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Is my kitten too little?

post #1 of 25
7/17/11 at 9:28pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, my name is Kai, we have several spayed and neutered ferals that we rescued from euthanasia and we just got two bengal kittens. I bought one and the breeder said she would throw in his little sister because she was small. We have had them a week and he has grown and his little sister still looks very scrappy and bony. She looks like a skinny underfed 7 week old kitten and she is 10 weeks. She has a lot of energy and climbs, plays, and is very affectionate. She eats like a horse, science diet kitten and friskies canned, I didn't want to change the food the breeder gave her. She probably puts back a full can of friskies every day on top of science diet. Her eyes look a little strange and dim even though she seems to see fine and be very agile. We will take them to the vet soon for their next vaccines, just want your opinion.
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post #2 of 25
7/18/11 at 10:16am
Doesn't sound like a very good breeder . Do you know how often she's been de-wormed? I would have the vet give her a regular de-wormer (no matter what the fecal shows) and also run a full fecal exam for things like coccidia and giardia. I would say she's just smaller than the male (pretty normal), but if she's skinny and dull in her eyes/coat I do think something's wrong. Were the breeder's cats all tested for FeLV/FIV? I would also have the vet listen very carefully to her heart, because a heart defect can stunt growth.
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post #3 of 25
7/18/11 at 6:59pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you Willowy. I thought she was a good breeder, was very friendly and had a very clean cattery. Lots of healthy looking bengals, ragdolls, jungle bobs and Savannahs. Told me kittens were in good health just small. But I wonder if this cat should really have been let go at all, she just doesn't seem like the type of cat that should be adopted out. I mean, I didn't pay for her but I really don't think the breeder could have felt that this kitten was absolutely healthy. They came with a health guarantee but only for 72 hours if taken to the vet within 72 hours. They were wormed at least once, they have papers with shot records, they are both TICA. I was worried about a heart defect but she has so much energy and I read that kittens with heart defects are usually lethargic. Hmmmm.
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post #4 of 25
7/18/11 at 7:12pm
IMHO, any reputable breeder wouldn't be:
1. giving out small 'defective' kittens for free
2. feeding such crappy food to exotic breed cats
3. breeding so many cats at once

I know some people may say to return her, myself I don't know if I could do that, but I would be ready in case you have huge vet bills in the near future.
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post #5 of 25
7/19/11 at 11:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Minka View Post
IMHO, any reputable breeder wouldn't be:
1. giving out small 'defective' kittens for free
2. feeding such crappy food to exotic breed cats
3. breeding so many cats at once
Plus giving out any kitten who isn't totally healthy. She should have had her own vet do the appropriate tests to find out WHY the kitten was skinny instead of just throwing her in free with the purchase of another.

But that's done with. So have your vet do whatever testing needs to be done to get her healthy. It may cost a bit but at least you didn't pay for her . I personally wouldn't be able to return a kitty once I had her. Who knows what the breeder would do with her anyway.
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post #6 of 25
7/19/11 at 11:58am
The huge red flag here are all the different cat breeds she is "dabbling" in.

