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Feeding new kitten?  

post #1 of 16
7/5/09 at 5:38pm
Thread Starter 
As in the post below, we had a small kitten wander into our yard yesterday..full of fleas, dried who knows what on her coat, and her eyes all watery and mucousy. Anyway she seems much better now that we've gotten the fleas under control..she grooms herself and her eyes are somewhat better. A question..should we just let her eat as much as she wants? We got her to eat dry kitten food..I'm mixing it with some kitten milk since she's so skinny..but how much to let her eat? Any reason she cant eat as much as she wants?
post #2 of 16
7/5/09 at 5:53pm
That's the way mommy would feed her; let her eat until she's full.
post #3 of 16
7/5/09 at 6:04pm
Yep - until she is about 1 yr old, she can eat all she wants...
Be careful with leaving moistened food out though - if you mix milk into her dry food, make sure she eats that within 30 minutes. Dry food alone you can leave it out all day...
Congrat on getting a new kitten!
post #4 of 16
7/5/09 at 6:15pm
pictures please Yes, let her eat until she can't eat anymore. You will see soon that she burns a lot of energy being a kitten

If the kitten is really young I moisten the dry kitten food with water and feed wet food seperately. That way you can remove the wet before you would remove the dry. I also mix kitten milk or KMR into the wet food, just some added calories
post #5 of 16
7/5/09 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the tips! Yeah I don't leave the food out. Is there any reason I should feet her wet canned food? Both my adults just eat dry food and are fine with it, so I planned to continue with with her. Here are a couple pictures! Can anyone estimate her age? BTW, I'm not sure if it's a female. I"m guessing based on the pictures I've seen. IF it were a male, at what age would the testicles drop?





post #6 of 16
7/5/09 at 7:25pm
With little kittens, I like to leave dry food out at all times, and give them canned food mushed with kitten formula 3 or 4 times a day. I think the canned food is important, especially at that age, to ensure proper hydration. But if you really don't want to give her canned food, you can moisten some dry food with the kitten formula and give her that. But I'd still keep a bowl of dry food available at all times. If they go too long without eating, it can cause problems.
post #7 of 16
7/5/09 at 8:34pm
Canned food is great to ensure proper hydration. Cats are desert animals, and developed to get their water from prey, as water is very scarce in the desert - this makes them naturally bad drinkers.
Bad hydration can cause many health problems, especially UTIs and Kidney disease. A good way to help with hydration is by having a water fountain - cats love fresh, oxygenated, moving water; cats seem to love it - I noticed a big diffence in my kitties water consumption since getting the fountain.
post #8 of 16
7/5/09 at 8:45pm
The kitten looks to be about 6 weeks old, and I'm glad to hear you are getting him/her to a vet soon. He/she is adorable!!

I read your other thread and noticed you have a full sized greyhound also. Be very careful - I had a small kitten, that while playing, ran into our sleeping greyhound, startled the greyhound awake and the kitten landed inside his mouth. The greyhound quickly realized what he had and simply opened his mouth and let him drop out. Had he reacted instinctively, he would have shaken his head and killed the kitten instantly. As gentle as grey's can be, they also have very deeply embedded instincts.
post #9 of 16
7/5/09 at 9:34pm
Thread Starter 
Don't worry...unless we are in the room with him, our greyhound wears his muzzle (not b/c he's vicious, but because he's been known to chew up expensive stuff). And anyway, the kitten isn't allowed free roam at all right now, b/c she hasn't been checked out by a vet yet, and anyway, we're not sure yet how our other cats will do, so even once she's cleared by the vet, she'll be supervised until she's a bit bigger. Thanks for the advice, I"ll definitely leave the food out 24/7. I've been giving her the food with the milk every few hours, so I'll continue with that. What would ya'll recommend for kitten food? If I were to feed her wet food, how long would I need to continue it?
post #10 of 16
7/7/09 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
I'm sad to say this little girl (and it was a girl) had to be put to sleep this morning She had feline leukemia My mom was there with me and we stayed with her when they put her to sleep, I cried my eyes out I'd only had her those few days but she was such a sweet little thing. I buried her in the back pasture at our home under a tree...seemed like a nice pretty place for her. Anyway that is all, of course I'm glad I had seperated her from my kitties. It's so hard though
post #11 of 16
7/7/09 at 11:12am
So sorry for your loss. I lost my little girl just yesterday, and it hurts BADLY when they go too young.

Cally
post #12 of 16
7/7/09 at 3:05pm
You did a kindness for a lost soul, and, of course, it hurts you in return. That's the way of it with small kittens; the majority live a very short, brutish life. You at least eased her to the Bridge.
post #13 of 16
7/7/09 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
Yes...as much as I've been broken hearted when my older cats died (even more so probably b/c I had them for years and really knew them) there's just something so sad about a tiny kitten dying. She never really had a chance.
post #14 of 16
7/8/09 at 3:50am
Yes but she had a much better ending because of you. She's at peace now. Thank you...
post #15 of 16
7/8/09 at 11:18am
I'm so sorry for your loss!

I came to this thread through Twitter. it was posted just a few moments ago, so I guess they didn't read through the whole tread before adding it.

As to your original question (because I'm sure it will show up in searches from time to time) as long as the kitten wasn't horribly emaciated when you got her, then yes, you can feed her all she will eat. If she hadn't eaten in a long time, unlimited food could over whelm her tummy and she should be fed in small meals every couple of hours for a few days and would be best to be under the care of a vet.

Dry food is not the highest quality food out there, even the "premium" ones. They are too high in carbohydrates to be considered a good diet for obligate carnivores. Check out http://www.catinfo.org a website run by a vet who actually studies feline nutrition.

you should never wet down dry food and leave it out for any length of time. There are many bacteria and other organisms on it that while harmless in general if you wet it they will grow out of control and quickly become harmful for the kitty.

I foster kittens and will often open more food (canned) than the kittens will eat in 10 minutes so they'll have snack later on in the day. I've been doing this for years and haven't had an issue with it.
post #16 of 16
7/8/09 at 11:32am
I will now close this thread. When you feel up to it, perhaps you can post in the Crossing The Bridge Forum.

RIP little one.
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