Here's pic's of my new kitten! And food question

First my question: When a young kitten has been spayed, at what age should I introduce adult kibble instead of kitten kibble?

So how do you like Trixie? She's 11 weeks old and we adopted her from a lady yesterday, who rescues cats from kill-shelters. I was looking into taking in a cat that had been outside, and asked a question about that here. But then they said that she may no longer be available, and since I already had my heart set on getting a kitten, I went to this "shelter" instead (figuring this was a better idea anyway) and found this little cuddle bug. She has medium lenght fur I think (do you agree?), so she's nice and fluffy.

As you can see, she's been spayed already; they spay and neuter all their animals before adopting them out, + shots, testing etc. has been done. So she's all set for now, just needs a lot of lovin' now! She will be an indoor only cat, with her claws clipped but not removed.

She seems very sweet and cuddly, though not at all if she's in the playful mood. Then she'll squirm like crazy to get down. She runs around and plays a lot and is definitely not shy. She's pretty outgoing and likes to rub noses etc. So hopefully she'll be a cuddly one. Yesterday I put her on her back and stroked her and she was just lying there, purring and enjoying every minute of it. We are just falling in love with her! I tried to take pictures of her, but she's so active it's hard to get her to sit in the same spot for more than a second at a time.

Here she is:

What a cutie!! Definitely looks like she's settling in. So glad you adopted her!

She should continue to eat kitten food until she's about a year old. She'll need all the wonderful extra nutrients in kitten food as she grows over the next year.

Be sure to cut the handles of the plastic bags or her head can get stuck in them. Then she'll be flying through the house trying to get away from it and be scared to death. (This comes from personal experience.) The handles can also get twisted around their little necks and strangle them.

Stephanie

Originally Posted by stephanietx

What a cutie!! Definitely looks like she's settling in. So glad you adopted her!

She should continue to eat kitten food until she's about a year old. She'll need all the wonderful extra nutrients in kitten food as she grows over the next year.

Be sure to cut the handles of the plastic bags or her head can get stuck in them. Then she'll be flying through the house trying to get away from it and be scared to death. (This comes from personal experience.) The handles can also get twisted around their little necks and strangle them.

Stephanie

Click to expand...

Thank you for the heads up on that!

You're very welcome! We're always very careful to pick up plastic bags and such as our kitties LOVE laying on them. If we leave them laying, I cut the handles, but we had a little incident on Wednesday where my curious 2 yo cat found a bag underneath the desk in our middle bedroom and came flying through the den, the kitchen, and the laundry room like Superman. Fortunately, I was able to nab her as she was frantically running back through the kitchen (wet hands and all) and loosen the bag from her neck before anything other than a good scare happened. I'd hate to think what could've happened if we'd not been home.

Stephanie

Oh she's pretty. Looks like she will be a longhair so start her grooming routine (combing) now

As far as food, I'd start mixing adult food in around 5-6 months old. Unless its a large breed kitten (like Maine Coon) or a kitten that has not had good care at an early age, there is NO reason to keep them on kitten food for a year.

Oooooh, I am a sucker for a black cat, as I have two. I'm hopping on a plane right now to come over and squeeze that little cutie!!! Oh, what a face!!! Good for you (and her!).

What a cutie ... looks longhaired to me so you may want to keep brushing to prevent starls and hairballs ... I too am a feed kitten to a yr unless you have a issue with chubbiness

What a doll!!!

She is absoloutely adorable!

Congrats to you.

Why, thank you, everyone!! It is so nice to share the joy with others who understand the love of a new darling!

I appreciate the safety advice; I have to get in the mindset again, that we have a baby in the house who needs protection from these hazards.

I got such a scare today; I heard her meowing, and right afterward I heard my dd yell out "...bleeding from the mouth!" I ran over to see what had happened to Trixie, only to find that it was my dd that was bleeding! And it turned out to be nothing. Little Trixie was just fine, just wanted some attention, that was all. Phew! My dd is just fine, by the way.

Reg. food, my 2 yro cat was spayed when she was about 5 mo. old, and shortly after that I started her on adult food because she seemed to be developing a small pooch under her belly. Since then she has stayed slim, even though we free feed her. We have her on the Costco Kirland brand now, which seems to contain more whole ingredients and not all the by-products. Trixie is on kitten kibble, of the Nutro Natural brand. I understand she was on Science Diet for a while at her foster home, which doesn't seem to be very good reg. ingredients. I don't know how long she was on that food. Will call and get more info on Monday. Of course, since she's young, it can't have been for too long. Regardless, she seems very healthy, not skinny and not plump.

What I have read before, is that once they are spayed they tend to not be as active and will start to gain weight more easily than "intact" cats. Of course, since she was spayed at an early age (about age 9 or 10 weeks, I think), she still has to be on kitten food and will be active due to kittenhood. But the lady at the shelter said she usually switch them over at 4 mo, while I had heard 6 mo. before, or one year for an "intact" cat. So that's why I wasn't sure.

Still eager to hear your comments in this regard.

Thank you for your sweet comments on my baby!

She's adorable. I agree with Sharky, unless she started getting too "chubby", I'd keep her on kitten food for a year. Also, when changing foods, some cats will get diarrhea so it's better to do it very gradually, i.e., adding the new food to the old a bit at a time over about a 2 week period. I've been lucky in that our kitties have had no issues with an abrupt change but that's not the norm I don't believe.

She is adorable! Congratulations!