Ollie is eating a lot.... Ally isn't - a problem?

I think Ollie has put on a whole pound since I took him from the humane society. Granted - he was malnourished and needed the food.

Ally was also malnourished when I took her in and she ate like crazy the first few weeks... but then when I let her try the Wellness kitten dry food she decided she didn't like canned food anymore and only eats dry food.

She eats when she wants, as she has a feeder. My question is, should I be trying to get Ally to eat more than she eats? She's a little over 3 lbs at 4 months and Ollie is 3 months and was slightly under 3lbs when I took him home, and will probably hit 4lbs within a few days.

Should I be worried about Ally not eating as much as Ollie and being rapidly exceeded in weight by a kitten younger than her?

Is slightly over 3 lbs normal for a 4 month old female kitten?

It all depends on her body composition, her frame, percent fat, all that. Usually you can tell by the way she looks if she is skinny or not...I dunno my vet usually tells me these things by feeling Jake's body when he examines him, he can tell if he has enough/too much fat on him. Both are possible- that she is just right or that she is skinny but just looking at her weight and age it's impossible to determine- you have see/feel her.
Her weight doesn't sound like it's too low though IMO. I think it's in the normal range if she has a smaller bone frame.
Jake was 3.7 pounds at 11 weeks but not only he is male, he also is big boned..
ETA: you can try switching around her food with a different flavor of the same brand if you are worried she isn't eating enough..

Cats come in so many different sizes, you can't really compare. At 12 weeks Goldy's kittens were 3.5# (girl), 3.5# (girl), and 4.1# (boy). Shareena, my first kitten, was 3.5# at 15 weeks.

I would say as long as Ally looks and feels healthy, don't worry about her weight. She'll probably end up being a smaller cat than Ollie when they grow up.

She'll probably end up being a smaller cat than Ollie when they grow up.

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Will that affect their ability to play together?

Their weight difference will have no effect on how they play. Just be sure they are both healthy before you introduce them. Also supervise their interaction closely for atleast a month....

Originally Posted by LawGuy

Will that affect their ability to play together?

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Nope. My 6.5 pound Scarlett can drop my 16 pound Spanky any day of the week. Their wrestling matches are quite comical.

Keep an eye on the amount of fat (or lack of) on their bodies. If they start to look too thin or too fat, then start to adjust their food.

The average weight for a kitten is 1 pound for each month. That being said, my Scarlett is 6.5 pounds at 7 years old. She's just small.

I just looked at the Purina image key to cat weight:



Ally falls right at 5 and Ollie I think is between a 3-5 but close to 5 too. He was closer to 1-3 originally

That's exactly what you are looking for. I like that Purina chart.

My Dharma is about 6 pounds at 6 years - Dante is about 12 at the same age (he's just a big boy, not fat!) - no problems with playing - if anything, Dharma can really chase Dante around! I admit, I got more nervous when I see Dante chasing Dharma, but I soon realized it was like a cartoon - A would chase B up the hallway, and B would chase A back! I almost wanted to rename Dharma 'Buffy' - such a little girl taking on someone twice her size!

Average size cats are about a pound per month of age up to 10-11 months old, then they level off. Females are smaller, so she sounds about right for weight.

The problem with a slow feeder is that if the other one eats everything in sight, you can have a fat cat in a short time.

You might try feeding her a little at a time or putting the other one in a separate room for an hour will the slow one finishes. Or you will have to let her eat a few times by herself in the bathroom with the door closed.