Am I feeding them enough, and are they getting enough nutrition?

stacydc83 · Jan 9, 2013

I actually read the "feeding guidlines" on the cans today, and it said about two cans a day for an adult cat. Lily is 4 and a half months, and Callie is about 9 months. I give them a huge assortment of food, some kitten, some adult matinance, some all life stages. I feed them three times a day, but each get half of small can, per feeding, which by the end of the day, is only a can and a half, per cat. I give them the Nutro natural kitten food, Merrick BG, Natures Variety, Natural Balance, Fancy Feast, ProPlan Adult beef and cheese, and turkey and pasta, Purina One, and Soulistic. I hope I'm giving them enough. I just cannot afford 4-6 cans a day to feed both of them, and it says kittens eat double this amount. Am I under feeding them? They have IAMS dry kitten food out at all times, but they eat very little of that, they much prefer their soft food. I'm just worried since they are both still kittens, and Callie, the older one, seems very thin, bone thin, and her appetite is no where near as big as Lily's, she only eats several bites of her food, apposed to Lily who eats her entirety of her plate, plus whatever Callie left. Any advice? Am I going about feeding them all wrong? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

otto · Jan 9, 2013

One thing you can do is buy larger cans. Is there a reason you are using only the 3 ounce cans? Fancy Feast only comes in 3 ounce cans, but all the others you mentioned have a 5.5 ounce offering, which will save you a lot of money.

While that is a great rotation of canned foods you're doing, 4.5 ounces a day is definitely not enough for a kitten.

Remember, that amount is only temporary, by the time they are about 14 months old they won't need that much food any more.

I would take Callie to the vet. A kitten who doesn't thrive usually has something wrong. It could be as simple as tapeworm, but you don't know until you get her seen.

gussy14 · Jan 9, 2013

When my cats were small, they ate a LOT. I have to concur, it doesn't sound like they're getting quite enough. I think they ate half a 6 oz can of food plus free-fed dry that they loved (I don't do dry anymore, just to clarify). At one point, my cats were growing a pound every 10 days, so they need a lot of intake to keep up with all that growth. But they don't keep up with that growth forever - now they each eat a 5.5 or 6 oz can of food a day, and while they might act like they are starved when it's mealtime, they are fine

A lot of (good!) canned food you mentioned comes in the 5.5 or 6 oz size, and there are also a lot of brands that do 12 or 13 oz cans. It is definitely a money-saver to buy the bigger cans. The food keeps in the fridge for a few days. You can even buy lids that just fit on the can. They were $1 or so in our grocery store.

Does Callie have any particular brands/flavors that she likes better than the others? You might try giving her a lot more of that. If she is so thin, it sounds like a trip to the vet is in order.

Good luck! Please let us know how it goes.

stacydc83 · Jan 10, 2013

I watched Lily & Callie eat their breakfast and lunch today, and I don't think increasing the amount would do them any good. They had Royal Canin kitten food for breakfast, and both of them left some, and for lunch they had Soulistic Tuna in Pumpkin soup, and there were a few morsels left on both plates. I'm starting to think they are eating more than I thought, of the hard kitten food, because they don't act hungry, and only Callie is on the thin side. I'm hoping its just her structure to be thin, because shes not unhealthy by any means. she plays constantly, and is happy can be. I think shes just a lot more picky than Lily. Ive realized Callie really likes beef flavor, so I got a bunch of beef cat food, and seems she eats more of that opposed to turkey/chicken/duck. So is it okay with the soft food amount, if they are eating their IAMS kitten food too? I know Callie REALLY likes the hard. And speaking of Callie, shes 6 lbs, and has been dewormed before, and Lily is 5.

Thanks again for you alls advice. I'm going to give it a shot with giving them more, but if their not eating it I'll just switch back to the amount they are eating..

molmoumook · Jan 11, 2013

Whatever you're feeding, it's about the calories and nutrients that your kitten is getting, not the volume or weight amount since that can change from brand to brand and from diet to diet within the same brand. It is possible for kittens to overeat, and feeding too much can lead to being overweight by the time they are adults, and begging behaviour when you have to start really regulating their intake. I personally don't agree with mixing different brands and flavours of food because each one is meant to be complete and balanced in and of themselves. When you start mixing and constantly changing them from meal to meal and day to day, you are not able to track the calories they consume as easily, and more importantly, you are throwing off the balance of nutrients they are meant to be getting. I think if you choose one kitten food to stick with until they're adults (whether wet or dry, or a mixture), and following the feeding guide as a start (but adjusting if needed) that would be the best thing for your cats.

just mike · Jan 11, 2013

Stacydc83 said:
I actually read the "feeding guidlines" on the cans today, and it said about two cans a day for an adult cat. Lily is 4 and a half months, and Callie is about 9 months. I give them a huge assortment of food, some kitten, some adult matinance, some all life stages. I feed them three times a day, but each get half of small can, per feeding, which by the end of the day, is only a can and a half, per cat. I give them the Nutro natural kitten food, Merrick BG, Natures Variety, Natural Balance, Fancy Feast, ProPlan Adult beef and cheese, and turkey and pasta, Purina One, and Soulistic. I hope I'm giving them enough. I just cannot afford 4-6 cans a day to feed both of them, and it says kittens eat double this amount. Am I under feeding them? They have IAMS dry kitten food out at all times, but they eat very little of that, they much prefer their soft food. I'm just worried since they are both still kittens, and Callie, the older one, seems very thin, bone thin, and her appetite is no where near as big as Lily's, she only eats several bites of her food, apposed to Lily who eats her entirety of her plate, plus whatever Callie left. Any advice? Am I going about feeding them all wrong? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

It's good that your kittens like wet over dry food. A wet diet is generally accepted as the more preferable diet for cats of all ages. I too feed kibble but only for grazing. It's about 10% of my cat's diet with the other 90% as wet. Your wet choices look good and I too mix my cat's diet up with different brands, flavors and textures with their main brand being the 2 Nutro lines.

The 3 times a day feeding is good as well although my Swiffer was only fed twice a day when she was a kitten along with the three adult cats. This was done under veterinary supervision.

The feeding guidelines on the cans are just that, "guidelines". In my experience I have found the "guidelines" to be a bit excessive and usually end up being too much for my cats. I think you are feeding them a good diet and going about it the right way. I usually feed kittens as much as they want to eat because their activity levels are much higher than that of adult cats.

I think I would discuss Callie's weight concerns with the veterinarian. It may very well be that Callie is going to be a more petite cat than Lily is going to be. However, if she is critically thin there might be an indication of some underlying issue not seen on the surface.

Am I feeding them enough, and are they getting enough nutrition?

stacydc83

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otto

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gussy14

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stacydc83

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molmoumook

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just mike

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