Need help with Cat's weight!!!

Hi,

So about 6 days ago we adopted a 1 year old cat and her 3 month old baby. Both cats have settled in but when we got them they were both very skinny and even to a certain extent underweight, he kitten is doing well however in the short amount of time the mother has gained alot of weight!! And even though she was very skinny before she is more than normal now! We dont feed them a huge amount so i dont understand how she can have put on so much weight! She cant be pregnant again but i dont know how to control it since we really dont feed them huge amounts (she also does not eat her kittens food or ours). Any ideas???

Thanks

Hi, welcome to TCS!

I have a few questions :

Did you get them to the vet when you got them?

Do they have worms, or fleas?

Is Momma cat spayed?

Is Baby cat spayed/neutered?

What was their weights when you got them?

What are their weights now?

What do you give them for food (type and brand), and what amount per day?

Are they indoor, outdoor, both?

Last but not least, what are their names? We love pictures around here, can we see some?  

Hi!

They came from the animal shelter so they should be worm free and flea free (not noticed any and they have been indoors as well so very unlikely).

Yes the mother was spayed. 

I think baby cat is not yet, shes too young.

I dont know their weight exactly but when momma (Gray) walked or sat you could see pretty much all her bones and my hands could easily fit around her torso. Baby (Suki) was also very skinny and when i picked her up i could hardly feel her weight. Gray is considerably larger now where i almost do not recognize her!

They are both indoor at the moment because we only just got them but they will be outdoor in about 3 weeks.

We have separate kitten food for Suki (she gets about half a packet) and adult food for Gray, also about half a packet which they get at night. They always have water and in the morning they get a few biscuits to line the bottom of their bowls. This is what we fed our other cat and she was a very normal/athletic build. 

 
(Suki is on the left, and Gray is on the right! (The picture of Gray is from a few days ago where she did not look as plump as she does now))

Thank you so much for your help!

xx

Suki and Grey are just beautiful!

I would still get them to the vet, just to get the OK health wise, see about worms/fleas/ear mites, and get an "ideal weight" base for Grey.

Personally I would prefer if they were indoors only, or going outdoor supervised (harness and leash are really fun!), but if you want to let them go outside, you should vaccinate them. You should actually vaccinate them in any case

I would not let Ski outside until she's spayed, she could get pregnant without you knowing it. It would be a shame to add to the overpopulation, even if kittens are awfully cute

Once you know they're in good health, then you can really see about the food problem.

When you say half a packet, is it wet or dry? Do you know the approx. weight of that?

You say "at night", do they get food once a day?

I'd would also say that kittens need a LOT of food to grow properly. I seem to recall a "rule of thumb" where kittens are fed as much as they want in their first year, but I'm not sure about that, so I'm going to try and see if I can get other members more versed in this than I am.

@sarthur2 I seem to recall that kittens are in your area of expertise?

@SukiGray

Welcome to TCS
Thank you for adopting these two lovely kitties.

On the subject of Gray putting on weight is I suspect that at the shelter Gray is not fed enough and also she did not get the right nourishments. So when she came over to you, you are proably giving her a much better balanced food and the amount of food she needs. I can't think of other reasons why she putt on weight.

3 months actually isn't too young for her to be spayed. Once shes healthy I would get her spayed. Preferably by 6 months before she goes into heat.

Kittens before a year of age needs a lot more food. Mine has constant access to food. If you are feeding wet they need fed 4-5 meals a day. With access to dry to nibble on. Mom if she is still nursing needs more food also and needs kitten food for the extra nutrients. 

S sukigray

The mama cat does not look overweight in the picture. Can you post a picture of her now?

I agree that the kitten needs too be fed wet food 3-4 times a day, with access to kitten chow 24/7, until she is at least 6 months old. She is a perfect age to be spayed now. She certainly should not be allowed outside until after she is spayed, as she can actually get pregnant as young as 4-5 months old.

What kind of food are feeding the mom cat ? And exactly how much? Doses mom cat go out side?

Thank you all for your suggestions and help!! We will of course get the kitten spayed before she goes out (did this with our previous cat aswell) and i will try to provide more food for her and watch what the mother is up to. We have an appointment with the vet next week for vaccinations and i will just check that everything is alright then! 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

xx

You are welcomed!

Do explore the Catsite. Tons of good information and precious lessons to be learnt.

SukiGray said:

 
Thank you all for your suggestions and help!! We will of course get the kitten spayed before she goes out (did this with our previous cat aswell) and i will try to provide more food for her and watch what the mother is up to. We have an appointment with the vet next week for vaccinations and i will just check that everything is alright then! 

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

xx

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Happy to help. Keep us updated?