a worrier about my little kitty... but I wondered if any of you have a cat that just won't stop eating?!

I had 3 cats whilst growing up, and they were much more controlled; munching throughout the day.

Our kitten gets fed 3 times per day. Before we've even finished pouring his food, he's up on the counter going mental and shoving his little vacuum mouth in there! He'll then polish the whole lot off in about 5 minutes and an hour later start begging again! Luckily, he isn't sick!

We feed him mostly Iams dry food, and a wet pouch before bed. It says to give him 90g of dry food - so we give him 70g, seeing as he's having a pouch too. He also gets a few treats every day. Does this sound about right?

His weight seems to be fine (I think?!), but it's just that he is so eager to get his food that we worry we need to feed him more!

xx Emmie

When we first got him at 8 weeks old, he was given worm treatment as a precaution - even though the vet didn't see any signs of him having worms. We don't let him out and he is an only cat - could he have worms now anyway? I was wondering this myself, although I see no signs of it!

Answer 1

Congratulations for being a responsible cat owner and keeping your cat indoors. He'll live longer that way. Some cats are nibblers and others are gobblers. Both are normal. (People are like that, too!)

If your kitten is still active and isn't too fat, he's probably okay. At that age they are very active and need more calories, and he should be getting kitten food until he is a year old. You're feeding him the best food, but I'd discontinue the pouch because of the recall.

I have raised cats for 13 years and feed them only Iams Dry in various formulations because of cat's ages. Their fur is shiny, and eyes are bright and they're the picture of health.

A bonus for this particular food is that the litter box is much less stinky.

If you're concerned, it's best to follow that little voice that tells you something might be wrong. Make a vet appointment and take along a stool sample. Couldn't hurt. There are too many different types of parasites and too many allergies and reactions to try to do something yourself.

Answer 2

Cats should be wormed every two weeks from six weeks old until 16 weeks old and then every three months thereafter. Kittens take on worms from Mom's milk, the worms migrate to the mammary glands. You can never get rid of worms completely only control them, you give the cat a wormer and it will kill off the worms that are in the intestines, however, it will not kill off the eggs and two weeks later, they hatch and start the process over again. The worm medicine controls the worms and keeps them at a level the feline body can cope with and not loose too many nutrients.

After you've wormed him if he's still eating, don't worry, kittens are growing and energetic and need much more nutrients than adult cats and the amount varies with each cat. You can never feed a kitten too much. Make sure you're feeding him a good quality kitten formula until 12 months old and let him eat what he wants.

Answer 3

At his age he is growing and will need food for that purpose, but he could also need worming. It could also be that he is just greedy. I had a cat like that once, a thorough pig! If that is the case, make sure he gets plenty of exercise or else he'll be the size of a house before you know it especially if he has been neutered which should have been done when he was about 6 months old.
He should be wormed every 6-8 weeks throughout the year.
With all that dried food, he must have access to water at all times.

Answer 4

Definitely check your kitty for worms or other parasites. Since your kitty is still growing, he may just need more nutrition. However, I would monitor his intake. My kitty became overweight (he weighed in at 19 lbs) he ate cat food only, no people food, stayed indoors, and had another kitty to play with. He didn't seem to overeat at any given time, but I realized that he would eat too much over the course of the day, he'd return to his food dish several times, and eat a little.

I would weigh your kitty and monitor that, and instead of worrying about feeding him three times a day, maybe measure out a certain amount of food, 1 cup or 2, that he is allotted for the day, and give him a little at a time. Make sure your kitty has plenty of fresh water to drink.

Answer 5

Cats are not like dogs - they will usually stop eating when they're full and will leave whatever they don't want. I would leave plenty of dry food and water available all day, if he's not hungry, he won't eat it. If he is, he will. He really won't overeat or get fat as long as you stick to cat food.

My kitten is about that age too, and is going outside now for periods during the day, and is always starving when she comes in, but will still leave food behind when full.

Good luck, don't worry, he'll be fine, but do leave a supply of dry food available for him.

Answer 6

i have a kitten around the same age and she is an inside cat also her bowls are never empty i keep them full all of the time and she eats when she wants.i feed her wet food that we keep downstairs and her dry food is upstairs she has a bowl of water in both places.i love my kitty and she can eat and have what ever her heart desires.i am getting her fixed this week and i know she will be putting on weight after that as long as shes around thats all that matters to me. so let him eat hes hungry maybe u should do like i do just make sure his bowl is full all of the time.

Answer 7

Have you checked whether he has worms? This makes them ravenous! Maybe he is just a hungry cat and he's going to be a big man when he grows up. Don't listen to the advice on the food, if he's hungry then feed him!

Answer 8

You need to treat him for worms. He should have been wormed every month until he was 6 months of age, and then every 3 months from then onwards.

If this does not resolve this, then best to see a vet

Answer 9

i have 2 kittens, 8 month and 6 month and they both used to eat lots an lots, the vet said our 1st was overweight so we started only feeding them twice a day an they are now into the habit but it is perfectly normal. the vet will recomend worming every 6 month i think!

Answer 10

Well, he's got a good appetite, always a good sign. Plus as he is still growing up, as long as he doesn't make himself sick, I guess that's fine. Cats in a good environment like yours with a caring "owner", don't tend to over eat but just like people they can like their food.

I've noticed that the Iams dry food seems to be very tasty -I haven't sampled it myself;-) but I mean the cats tend to eat more of it than other foods, and as it is very nutritious, you may consider switching to another brand or type of food that's just as complete and healthy but without the mystery ingredient that seems to make the cats ask for more all the time. I like and use Iams too, but I've noticed that property of the brand...

Try some boiled fish, bits of chicken (without bones) too, they're lean protein very satisfying for the cats and they're not hungry soon after (a bit like us when we eat natural whole grains instead of sofisticated refined sugars).

All the best to you and your kitten.