Help! How much should I feed my kitten?

tisyiaaa

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This is him, he is one month old. Yesterday he kept meowing at me and stopped when I gave him food. I got worried because he finished a whole can in just a day! Is this normal for a kitten? This is my first time having a pet and I'm worried that he will become underweight/overweight.
Please tell me precisely, should I feed him less or more? or is one can enough?
 

catsdad

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I've found that kittens can eat as much as they want without a problem.I usually feed a half can twice a day and leave a bowl of good quality dry food always out. And plenty of water.
 

catsdad

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Oh and he's meowing because he's just weened and early at that he will quit in a day or two. Just give him lots of love and you will have a new best friend for life so also people think cats are so independent it's a good advertising campaign a kitten like that will want to learn everything from you will seem nosey nosey and will be a lot of fun and a constant little pain so really enjoy it it'll be good time
 

Gizmobius

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I've wondered this myself as well since I've never had a kitten before. But my boy can eat two 5.5 cans of food a day, sometimes two and a half, and I've worried if maybe I was giving him too much. He's 6 months going on 7 and is 6lbs and I've read that kitten gaining a pound a month is what you want them to do so I think I could even up his food intake. He doesn't eat dry. 

Basically, from what I've read, is that you should feed a kitten as much as it wants but in smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Somebody can correct me on that if I'm wrong as I'm no expert on kittens!
 

LTS3

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As much as the kitten wants
Kittens are rapidly growing and need a lot of food to grow. You can't overfeed a kitten and a kitten can't get fat. One can is most likely not enough food. What brand is it and what size is the can? One 3 oz can is definitely not enough food. One 5.5 oz can may be enough for some kittens but might not be enough for others. Kittens have little tummies so small frequent meals is best. If dry food is fed as well, you can leave a cup of food or so out all day for snacking on.
 
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tisyiaaa

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Oh and he's meowing because he's just weened and early at that he will quit in a day or two. Just give him lots of love and you will have a new best friend for life so also people think cats are so independent it's a good advertising campaign a kitten like that will want to learn everything from you will seem nosey nosey and will be a lot of fun and a constant little pain so really enjoy it it'll be good time
Thanks for the info!
 
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tisyiaaa

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I've wondered this myself as well since I've never had a kitten before. But my boy can eat two 5.5 cans of food a day, sometimes two and a half, and I've worried if maybe I was giving him too much. He's 6 months going on 7 and is 6lbs and I've read that kitten gaining a pound a month is what you want them to do so I think I could even up his food intake. He doesn't eat dry. 

Basically, from what I've read, is that you should feed a kitten as much as it wants but in smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. Somebody can correct me on that if I'm wrong as I'm no expert on kittens!
Thanks for the info!
 
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tisyiaaa

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As much as the kitten wants :) Kittens are rapidly growing and need a lot of food to grow. You can't overfeed a kitten and a kitten can't get fat. One can is most likely not enough food. What brand is it and what size is the can? One 3 oz can is definitely not enough food. One 5.5 oz can may be enough for some kittens but might not be enough for others. Kittens have little tummies so small frequent meals is best. If dry food is fed as well, you can leave a cup of food or so out all day for snacking on.
OMG, I guess I should feed him more... Thanks for the info!
 

orange&white

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Kittens eat a lot!  My 6.5 lb. kitten who is almost 6 months old eats more than my 15 lb., 12.5 year old cat. 

Like others said, offer him as many small meals as he will eat.  As his stomach grows and can hold more food, you can offer fewer meals with larger portions, but all he can eat for his first year.
 

Primula

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Your kitten should have access to dry food 24/7. That's in addition to the wet food you give him. A single can of wet food is insufficient for a growing kitten. Clean water too.

As soon as your vet allows it, get him neutered & keep him safe indoors.
 

tabbytom

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This is him, he is one month old. Yesterday he kept meowing at me and stopped when I gave him food. I got worried because he finished a whole can in just a day! Is this normal for a kitten? This is my first time having a pet and I'm worried that he will become underweight/overweight.
Please tell me precisely, should I feed him less or more? or is one can enough?
Kittens need proteins to grow and proteins comes from wet food and they need to be fed at least 4 times a day. A 3 oz can is not enough for the day. And if your kitty doesn't drink water, at least he is hydrated from the wet food. And if you want him to be more hydrated, add a little water to his wet food to make sure he's fully hydrated.

Split up his feeding time and amount each time. Either you feed him xxx amount of wet food by xxxx times a day or xxxx amount of wet food by xxx times a day. You just need to do a few trial feeds and you can roughly gauge the amount he eats each time and from there do slight adjustments for the amount per feed and number of times per day.
If he wants more during the feed, meaning it's not enough for him just give him more. Once he's full, he'll stop eating. This way you'll know how much he can eat during one feeding.

He'll still be a kitten till he reaches 1 year old as he turn into adulthood. From there you'll notice that his intake will be less and will not need to be fed so often. So for now, feed him as much wet food as he can eat. Wet food is a good way to weight management too. Dry food can be given as treats.

one way to know if he's under or overweight is to run your fingers along his ribs , front to back. If you feel the ribs easily, likely he's underweight. If you can't feel his ribs, he's overweight. Aim for between as you should feel the ribs but not boney. After that, just weigh him every month and observe his progress. A male cat is usual heavier than a femal cat.

Feel free to ask more questions if needed. We'll be glad to help ;)
 
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