Kitten feeding help.

[melissam87]

Okay ladies. Can someone please tell me how often to feed my kitten? Also how much at each sitting?

Nikita and the new kitten are for the most part getting along well. Feeding is a bit of a challenge. I get so many different opinions , I'm a bit confused.. Just so you know the kitten is 12weeks old..

Also is it normal that my two cats have the worst gas I have ever had to smell in my life?

Not that this a fun subject but I have walked in my home and felt like a canary in a coal mine. Especially the kitten. She will walk by, give me the cutest look ever and suddenly I'm in need of a hazmat suit. Lol

How does something that cute smell so poorly? I'm feeding her blue buffalo and wellness kitten food. Occasionly she has Weruva which claims its all life stages. Or is it like a human baby when going from formula to regular food?

Thanks,

Melissa

 

[Spartacus]

I was just getting ready to post something similar to this.

The breeder we are buying Spartacus from gave me the following information

1/4 can of wet food, and 1/8 cup of dry food with a little water twice daily, BUT she left the bowl of dry food down at all times. I am not comfortable with this, because I have always heard that is not a good habit... it makes them go #2 more often, and also, they could become obese, and having them on schedules helps in training them in other areas... What does everyone think about that. Should I give him a little more food when I feed him since I won't be leaving the bowl down?

 

[Ashley]

Kovu eats Blue Buffalo & he smells fine. lol I used to leave kibble out at all times for him (he will be 6 months on Friday), but he started gaining weight after his neuter. I'll leave it out while I'm gone for work (5 hours) but when I come home I put it away. He gets 1/2 of a 5.5 oz can for breakfast, and then the other half for dinner.

 

[admin]

Kittens often do have gas - it is a sanctity of kittenhood

as for feeding:

http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/how-much-food.936/#post-12391
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/what-to-feed-him.358/
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/what-to-feed-my-f2.40/#post-55

 

[melissam87]

Kittens often do have gas - it is a sanctity of kittenhood

as for feeding:

http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/how-much-food.936/#post-12391
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/what-to-feed-him.358/
http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/what-to-feed-my-f2.40/#post-55

Paige, thanks for the info but I can assure you there is nothing sacred coming out of her. LOL

:-D

 

[WitchyWoman]

Melissa, are you feeding Wellness CORE? There's been reports of that causing digestive upset in cats. Up to 6 mos of age, kittens should be fed 3x per day. Was your older cat gassy before the kitten arrived? Any chance the kitten brought a parasite home?

How much does your kitten weigh? I always use this formula to determine a range for amount to feed. It's based on an estimate of activity level -- from .02 to .04 being low energy, .05 to .08 being medium energy & .09 & above being high energy. Kittens are high energy so I used .10 as an estimate.

weight x 16 (to convert weight to ounces) x .10 (estimated energy level)

So if your cat weighs 4 lbs x 16 x .10 = 6.4 ounces of food per day as a baseline (which is basically 3 meals per day of 2 ounces each).

If kitten appears to be hungry increase the estimated energy level to get a new baseline.

When mine were kittens, I used this formula and they ate pretty much what the numbers showed. Yours may eat more or less per day but having that baseline is an easy to tell if something is wrong.

Monitor weight to be sure. I took mine in to the vet once per week for the first month and then every other week for the next month and then I quit worrying about it because they were eating me out of house & home.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Melissa, I forgot to mention to check to see if the Weruva contains the following thickening agents tapioca starch and/or potato flour and/or xanthan gum. These can also cause digestive upset.

 

[melissam87]

Melissa, are you feeding Wellness CORE? There's been reports of that causing digestive upset in cats. Up to 6 mos of age, kittens should be fed 3x per day. Was your older cat gassy before the kitten arrived? Any chance the kitten brought a parasite home?

How much does your kitten weigh? I always use this formula to determine a range for amount to feed. It's based on an estimate of activity level -- from .02 to .04 being low energy, .05 to .08 being medium energy & .09 & above being high energy. Kittens are high energy so I used .10 as an estimate.

weight x 16 (to convert weight to ounces) x .10 (estimated energy level)

So if your cat weighs 4 lbs x 16 x .10 = 6.4 ounces of food per day as a baseline (which is basically 3 meals per day of 2 ounces each).

If kitten appears to be hungry increase the estimated energy level to get a new baseline.

When mine were kittens, I used this formula and they ate pretty much what the numbers showed. Yours may eat more or less per day but having that baseline is an easy to tell if something is wrong.

Monitor weight to be sure. I took mine in to the vet once per week for the first month and then every other week for the next month and then I quit worrying about it because they were eating me out of house & home.

Thank you. I can tell you now that her energy Level is very high. Lol as I'm writing this I just looked up and saw her climbing across the curtain rod. So much for tying my curtains up so she can't reach them. Lol as soon as I can get her to sit still, I will weigh her. ;-)

 

[WitchyWoman]

Thank you. I can tell you now that her energy Level is very high. Lol as I'm writing this I just looked up and saw her climbing across the curtain rod. So much for tying my curtains up so she can't reach them. Lol as soon as I can get her to sit still, I will weigh her. ;-)

Curtains + SV = I had the bedroom redecorated a year before I got my first SV and one of the first things he did was claw a huge hole in my custom sheers. I immediately replaced them with the cheapest I could find at Target. Naturally, he left those alone

 

[melissam87]

Melissa, I forgot to mention to check to see if the Weruva contains the following thickening agents tapioca starch and/or potato flour and/or xanthan gum. These can also cause digestive upset.

Deborah, good call! The packets of Weruva have both tapioca starch and xanthan gum. The can has potato starch. Geez! Does that mean its bad for them? I figured since Weruva is grain, gluten and BPA free that its a good choice for food. Is that not true?