What to feed him?

[DChap]

Its not cheap but I'm hoping to save $ on vet bills and meds.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Our F4 will be coming home in 2 weeks also. My concern is figuring out how much/often to feed him. He will be 13wks old. His breeder is feeding him kibble.

A general guideline to use for amount to feed is to multiply the weight of the cat by 16 to convert to ounces. Take that figure and multiply it by .02, .04, .06, .08, .10 (.02 being an inactive cat, .08 being a very active cat) and you'll get a guideline for ounces to feed daily. Since kittens are highly active you can figure on using .08 as a general guideline.

Example: kitten weight 3lbs x 16 = 48 x .08 = 3.84 oz. I established a range for my kittens using .04 as the low and .12 as the high and was happy if they ate between that range.

I think it's always better to offer more food at first until you see a pattern and then you can adjust. I fed my kittens 3x a day for the first couple weeks in the a.m., when I got home from work; and before bedtime then cut back to 2x per day.

Hopefully your breeder will be able to advise on average weight gain per week/month so you'll know if you are on track.

 

[DChap]

Thank you so much for that info. Thats what I'll do.

 

[Lori Greer]

All my cats and kittens have dry food available to them 24/7 and wet food (raw grind for mine and canned for kittens that are for sale) once each afternoon. I have only had one over-eater in 8 years and she had other health issues. Given a quality food, a healthy cat will typically eat what it needs, when it's hungry and do not need to be rationed.

 

[waitingforgeorge]

Has anyone had any experience feeding Orijen?

 

[Kronos]

DO buy at least 1 bag of the Iams that he is on at the breeders. Moving alone without a diet change is enough to cause diarrhea, and 1 more bag of it isn't going to hurt him. Once settled in I would go ahead and slowly transition to the Blue Wilderness.

I LOVE the Blue Wilderness btw. My Ragdoll, Solo, was on that at the breeder and I have kept him on it since and always have had great results. Healthy weight, clean eyes and nose, firm nearly odorless stool, glossy coat, etc.

Kronos on the other hand has been having poop issues and it was impossible to feed two cats two different kinds of food. Right now I have them both eating Royal Canin Sensitive 33 (for sensitive stomachs) and that seems to be a little better. The moment Kronos is over this ordeal I am switching them both back to Wilderness.

 

[Cheshire]

Hi!

Soon I will be welcoming a Savannah kitten to the family! Currently, I feed my cat Science Diet dry food. Any thoughts on Science Diet for the Savannah?

Thanks!

 

[WitchyWoman]

IMHO it would be in the best interest of your current cat and the kitten to change to a high quality moist food. There is a ton of good information about cat nutrition at catinfo.org.

 

[Jacq]

Science diet has grain in it which is not a natural food for obligate carnivores. Read the ingredients on the packages, and meat (not meal)should be the first few ingredients.

 

[Patti]

Hi!

Soon I will be welcoming a Savannah kitten to the family! Currently, I feed my cat Science Diet dry food. Any thoughts on Science Diet for the Savannah?

Thanks!

It would be best to start your kitten out on the same food that your breeder is feeding, then gradually switch over to whatever food you want to eventually use by adding a bit more of the new to the bowl and a bit less of the old each day. Many cats do fine on Science Diet but it is not considered one of the better brands. Take some time to read labels and try to find something that doesn't have grains in the first five ingredients. Some options include Taste of the Wild, Evo, and Wellness.