5 month old kitten hungry ALL THE TIME

My best friend and i decided back in November that we wanted to add a new addition to our home. We went to the petsmart adoption and picked out a one month old kitten and she's really sweet and gets along very well with our resident cat and dog. We feed her Hill's Science Diet kitten food as it was recommended to us by a petsmart employee and we feed her a 1/3 cup of that 3 times a day and she gobbles that all down then tried to eat the dogs food and the other cats adult food. Its gotten to the point where we have to separate the other animals when its time for them to eat just so she doesn't push them out of the way to get to their food, and when she can't get to theirs, if me or my friend have food she will actively try to steal it right off of our plates the whole time we're eating and when we push her away she just keeps coming back. the craziest part is that she's soo chubby! like she's defiantly not starving at all and we've tried every method with trying to get her to stop but nothing seems to phase her. We were worried that she might have something wrong with her that makes her so hungry but our vet says she's in perfect health. like i know kittens eat a lot but geez, she's doing the most.

Basically, i'm curious if anyone else has had this issue and what would be a good way to get her to calm tf down :/

hayleymckay said:

 
My best friend and i decided back in November that we wanted to add a new addition to our home. We went to the petsmart adoption and picked out a one month old kitten and she's really sweet and gets along very well with our resident cat and dog. We feed her Hill's Science Diet kitten food as it was recommended to us by a petsmart employee and we feed her a 1/3 cup of that 3 times a day and she gobbles that all down then tried to eat the dogs food and the other cats adult food. Its gotten to the point where we have to separate the other animals when its time for them to eat just so she doesn't push them out of the way to get to their food, and when she can't get to theirs, if me or my friend have food she will actively try to steal it right off of our plates the whole time we're eating and when we push her away she just keeps coming back. the craziest part is that she's soo chubby! like she's defiantly not starving at all and we've tried every method with trying to get her to stop but nothing seems to phase her. We were worried that she might have something wrong with her that makes her so hungry but our vet says she's in perfect health. like i know kittens eat a lot but geez, she's doing the most.

Basically, i'm curious if anyone else has had this issue and what would be a good way to get her to calm tf down :/

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Kittens are growing like crazy, feed them as much as they want. I'd have to look at the feeding guidelines for the food you're using but you're probably under feeding her. Kittens almost need double what an adult cat would eat. I'd also encourage you to also feed her wet food. Cats really need the moisture levels in wet food. Personally, I don't find pet store employees to know anything about cat nutrition and I think science diet is terrible food. You may find that if you switch her to better quality canned food she'll eat less. However, its probably a good idea to keep the kibble out 24.7 and feed canned food 1-2 times a day as well, and then phase out the kibble later, if you can.

She's left her mum way too early and she most likely has worms.  All kittens are born with worms and must be dewormed at 2 weeks old, then every two weeks until they're at least eight weeks.  You must give her worm medicine as soon as possible, as the worms will be stealing all the nutrients from the food and making  her ravenously hungry.  You will have to give all your pets worm medicine too.  Phone your vet for further advice about worms and either get some worming medicine from them or as over the counter medicine.  Drontal is a good worm medication. 

Brian007 said:

 
She's left her mum way too early and she most likely has worms.  All kittens are born with worms and must be dewormed at 2 weeks old, then every two weeks until they're at least eight weeks.  You must give her worm medicine as soon as possible, as the worms will be stealing all the nutrients from the food and making  her ravenously hungry.  You will have to give all your pets worm medicine too.  Phone your vet for further advice about worms and either get some worming medicine from them or as over the counter medicine.  Drontal is a good worm medication. 

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If she came from an reputable adoption agency she likely has already been wormed. I'm guessing the OP is a bit off about age because no reputable adoption groups would adopt out at kitten at 4 weeks. Lets not suggest she worms her cat when we don't have any evidence to support that. Kittens eat a LOT, especially young ones, what the OP is describing is not abnormal behavior for a kitten. 

NO reputable adoption agency would allow a kitten to be adopted at one month old.  It is illegal to adopt a kitten under 8 weeks old in the UK and even then, that is really too early.  Reputable breeders will only allow kittens to be adopted at 14 weeks old.  

when we were adopting her, the lady said that her and her siblings were left in a box outside of some lady's house and were brought to them. she had a lot o issues after getting her (wound was infected after she was spayed, eye infection, respiratory infection) and i've considered the worm thing too and brought that up to our vet and she says she's clear for worms.

they said she came to them newborns at the end of september. and we adopted her the first week in november. trust, we thought the same thing..

Has she been checked for hyperthyroidism and diabetes?

Brian was obsessed with food, it ruled him, poor thing.  I had to be super strict with him and give him structure.  When I first rescued him at 3 and 1/2 years old, he would pester me nonstop for food every 2 hours.  It was like having a baby.  I managed, through a lot of hard work on his part and mine, to get him down to three set meals a day.  Brian knew exactly when it was mealtime.  He was an only cat, so I could train his behaviour and settle him into a routine that suited us both.  He would gobble everything down in a flash.  He ate everything I ever offered him, and his bowl always looked as though it were spotlessly clean, cos he "licked the pattern off".  If your kitten has an obsessive eating disorder then it might be an idea to ask a behaviourist for help - it might be that she should be an only cat somewhere where there aren't other bowls of food. 

Watch out for "pica syndrome", which obsessive eaters often have.  It's where cats eat non-food stuffs.  I had to keep my floors and tops spotlessly clear of anything remotely edible, like elastic bands, cotton thread, bits of plastic, bottle tops, wires, matchsticks, you name it, if it were on the floor it were fair game.  Watch out for your kitten eating things like these, and get into the habit of not casually putting something aside but put it away or in the bin instead.

Brian007 said:

 
Has she been checked for hyperthyroidism 

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Hyper-t is almost unheard of in a 5 month old kitten. In fact I'm not sure it's ever been documented in a cat under 5. 

hayleymckay said:

 
they said she came to them newborns at the end of september. and we adopted her the first week in november. trust, we thought the same thing..

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I'd guess she was probably closer to 6 weeks then based on that time line, which is still young to be adopted out, but not unheard of. 

I got a new fur baby Chloee about 4 months ago and she was around the same age as your kitten. She did the same thing! Now she is a little better but still loves food! even broccoli. Chloee is very healthy and my guess is she might have been weined a little too early. I would look into your options for food. Wet food is the best but if that is not an option a good dry food will work as well. Blue buffalo is a great brand also Wellness is a good brand. Remember the employees at any store want to sell what they are taught to sell. Absolutely not saying that is the case with everyone, I just want to give you options...personally think blue buffalo is a better brand due to the ingredients list. To answer your question it is totally normal and it will get better[emoji]128521[/emoji]