Definately get her to the vet and have a complete exam done.
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post #7 of 25
7/19/11 at 8:46pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, I think I am going to get her to the vet but I also decided to contact the breeder. I may just decide to bring her back. We lost our beloved bengal mix to poisoning earlier this month, I was honestly really falling into depression so I decided to jump back in and get another kitten. Before that in September we took two puppies from a box, got them vaccinated right away, a week after we got them they both came down with parvo that the vet said they probably had when we got them. After $4000 in vet bills and a long hard ordeal they both died. So I don't think I want to try to handle another sick animal. I'll see what the breeder has to say. BTW, someone mentioned the breeder feeding "crap food". Would that be the science diet or the friskies canned? I figure she is probably referring to the canned food because I thought that science diet is relatively good food. I didn't want to change from the friskies because she seemed so delicate I didn't want to upset her system.
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post #8 of 25
7/19/11 at 9:50pm
Actually, Science Diet isn't great. It's not the worst out there, but it's far from the best, and definitely overpriced for the quality. Canned foods are generally better than dry foods, and Friskies isn't too awful. Check out the Nutrition sub-forum if you want to look into switching to something better. You're right not to change your kittens' food too quickly. I would give them a week or two to settle in, then start a gradual process of switching foods.
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post #9 of 25
7/19/11 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 
Thansk Willowy, good to know because it isn't less expensive than alot of cat foods out there. I am nervous to switch anything until she starts gaining weight because she seems so fragile.
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post #10 of 25
7/20/11 at 3:40am
I was referring to both the Friskies and Science Diet as crap food actually. I would never ever feed either to anything but a stray. (And yet, I'm doing a bit of TNR right now, and the food that goes into the trap is Merrick Before Grain. :P)
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post #11 of 25
7/20/11 at 8:05am
Thread Starter 
I feed my ferals meow mix. There are so many of them, and they just keep finding me through word of kitty mouth. The science diet is pretty expensive though and I defintely saw better foods out there for the same or less, without corn and wheat. There was one called Call of the Wild which I really liked, if she wasn't so little and fragile I would have switched right there. When the SD starts to run out, I will start mixing in a better food for him. I talked to the breeder and it sounds like she will let me return her. It feels like a good decision, I feel terrible for the little thing but I just think it will be the best for everyone. She seems to have high hopes for the kitten so she can care for her the way she sees fit.
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post #12 of 25
7/20/11 at 12:03pm
Aw it's sad to return her but if you think that will be best for the little one then I guess that's that. Yes, Taste of the Wild is pretty good, can't go wrong with that one. I mix several different brands of dry food for my housecats and TOTW is one of them.

I feed my ferals Purina Cat Chow. I don't think Meow Mix (or store brand or Alley Cat) is nutritionally adequate and Cat Chow only costs a tiny bit more. Best I can do and I guess it's better than eating out of a dumpster.
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post #13 of 25
7/20/11 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, the breeder says she will try a few things, a different wormer and check for viruses, even though the rest of the litter is doing fine. I am relieved that she is willing to take her back and even says she has a couple other kittens I can look at. Is purina cat chow better than meow mix? They are about the same price. I buy in huge bulk, about 3 16 pound bags a month. So a dollar or two isn't going to make a huge difference. My ferals like the taste of meow mix so that's how I settled on that. I changed it once and they vibed me from afar.
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post #14 of 25
7/20/11 at 1:15pm
I think Cat Chow is better than Meow Mix, yes. The top ingredients of Cat Chow are:
Poultry by-product meal, corn meal, corn gluten meal, ground whole wheat, brewers rice, soy flour, animal fat

Now, those aren't great ingredients. But a meat-based ingredient is first.

The tops ingredients of Meow Mix are:
Ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, beef tallow

No meat-based ingredients until 3 down! Plus Meow Mix has way more artificial colorings than Cat Chow, and I trust Purina more than Del Monte when it comes to pet foods. My ferals like Cat Chow. I once bought something cheaper and they wouldn't eat it, lol. I did once get Meow Mix Wholesome Goodness (which is better than the regular Meow Mix) and they liked it.
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post #15 of 25
7/20/11 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, ok, I think I will switch them, slowly.
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post #16 of 25
7/20/11 at 8:42pm
Hi there, do you have a Costco near you? Their food (Kirkland) is very good, and really affordable! $15 for a 25lb bag.

Here are the ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, ground white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), natural chicken flavor, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, potassium chloride, choline chloride, taurine, dried chicory root, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
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post #17 of 25
7/20/11 at 9:58pm
Thread Starter 
Wow, that is good. We have one an hour away but I could stock up. Thanks for the tip.
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post #18 of 25
7/21/11 at 4:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaikrishna1111 View Post
Wow, that is good. We have one an hour away but I could stock up. Thanks for the tip.
Yes! It is really good quality food, kitties do really well on it! SOOOO much better than the cheap stuff that is sold around that price elsewhere!
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post #19 of 25
7/21/11 at 5:41pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone, brought the kitten back to the breeder today, she was very nice and gave me a nice healthy kitten, and said she is going to do some different wormers and run some tests.
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post #20 of 25
7/21/11 at 6:11pm
Ok, I just saw your response. I'll PM you.
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post #21 of 25
7/22/11 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaikrishna1111 View Post
Wow, ok, I think I will switch them, slowly.
PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL ALL OF YOU REGARDING SBT BENGALS/EG BENGALS AND CHANGE OF DIET! As some of you know early generation Bengals and SBT are prone to "IBS". I know we have a Bengal breeder on the board and she will likely disagree with me. But that is my experience with rescue/fostering true SBT or EG Bengal cats.

