So sad, just realized

I just bought my kitty about 3 or 4 days ago and he just turned 2 months today. His owners said he was already eating dry food on his own and to give him Friskies for kittens. Well I went out to 2 petcos and couldnt find it so I settled for Kitten Chow. When I bought him home I noticed him on the skinny side, I havent weighed him yet. He wasnt eating the dry food so I went out and bought him wet food, which his owners had never gave him, and he just LOVED it.

Well this morning I realized he doesnt know how to eat the dry food. He just licks it but doesnt pick it up so I'm thinking maybe they never realized he wasnt eating right? I dont know but I want to start teaching him how to eat it. Any advice?

He's very young. And his teeth are very new so crunchy things might be a problem for him. You can moisten the dry food until he gets the hang of it. Has he been de-wormed yet? That could also be a cause for his skinniness.

Originally Posted by Willowy

Has he been de-wormed yet? That could also be a cause for his skinniness.

Click to expand...

Rambo needs to be checked by your vet to rule out a health issue.
At the same time, if he is well enough, you could start him on his inoculation schedule and have him wormed too.
Rambo

Canned food is much better for him as it has more moisture, more protein as well as fewer carbohydrates, and is easier to digest than dry food.

Why Cats Need Canned Food
Does Dry Food Clean the Teeth?

Many cats become "addicted" to dry food (mine is), and that makes it very difficult if they later have to eat a special diet, for example for urinary problems.

If he likes canned food, I'd continue to give it to him. If it's a question of cost, he really shouldn't be getting more than 1/2 dry; less is preferable.

okay well hes going to his first vet check up tomorrow plus getting his first shots and deworming because he hasn't had any of it done.

Poor little guy. If you do feed some dry, you could break it up into smaller pieces. I know there is a dry out there called Royal Canin Baby Cat with very small kibble pieces. If you do that and you change him over to something else dry, you must do it slowly over the course of a week to ten days... gradually adjusting the proportion of dry kibble from the old food to the new.

I agree that at least half wet/ half dry if you can afford it.

I'll look into that Royal Canin Baby Cat. that sounds like a good one for him because he's very small. He might have trouble with the size of the dry food. I put him on a scale today and it BARELY moved. Looks like he might be atleast a pound..maybe maybe 2 but no more than that.

They're supposed to be 2 pounds at 8 weeks. I have 2 orphan kittens (I didn't get them until they were about 5 weeks old, and they weren't being fed properly before that) and when I took them to the vet at 8 weeks for their shots, they barely weighed a pound. The vet said that's VERY small for that age. So I hope he's bigger than a pound! Poor little guy.

aw my poor baby. I'm not very confident that he's 2 pounds since the scale barely moved to 1. He should pick up the weight in no time though, he's eating the wet food really well.

Wet food is an excellent option for Rambo...
please let us know how his vet exam goes.
Sending calming vibes for you both.

lol thank you for the vibes.

I'll be sure to keep you all updated

Hi,

I just read the why cats need canned food link. So what are some good canned foods? I recently posted about the smelly litter box problem, so I'm still on the hunt that will reduce odor. Thanks! Best wishes to your new baby!

well I've been giving him Max Cat for kittens and Science Diet

I actually use a litter that works good for me. I keep the litter box in my room and it doesnt smell at all. buuut I'll have to get back to you on the name. Its in the garage and my kitty chose to take a nap on me

How's your baby doing? I agree on the wet food for a baby that young

It not sure at all he is 8 weeks, as the ex-owners said he was.

They said also he is used to eat dry food. He apparently isnt.

He is smaller then most 8 weeks. He probably isnt. 6 weeks and just weaned is what I bet on.

Thus, easy with the shots - he should be 8-9 for them.

But wet food (+ Royal Canin baby food, or other reputable kitten food, as fill up), vet check, deworming, yes. Proceed with these plans.


Dont forget to be very mammy to him!

well yea when I came home I emailed them and asked them for his birthday and its July 27, 2009 and she said "he'll be 8 weeks on sunday" so yeah he wasnt exactly 8 weeks when I got him.

But he's doing good. Eating (wet food) very well and using his litter box every single time he's actually not going to the vet until tomorrow so I'll keep you all updated with what the vet tells me!