my kitten is getting fat!

I don't know where i went wrong but one of my kittens is getting a fat stomach that is very squishy and pendulum like.

We picked him and his brother up from the street and he was always bigger than his brother but now he is starting to get overweight and his brother is still thin.

 I don't understand it because we have fed them from the same bowl  and yet one is chubby. we give them a grain free kibble called taste of the wild, we always have their food out because they become upset if their food or water bowl is empty right away.

i don't think they eat very much food as our 5 pound bad has lasted a few  weeks, could he have a medical problem like a thyroid issue or slow metabolism? how can i get the fat cat to lose weight without limiting both kittens foods as we only have one food bowl and one is already thin?

If you're really concerned then yes, could go get their bloods tested for any thyroid problem. The simple solution is to get another food bowl and feed them in different rooms.  Sounds like one is eating most of the food here.  The other thing is to switch to wet food - it's better for them anyway and has less carbs. Less carbs means kitty doesn't get as fat.   As for leaving food out all the time, well, you could stop that. They will get used to it in the end, just got to be strong and not give in to cute cat protests!!

Good luck

Hi,

It's hard to even talk about weight without knowing a) how much the kitten actually weighs and b) the age of the kitten.  Is it possible for you to weigh the kitten, and can you tell us his age?  Can you also give us the weight of the other kitten?

Kittens, especially under 6 months of age have very predictable weights and so knowing the age of the kittens and both their weights would be the first start to having a helpful conversation!

Thanks

Stephen

hey guys thanks for the replies i know i will sound like a imbecile now but i don't know their ages since i picked them off the road about a month and a half ago  they weighed a little less one weighed a little less than 2 lbs and one weighed 3 lbs, when we were able to get them neutered the fat one we call Oreo (double stuffed Oreo lol) weight 4.8 lbs i believe and the other 3.x lbs. i would reckon they are less than 6 months but i'm no cat expert unfortunately, maybe i'll become one some day tho! i like the idea of getting another food bowl, the hardest part will be not giving Oreo food when he wants it

As for the wet food we would love to give them wet food but simply is not in our budget at all being very broke all the time also we are very prone to getting bugs in the house that would love for us to bring wet food in every day i know they are appreciative of the litter box 

How old are they? If they are more than 4-5 months old, I think it is safe enough to put them on scheduled feeding. There is absolutely no benefit in free feeding them - as you see, one is thin and one is fatty, so free feeding gives you absolutely no control in how much each of them eats.

I think it is a bit premature to think of any health problems. I am not saying that they can't be an issue, I am saying that you have to monitor their food intake so you can see why the thin is thin and why the fat is fat. Only after you will know exactly how much each is eating we can start making assumptions about health problems.

Switching from free feeding to scheduled feeding is not very easy, but the benefits are so many I do not know where to start. First, you will have total control of the portions, so each will receive what he needs taking into consideration age, weight, activity level and so on. Secondly, you will notice with each meal if and how much they eat (pretty much the most common symptom of illness, not eating), so if one skips a meal no biggie, but if he skips two meals, major warning sign. There is no way you could notice this so soon when free feeding. Of course, another benefit is that the thinner will get fatter (healthier) and the fatter will get thinner. Meal time will be such a joy for them and for you too, there is a special bonding there that happens on scheduled feeding.

Having one bowl is just not enough, I am sure you have some old plate lying around that you could use as a cat bowl, if you do not wish to buy another bowl.

Another thing that will benefit both is switching to wet food, as Fleabags Mom stated. I recommend catinfo.org , a great site written by a vet who explains in detail the benefits of scheduled feeding and wet/home cooked feeding.

I have three cats and 13 food bowls, but I'm a bit lazy like that (I wash the bowls once a day and they have clean bowls with every meal). They have 3 meals a day (before work, after work and before bed). One of them eats in the living room and the other two in the bedroom.

ok i'm pretty convinced now that scheduled feeding will be the best thing to do but how will i know i'm not starving the kitties if i ignore their protests is my main concern i do love those kitties

is their an affordable but quality wet food you know about, we still want to be able to pay bills

Even a low cost wet food would be better than an all dry diet. If you can't afford a wet food diet one thing you might be able to afford to do - and this connects to the ideas about a feeding schedule, is that you introduce a small portion of wet food to each cat 2x a day at regular times along with their dry.  Even a teaspoon of wet food at specific times of the day will create in their minds a regular eating time, and if you combined that with a measured and limited amount of dry food you will start to establish a routine, and a calorie limit.  A teaspoon of wet is pennies in terms of cost.

