Tell me about growth spurts in kittens!!

My new kitten (name is yet to be finalized) (DSH) was about 5 months when I first got him. He spent a few weeks where I got him from while his first vaccinations took hold, then 2 weeks in confinement before introductions with my resident cats. He has been out and about with other kitties for a few days.

Kitty is not even 6 months yet (maybe 5 1/2 months??) and he is over 8 pounds - heading for 8 1/2 pounds (I have a baby scale at home). He is a solid cat, but I can see his waistline and his ribs are still able to be felt although there is some padding. He has had a huge growth spurt in this period since I adopted him about a month ago now - probably put on over 1 1/2 pounds I would guess - maybe 2 pounds. He was still kitten-ish when I got him and now he looks like a young man.

I am a bit worried that this is a lot of weight to put on in a short time, but he does not seem to be overeating (I have other very thin cats so difficult to ration food too much or my senior more fragile cats will struggle) and runs around like crazy and then flops out all tired afterwards - healthy lifestyle for a kitten. But most of this growth spurt was when he was not out and about with the other cats but rather in his confinement space with rationed food.

Do some kittens just have enormous growth spurts around the 5-6 month mark? Is he likely going to be a large cat? I've always adopted adult cats in the past, so have no knowledge of kitten growth spurts.

He's probably just a big tom! You can never tell how big they'll be though, cause they can also just grow fast and hit full growth earlier. I have a 6 1/2 month old boy who is 10 1/2 lbs but he is actually a slender kitty under all his fluff! I have to wonder when he's gonna stop growing though! He eats so much food! And he did have a few big growth spurts, but he mostly gained weight steadily, just more than the oft-sited 1lb a month.

So we'll have to see if my boy is as big as yours at 6 1/2 months!! That is one huge kitty that you have!!

If you are feeding a lot of dry food that can make cats fat because of the cereal content.  If cats eat a good-quality (=no cereal) diet they are less likely to get fat.  But you have the right idea, looking at his body condition rather than the scales.

Also if it's not been done it's more than time to get him neutered.

Neutering will happen soon. He's only just had his booster vaccine and come out of quarantine at my house. I wanted a bit of time for him to settle in before dealing with the next step of neutering. Unfortunately, vet clinic hours are so jumbled between xmas and the new year, that I will have to wait until about the first week of January to neuter (not that far away - just a few weeks).

I do 3 soft meals per day and then leave out some dry food (not enormous freefeed amounts, but rationed amounts put out 2x per day - my two skinny senior cats need access to this to hold their weight).

Neuter booked for January 6.

I also think that dry food may be the reason that is causing your cat gaining weight. You must visit your pet for suggestion because they will give you better advice than us.

Tumbles weighed about 8 lbs when he was 6 mos old and my vet was not concerned.  He was pretty much lean, not fatty or flabby.  Kitties grow disproportionately, meaning their bones don't necessarily grow at the same rate as their tummies.  Kittens also have enormously high metabolism rates, which is why they eliminate more frequently than adult kitties.  At around 6 mos of age, we decreased the number feedings we were giving Tumbles, so he ate a bit less.  (He went from 5 wet food servings a day to 4.) Also, we fed him predominately grain-free canned food.  We also started mixing some adult dry grain-free food with his kitten kibble to cut down on his kitten kibble intake.  Kitten food has a lot of good nutrients growing kitties need, but it's also high calorie.  With Tumbles, his growth spurts were preceded by  periods of heavy sleeping, more napping than normal.  It lasted about 3 days and then he was back to his rambunctious self.

Dandy (Dandelion) will be 6 mos. in about 2 wks. and weighed in the other day at 7.5 lbs.  My daughter was here and I asked her if she thought she was fat and she said that if you could feel their ribs, it should be okay.  She checked Dandy and thought she was all right although certainly not underfed!  She's been spayed and claims to be starving quite often.

I wonder the same things.  Dandy looks more like a cat than a kitten now.

Our recently added boy, Monty, just had a wellness check today and at 4mos old weighed 7lbs.  He was 6.5lbs two weeks ago when we adopted him & had to take him in for a URI.   Within 4 days of coming home I was already transitioning him off the Science Diet kitten kibble the shelter was feeding over to the Instinct wet food I preferred (chicken), and he does split a 1.5 cup serving of EVO chicken/turkey kibble, with his brother as a mid-day snack.

In contrast, our boy Si, when we rescued him at approx. 8mos old was under weight at 8lbs, and is now a solid 13.3lbs at 17mos old.  Although he is way more active now with a kitten in the house, I am working to back him off the feedbag a bit as I'd like to see him around 12lbs going forward.  The vet told us that Si was just going to be a big cat, but kibble, even the better stuff, really put it on him in the last 6mos.

I am using scheduled 2x a day wet feedings (1/2 a 5.5oz can each) with a kibble snack mid-day to split and get away from the habit of a free bowl of kibble anytime.   I do, however, feed Monty a 3rd (1/2 a 5.5oz can) serving of wet lamb food while his brother is napping since he's due for a growth spurt any moment now   

I adopted a stray kitten a few months ago. He had been neglected & somewhat abused, but he's very sweet, though still a bit slow to warm up to men. He's recovered well from a couple of physical injuries he had when he came to me, but he's small for his age. He's just finished a major growth spurt. Has anyone here had a kitten who had a similar past? I wonder if he'll always be on the small side? He's as tall as an average six-month-old... He's doing fine, in terms of weight. Thanks in advance for any insights!

Oops! Meant to say that he's about 8 months old, apparently. A neighbor knew who he had belonged to (someone who moved away & left Buddy behind), & recalled having met my boy once when he was tiny. We've extrapolated from that, & the vet agrees.