I had a F1 Bengal that was a from a breeder and after not having viable kittens for more then two years she was given to me.

I had her until she was 10 years old and died of "natural causes". Anyway she could only digest Meow Mix. I am not saying this was a good quality food at all but any other food (I tried 20 plus brands of wet and dry) gave her horrendous diarrhea!

So I then changed her onto a raw/whole prey diet and she was fine digestive wise.

Taro was an amazing cat and I do actually still miss her about 7 years later .
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post #22 of 25
7/22/11 at 10:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaikrishna1111 View Post
I feed my ferals meow mix. There are so many of them, and they just keep finding me through word of kitty mouth. The science diet is pretty expensive though and I defintely saw better foods out there for the same or less, without corn and wheat. There was one called Call of the Wild which I really liked, if she wasn't so little and fragile I would have switched right there. When the SD starts to run out, I will start mixing in a better food for him. I talked to the breeder and it sounds like she will let me return her. It feels like a good decision, I feel terrible for the little thing but I just think it will be the best for everyone. She seems to have high hopes for the kitten so she can care for her the way she sees fit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat Person View Post
PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL ALL OF YOU REGARDING SBT BENGALS/EG BENGALS AND CHANGE OF DIET! As some of you know early generation Bengals and SBT are prone to "IBS". I know we have a Bengal breeder on the board and she will likely disagree with me. But that is my experience with rescue/fostering true SBT or EG Bengal cats.

I had a F1 Bengal that was a from a breeder and after not having viable kittens for more then two years she was given to me.

I had her until she was 10 years old and died of "natural causes". Anyway she could only digest Meow Mix. I am not saying this was a good quality food at all but any other food (I tried 20 plus brands of wet and dry) gave her horrendous diarrhea!

So I then changed her onto a raw/whole prey diet and she was fine digestive wise.

Taro was an amazing cat and I do actually still miss her about 7 years later .
Cat Person, you do realize, if you read her whole thread, that this specific food change is not for the Bengals? She is actually talking about the feral cats she feeds?
The Bengal food change was an entirely other discussion - they are currently eating Science Diet and Friskies, (they are not on Meow Mix) which as you know, are not that great either
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post #23 of 25
7/23/11 at 3:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carolina View Post
Cat Person, you do realize, if you read her whole thread, that this specific food change is not for the Bengals? She is actually talking about the feral cats she feeds?
The Bengal food change was an entirely other discussion - they are currently eating Science Diet and Friskies, (they are not on Meow Mix) which as you know, are not that great either
Yes Carolina, but my assumption is that she intended to change her Bengals diet along with the domestics. So I was saying I would stick to what the Bengals can digest.

The F1 Bengal I had ate Meow Mix. I was using her as an example as to why you might not want to change a Bengals diet.

I hope I am clearer. Now if she has no intention of changing the Bengals diet just ignore me .
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post #24 of 25
7/23/11 at 5:34am
It's not unusual to have a diarrhea issue when changing any cat's food, particularly dry food. Their system needs time to adjust to the new food so when changing a food it is important to do it gradually, i.e., add a little of the dry food and increase the amount each day over a period of about a week so that by the end of the week there is mostly or all new food. You shouldn't just switch the foods out entirely - that's when you risk the diarrhea.

Wet food isn't so much an issue.

I try to stay away from any foods with by-products.
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post #25 of 25
7/23/11 at 6:36am
Science Diet and Friskies are not the worst, as Willowy pointed out. I too am concerned about the number of breeds of exotic cats. She kind of sounds like a back yard breeder to me but I don't have all the info you have.

I think my first course of action would be to get them to the vet.

All 4 of my cats eat either Nutro Max or Nutro Natural Choice foods and have thrived on them. I also mix up their wet food with other brands as well, to give them some variety.

Congrats on your new babies Sounds like they have found a great home.

I don't have a Bengal but have always liked them. Post pics when you can. Pretty please...
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