Help with feeding some small kittens

Hi,
I'm new to the site and wanted to seek some advice. I recently bought 2 adorable 9 week old brother and sister kittens, the first cats I've owned. Both are fine examples of a healthy kitten; bright eyed, bushy tailed, absolutely full of it, play and torment each other all day long! The only thing is that the male is much smaller than the female. Female currently weighs about 800g male is about 600g (from my very crude method of wacking them on our kitchen scales and judging when all of them is on there!) Female is the biggest of the litter of 4 and male is the smallest. I am not worried about the male as he's just as happy and active but I'm more vigilant and want to give him the best start in life and the best shot at growing to a big healthy boy. However I don't want to make the female obese in the process (can currently just about feel her ribs and she has a very pot belly) and I don't want to make a rod for my own back and encourage terrible eating routines. Currently I am putting them out about half a kitten pouch 4 times a day and an unlimited supply of dry food which they almost never touch. They do have a habit of grazing which I know is normal for such young cats but the male will literally eat a couple of mouthfuls then lose interest. The female also grazes but tends to return more frequently. The male I'm finding needs encouraging to return. If I take him back to the bowl a few minutes later he will sometimes eat a bit more but he won't tend to do this much off his own back if that makes se sense. They both seem to be gaining weight although hard to say as I've literally only had them 4 days and their weight will obviously vary throughout the day. However I would estimate male has gained a modest amount of weight (20-30g in the last 3 days) I just wondered if I'm doing the right things really and if anyone had any tips for getting both kitties into a healthy eating pattern which will help them grow and develop well. I've been feeding them whiskas kitten pouches and the dry food which as I say they're refusing despite the fact that they were fed exclusively dry food at their first home. I may also have been sneaking them a tiny (and I do mean tiny) amount of the smoked salmon I eat for breakfast as a treat teehee but nothing else. Thanks all Xx

So there is a huge controversy about cat food out there. Everyone has different facts. That in mind, here my own two cents worth: I do not recommend dry food. Most has astonishing low quality and is full of fillers that do not provide nutrition but will help getting a cat obese. Keep in mind that a cat is a desert creature without a thirst drive, supposed to get moisture from food. If you absolutely have to feed dry food, there are better brands out there, and ways to entice a cat to drink. But if you can avoid it, best get some cans. If you want to save money (the best brands are expensive), you might want to look into what cats ate before the pet food industry invented pet food. 

But generally, young cats need to eat several times a day, at least 3x. I wouldn't fret. Salmon is great, smoked is not (generally no spice added is best).

Can you post some pictures of the little ones?

It's strange. It's like he heard me fretting because he's actually eaten much better this evening and finally seems to be eating his share. He's guzzled down the last couple of meals. I've decided to try and establish a solid routine of 4 small wet meals a day and a small supply of dry overnight. Will rethink this if I'm worried but I can already see a little belly developing on him so hopefully he'll turn a corner now and pile it on. I've made a picture of them my profile image but can't work out how to upload any more sorry. They're lovely though I promise. Half Russian Blue. Male is silver tabby and female is blue

jannt86 said:

It's strange. It's like he heard me fretting because he's actually eaten much better this evening and finally seems to be eating his share. He's guzzled down the last couple of meals. I've decided to try and establish a solid routine of 4 small wet meals a day and a small supply of dry overnight. Will rethink this if I'm worried but I can already see a little belly developing on him so hopefully he'll turn a corner now and pile it on. I've made a picture of them my profile image but can't work out how to upload any more sorry. They're lovely though I promise. Half Russian Blue. Male is silver tabby and female is blue

Click to expand...

nice to hear!  

For a picture you have saved somewhere, just click on the "insert image" button. 

Hopefully I've done this right and there's some pics of them! As an update I'm really happy with how they're doing. The little male (named squirt) is eating quite well now and he's gained about 100g in the last week which I'm led to believe is bang on target. They are both really full of it and play and play fight all day and keep each other occupied. The female (named Misty) especially is becoming really agile thanks to play fights with her brother and lots of toys. I have a feeling I'll be getting lots of 'presents' from her when she's old enough to hunt ... [emoji]128534[/emoji][emoji]128556[/emoji] They are also starting to be really pleased to see me in the morning and will literally mob me and purr like engines for ages and then fall asleep on me and will regularly sleep on me and my partner. Overall I'm happy. No drastically naughty behaviour as of yet. They very occasionally attack my hand but I will normally just say 'no' very loudly and they will usually then retaliate by licking it better which I'm taking as 'I'm sorry and am learning my lesson' hopefully that's the correct way to train them? Thanks again for the reply

Another couple of pics I didn't add right onto previous post. The last is me getting my normal morning mobbing. I think I need to have words with them about personal space haha [emoji]128514[/emoji] They are ridiculously sweet though if I might say so myself

They're beautiful kittens @jannt86  I think four meals of wet and some dry to keep them happy over night sounds like a good plan. You really don't need to worry about them putting on too much weight until they are over a year old. Kittens have a lot of growing and filling out to do. If you think they're getting chubby later you can just cut down on the dry food.

They're lucky to have each other, I think they'll learn not to play bite by testing their teeth on each other. I trained my cats not to bite me by making a high pitched squeak, the way a kitten would, every time they but me. They don't mean to hurt you, they just don't know how strong their jaws are yet.

If you're going to let them go outside I strongly recommend taking them out on a harness and leash. There are just too many things that can hurt a cat out there. You don't want to let them roam around on their own and risk them getting hurt or killed.

Now is the perfect time to start harness training. You could get some small harnesses now and get them used to wearing them around the house. Here are some articles on how to harness train your cat.

 [article="22430"]Harness And Leash Training For Cats​[/article]  

 [article="22521"]Cats On A Leash​[/article]  

Keep us posted on how it goes with your adorable two.

A quick tip:  goat milk is always a good supplement!   In a pitch its even OK as kmr.    Thus much better than for example, cow milk which is a no no.

If you find that the prices for harnesses at your local pet stores are a bit high, then go online.  I found a couple of very inexpensive harnesses that fit both small dogs as well as cats, for a pittance.  Nice colors, too and  very sturdy and comfortable for your pet..  I did find a British company (England is the unofficial cat capital of the world) that makes wonderful cat vest and harnesses, but the products were pricey.

Co-signed on everyone who suggested wet food at meal times and some dry overnight. That should keep them from waking you up at 3 a.m. because they're hungry...although they're kittens, so they're going to be waking you up at 3 a.m. anyway.

Guard your toes!