Opinions on my kitten and feedings.

Hi,

I have had my Ziggy kitten for about 5 weeks and he is now 7 mos old. This kitten has a huge appetite--like none I've ever seen. Currently he eats about 1 cup daily of Chicken Soup dry, divided in 2 feedings. He weighs about 8.3 pounds and clearly he's not finished growing yet.

Ziggy seems ravenous ALL THE TIME. He cleans up his food and then checks our other two cats' bowls and cleans up their leftovers as well. Do you think this is indicative of a need for more food each meal or one more feeding daily or is he just a "pig?" I've known my kitten since he was born (his breeder is my neighbor and I cat sit for them) and even as a tiny kitten with free choice food available, he'd charge his way to the scheduled wet food and eat like no tomorrow. His sister hasn't had this issue, but she also eats a lot of "fresh game" such as butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers all through the day. LOL

Opinions are welcomed!

Cally

Some animals are greedy and eat everything in sight even when they don't need it. They may act completely starved after eating enough for 5 animals their own size. Some animals you have to bribe to eat enough for them to stay healthy. It's much better to go by their weight than their appetite. Is he fat? Is he the right weight but gaining more? Is he getting skinnier? or is he maintaining the proper weight? Adjust your feeding according to that. If he doesn't look like he's getting fat try giving him an extra meal. If he starts to get fat cut back irregardless of how hungry he looks like he is.

Has he been wormed by the VET??

Oh yes, he's wormed, shots, neutered. He has grown over a pound since I've had him, and he is slim, as he's in that gangly "teenaged" phase. I heaped his bowl tonight and he cleaned up every kibble. I've had 5 cats in my life, but have never had one with this food obsession. His sister comes close, but she has a more petite appetite. They are both American Wirehairs and his breeder has noted that they generally are good eaters, but this is almost over the top.

We'll see how it goes. Thanks for the input.

Cally

Both my cats gluttons, with the boy being the worse offender. They clean their plates, lick my dog's bowl, and proceed to scour the house for possible edible morsels. Everything is food until proven otherwise. They are very healthy and active 3 & 5 year olds whom have never had fleas or worms.

Just be happy you have kitties with healthy appetites. It's NO fun being on the other end of the spectrum!

ROFL--your description is hilarious and YES, it describes my kitten. I've been on the opposite pole as well. You're right, it's no fun.