I would also suggest you sit and observe their eating habits. Does oreo eat longer? If you provide two bowls you can remove the skinny cats bowl when he's done eating so all that remains is the measured amount for Oreo.

Also, when you got them did you put them through a de-worming regimen?

hey steph thanks for your knowledge i appreciate it, i really want to feed them wet food all the time now so i will be going to the store today to look at my options, i am definatly concerned about giving them diarrhea though. I will also observe their eating habbits but from what ive seen already they eat frequently in small amounts

i got them dewormed as soon as i got them as they both had loose stools, diarrhea, the most foul smeling poop we suspected the thin one had it worse because his diarrhea lasted much longer then fatty Oreo 

Ok that's great. To avoid diarrhea start gently with gentle food. A chicken based food would be a good start, avoid fish. You may have to try a variety at first to see what they like and just a little but of wet at first is fine. 2 bowls is a must and it would still be good I measure out portions of sry. Good going!

I have three cats (4.5 months, 3 years and 5 years). They all eat together out of the same bowls and are all of healthy weight. However, my 3 and 5 gained a pound between their 2012-2013 January checkups. What I did to reduce their weight is give them a mixture of foods.

They get one can of wet food in the morning. Their dry food is a mix of Longevity (A senior cat food with 12g of fat) and grain free Wilderness for indoor kitties (around 18g of fat). Just reducing the fat content in their food (not amount, or how much exercise they give each other) has brought them both back down to their previous weights. Just some 'food' for thought on top of the other awesome tips!

hey guys you wouldnt happen to know how much you might be spending on cat food per week , would be very helpful

I do one can of wet food a day ($0.40-0.45) and I buy the $12 longevity and the $30 giant bag of wilderness. Usually this lasts 3 months. So about $0.46 a day. Less than a dollar for me total

Wow! I feel much more confident switching to canned food knowing I can afford it Thanks everyone for all the tips

Canned food is almost always under $1 depending on the brand. My kitties are content with the 20 flavors of friskies pate.

You could try writing/emailing all the major brands of wet food where you are and ask for a sample? This way you could try and find out what your kitties like and don't like without having wasted a lot of money and have tins or boxes of unwanted food left over. It can be, urm, interesting finding something they will eat with some fussy cats!! Grins.

There will be some trial and error at first and you will waste some food, but it is worth it. When you will find out what food your cats like you can buy the bigger cans, which are always cheaper.

I can't give you the costs of cat food I pay for because:

1. I am in a weird country with weird prices and I order their food online from Germany

2. I feed a total of 8 cats, 3 of my own and 5 in a feral colony and I REFUSE to sum it all up. Let it be a mystery to me, so I won't have a heart attack.

Well, I bought 4 cans of canned food to test the waters and to say they liked the food is an understatement! they attacked the cans as soon as i opened them o,o' could barely keep them contained  so i'm gonna say  its a success but the most important thing is how it will come out the other end so to say hehe

Haha, yes that's great news but again to avoid diarrhea go s l o w l y. :-)  Just a little bit of wet in the beginning.

And remember, while wet food is an important part of weight control, so is portioning, wet and dry, so don't leave unlimited amounts of dry food out.  Measure out portions, do specfic feeding times, and don't let Oreo eat from the other cat's bowl

I just want to add my little bit too... we recently went through a similar situation with new cats, money limits, and diarrhea. We ended up with Friskies canned pates ( $0.96 for a 13 oz can at walmart). The big thing I wanted to say - if your kitties continue to experience 'tummy troubles' you should try to limit to different protein types.... We ended up with the fish flavor friskies pate ( they only offer a few varieties) because our one cat can't seem to handle poultry. Be sure to read the ingredient list rather that just the flavors- our kitties would love to eat shreds, but the shreds contain mostly poultry products, even the fish flavor ones.  Best of luck with your little ones!