Feeding & Activity Level

bluebird gal

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
451
Purraise
41
Location
On The Road
Our little rescue man Si is approximately 9mos per our vet's best guess.  Having said that I have read tons of threads here on optimum feeding.  First off, we are in an area of Louisiana that doesn't have a Petco or anything of that nature so our options were limited when he found us.  I started him on the Friskies dry seafood mix at first because we had other issues to deal with (cat bite abscess on leg, barfed up a roundworm or two, etc., then a neuter).  And I started with several small feedings since he seemed to be totally new to eating cat food overall.

Even though he drank plenty of water on his own, my continued research here & the thought of UTIs spooked me enough I decided to start cutting him over to the wet Friskies pate varieties of chicken & beef until we're back in Dallas/Fort Worth next month & I can get to a real pet store with better options.

All that said - he is a Chow Hound and though I realize now some of that is associated with having been a stray & not knowing where his next meal would come from, he seems hungry even when I know his little belly "feels" full. 

I see that some of you feel that a kitten under the age of 1yr should not really be withheld food (assuming they are not gorging themselves to the point of barfing) and wondered, based on his current activity level, if I am doing the right thing.

Si currently weighs 9lbs and my rough feeding schedule has been:

5:30am - 1/2 of a 5.5oz can wet

9:30-10am -  1oz of dry kibble for a snack

1:30-2:00pm - 2oz+ of dry kibble

7:30-8:00pm - 1/2 of the 5.5oz can wet

Realizing that the kibble is virtually useless nutritionally and based on his current activity level - which is what I would consider high is it safe to up his wet food to, say 1 and a 1/2 cans?

We play with him 4-6x per day as he's interested.   We can't resist getting in the floor & playing get the rat (toy) in his crinkle tube, we also have several squeaky fishing toys that he's mad about, noisy balls & we play chase through the RV once he's riled up in full play mode. 

Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts & advice!
 
Last edited:

catspaw66

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
5,508
Purraise
1,616
Location
Waldron, Arkansas
First, thank you for rescuing your Si. At his activity level, it would probably be safe to up his wet food up to 1 1/2 cans a day. You might want to cut the second dry feeding to 1 oz.  If I am wrong, someone will correct me, I hope.
 

redvelvetone

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
597
Purraise
28
Location
Pennsylvania, USA
Ah Si looks like a doll. Thanks for rescuing the little fella. I have a soft spot for black kitties too.

My cat also only gets only wet, as like you I have concerns with dry food. When he was 9 months he was getting about 8 oz of wet per day. But like your boy, he was also a rescued feral and would eat himself into oblivion if I let him. But I know some like to leave out some dry for them to free feed from while they are still kittens. Though I think at 9 months of age they are old enough not to have this (IMO - esp if you have a former feral because they don't know to stop eating).

Also though, you need to check the calorie count on the food you are feeding him. I hadn't looked at first and because I rotate his wet food, I saw that different brands have different calorie amounts. So not sure what the calorie count is on the food you are feeding him but make sure it's not too low calorie for a kitten. But depending on his size I'm guessing 8 oz is most likely a good amount for an older kitten. 

you can also just eyeball it too. If he starts to look like he is getting too big, cut back a little. Too skinny, add a little more, keeping in mind growing cats go through spurts where they look long and lanky at one moment then cobbier at another. If I remember correctly I think my guy was at his lanky phase at 9 Months.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

bluebird gal

TCS Member
Thread starter
Alpha Cat
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
451
Purraise
41
Location
On The Road
Thanks so much for the replies.

redvelvetone .. he is at a long, lanky stage right now so I'm going to continue to feed him generously, play hard and just generally feel of him, look for a waist from above & if or when he becomes a little chubby looking, pare back accordingly.

We just love this little guy.  I sure wish I had the money & time to rescue, or at least TNR, the ferals he was running with when he introduced himself to us.    Our vet even said "no, he's not feral .. at all"  because he had his paws on his shoulder talking to him & purring.  LOL  

I don't know if he was a walk away from the housing projects behind our RV Park or someone dumped him out here on the river, but he has a forever home & we could not be happier.  
 
Top