Thin kitty?

I recently adopted a kitten from a shelter. She is about eleven weeks old and really sweet. She has been checked over by the shelter's veterinarian and has no internal parasites and has a vet statement saying that there is really nothing wrong with her when they brought her in.

We've had her for about a week, and I was recently checking her over and she seems really thin.Now, Ive worked with animals a long while, at groomers, at a veterinarian's office, so I'm not exactly clueless to animal care and whatnot... But anyways... Her hips, ribs, spine and cheekbones are quite prominent. She is active, but seems to get tired easily. She wasn't at the shelter long, so I think where ever she was before, she didn't get proper care.

Is there anything I should supplement her diet with? I'm currently giving her the same food the shelter was giving her - Natures Choice, or something like that- because I didn't want to cause her an upset stomach.

Thanks in advance.

It would help if you could find out exactly what she is eating.

How much are you feeding her a day?

Leslie

You'll want to wean her over to a high quality kitten food If you do it slowly, mixing the Natures Choice in with the kitten food, and slowly increasing it, you shouldn't have a prob with her tummy.

Do you have a weight on her?

Is she pooping normal? Is she eating wet and dry or just dry? How much are you feeding her?

The vet has some high cal foods that are good for kitties, expensive, but to supplement with it wouldn't be too bad (pricewise).

If you want to switch food, let us know what your price range is (like $20/mo, $40/mo....unlimited...etc) and what stores are around you, and we can recommend a good kitten or all stages food for you. (also if you can find a link to the food you are feeding, it would be great to post that....as maybe you don't need to switch).

I would definitely have her on kitten food rather than adult food. Switching over dry foods should be done slowly - over a week to 10 days, gradually adding more and more of the new food to the current one until at the end of that time the switch will be complete.

Wet food isn't usually a problem to switch over immediately to another food. Sharky is our resident expert when it comes to food and I'm sure she'll be along soon to help you decide what foods would be best for your kitty. We generally tend to stay away from the food from vet's offices (usually Hills Science Diet which aren't great foods for healthy cats although they can be good for special needs kitties).

ETA: I know you said she was vet checked, but did they de-worm her? Kittens are often born with worms so it wouldn't hurt to have the vet give you a dewormer appropriate to her age/weight. At the very least have her feces tested.