New Siamese Kitten

Hi all, I am a new owner of a 10 week old Siamese kitten named Eliott...he is a very finicky eater....he hates dry food--he will eat dry food if mixed with hot water, but very sparingly, but he loves cooked chicken! Any suggestions for a kitten diet? I am feeding him Eukanuba kitten chow, when he will eat it, along with cooked chicken...he won't touch canned food. As this is my first kitten, I want to know what is the proper diet. He is urinating many times a day, and has one to two stools a day(all in the litterbox, YAY!), so I am not too concerned that he is not getting enough...thanks in advance!

Karin

Where did you get him from? Shelter, backyard breeder or a good breeder? If from a breeder, what were they feeding?

Many kittens love the shredded chicken, but usually they will eat canned foods - what brands have you tried? I usually mix some of the chicken or beef based canned kitten foods for my kittens and they eat it well.

10 weeks is a bit young for Siamese to be on their own - they do better being adopted out from 12-16 weeks as they still are not really ready to leave home. If he's a single kitten, he may miss his brother/sisters and that's why he's not eating well.

Has your vet checked him out?

I thought all cats liked wet food! I agree though, maybe he's lonely! Does he have a playmate? I think they are suppose to be with mom and sibblings until they are a little older than that too. If all else fails call the vet! Thats my motto! Good luck and keep us posted!

I agree, he's a bit too young to be away from mum, Siamese are a very 'emotionally dependent' breed and need a bit longer before getting their independence if that makes sense? Most of the breeders I know monitor their Siamese very carefully to judge when they are ready to be adopted, and in some cases have kept them with mum for up to 18 weeks for particularly sensitive individuals!

They can also be miserable if left alone for any length of time, if he's the only kitten in the home and you go out to work, I suggest that you consider getting another kitten (my Oriental's breeder would not have allowed us to adopt a single kitten if we hadn't already had another kitten at home!) - it doesn't have to be another Siamese, you could have a look at shelters to adopt in the new year.

As far as the food goes, he's just had a huge emotional upheaval and probably doesn't have much of an appetite, but personally I think a good quality wet food is better for them in the long-term, so if he's keen to eat wet food then offer him that. I'd rather have a cat that refused dry but ate wet than the other way round!

Congratulations on your new friend, Siamese are wonderful creatures and I know that you will have a very special bond with that little guy

Thanks for all the advice...I got him from a neighbor....I wouldn't say she is a "backyard breeder" per se, this is the first litter that her cat has had. I am a stay-at-home mom, so he has company most of the day. Since I posted last night, he made a serious dent in his dry food bowl, so things are looking up. I think I will stick with the Eukanuba dry food, and offer him canned food once a day or so. I also think that he might have been a little off since he went to the vet on Friday and got his first set of shots.

Thanks to all and Merry Christmas!

Karin

If its a one-time litter, that's understandable. Many here have experienced it. But if she lets the cat out again to get more kittens and doesn't spay her, then that would be considered a "backyard breeder".

Just curious - is mom a Siamese and were all the kittens Siamese marked?

Ah if he had his vaccinations Friday that could explain a lot - my Radar always feels dreadful for a couple of days after his. If he's perked up now that's great