Twelve pouches a day and they're skinny!

Well, so much for an all-wet diet. My crew has been eating 12 pouches a day for weeks now and they are definitely becoming skinny. Not good! Their hips are noticeable, their backbones are poking through, and even those bones at the base of their tails are sharp - there's no muscle or fat on their rear-ends at all.

At first, I thought I was just imagining things; you know, being a paranoid meowmy? But I'm sure they're thinner now....

Can you see Rachel's hips and shoulders here?


So, back to feeding both wet and dry. I certainly can't starve my kittens today just to avoid the possibility they may refuse an all-wet diet in the future. I'm a wee bit frustrated, but no one said loving and caring for kids (be they skin or fur) was easy, right?

12 pouches of what?? how much do these cats normally weigh... like meow mix pouches used for sole nutrition I think it is four a day for a nine lb cat is the recommended

Hey, Sharky!

They've been eating the 3 ounce Nutro Natural Choice Chicken & Liver Kitten pouches. Six in the am and six in the pm. They're a litter of four siblings, about 5 months old, and they weighed between 4.5 and 6 pounds a month ago at their last vet check-up.

I'm not so much concerned with exactly how much they have gained or lost since then ('cause I can see they're still growing and I'm sure they weigh more than they did a month ago), as much as I am about their weight in ratio to their height. I know I'm supposed to be able to feel a cat's ribs, but I'm pretty sure they've gone a bit beyond that.

Can you see what I mean in the pic of Rachel? Or am I maybe overreacting to a possible growth spurt?

They are still at the stage where they need kitten food. I would switch them to Iams kitten dry and Iams kitten food wet. It's not that you aren't feeding them enough, they just need more nutrients than adult cat food offers

They are eating kitten food ... will they eat regular pate style wet??? if so I would give them a mix of canned food ( I think it would be one 6 ounce can each or so a day ... I agree with Hissy that some dry food avail is a good thing at this age ...

I will note pouches seem to be eat the gravey leave the meat is that happening by you??

Wow, do I feel guilty.

I just gave them a half cup of dry - and they're gobbling it down like they haven't eaten all day. Since they had their 6 evening pouches only five hours ago, and they're this hungry now, I can only imagine how hungry they've been ever since I put them on all-wet.

No wonder they're losing weight.

At first I was thinking wow - 12 pouches a day, that's a lot! But if that's for 4 growing kittens it's not really very much, esp as the nutro pouches are a bit smaller than some (the ones I feed anyway which are mostly 100g). 1 pouch = approx 20g dry food so 3 pouches each per day is only the equivilent of about 60g dry food. I'd either give them more wet food or add a little bit of dry.

Is that 12 pouches a day for all your cats and kittens? If so, that is definately not enough I would think. Especially for growing kittens.

At that age they do need more calories as they're still very active, growing fast, gaining bone density, and their muscles are developing.

I feed mine a mix of wet and dry, 2 pouches of wet a day and a bowl of dry which is left out for him. At 5 months all his food was kitten food, although now he's 8 months I have him on all-stages dry, and a mix of adult and kitten wet.

With 4 kittens you may find it less expensive and more convenient to use canned food rather than pouches, I find pouches convenient for my single cat, but because they're packaged for individual servings they can work out a bit more expensive if you have several mouths to feed. I would carry on with 2 meals of wet food a day, but also a meal of good quality kitten dry so they don't get hungry between wet meals

My vet told me something (the specialist) that i hadn't thought of before: wet food is high in water so there are less calories for the buck than in dry food

I'm kind of confused still on the 12 pouches a day thing too...but if you're splitting the six 3 oz. pouches in the morning between 4 kittens, I do agree that that may not have been enough calories and food between them.

Don't withold wet food...IMO, it's still far more beneficial to feed than dry kibble. It contains more moisture and water to keep the urinary tract and kidneys healthy, generally contains less grain (depending on what brand you're feeding...I know you mentioned Nutro), and has a higher protein content. I also feed a combo of wet and dry, as I still want my cats used to kibble in case they need to be left home alone for a day or two.

are the Nutro pouches the only kind they'll eat? If you have a local feed store nearby, they usually sell the higher quality foods, California Natural, Wellness, etc, in the larger cans, 12.5 to 13 oz sizes. That might be a lot more cost effective and I believe those brands are all life stage foods. I feed my kittens adult formula chicken soup dry and Meow Mix wet pouches for dinner and they are, uh, not lacking in nutrients if their size is any indication

Thanks for your advice, everyone, I appreciate it.

What would we do without all the wonderful folk on this site?

Dry food puts on most of the weight, not canned food.

Oh! Rachel is lovely! We have her twin sister Nella here! I should find a picture to show you.