Typical kitten weight

lilmisse

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I am new to this site. I have three cats, one kitten, and two st. bernards. All rescues. My kitten is 12 weeks old. He weighed in at 3.5 pounds today at the vets. I honestly think he looks a little boney. He gets plenty of good quality food. The vet says he may be a large cat based on his weight at this age. What do you think?

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gayef

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With regard to what your vet thinks ... as a comparison, my Old-Style Siamese babies (in the last litter) weighed 4 pounds at 8 weeks old, so honestly, unless my little guys are just behemoths, then I think your boy might be a tad underweight for his age.

He is probably just going through what we affectionately refer to as the "fuzzy-ugly" stage. Just make sure he gets lots of good, high-quality nutrition - kittens this age play hard and burn a lot of calories. How much and how often are you feeding him?

~gf~
 
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lilmisse

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He has free access to dry food (a mixture of Iams and Kirkland and Science Diet right now). He also gets wet food two to three times a day with the other cats and sometimes tuna. I can't get him to eat his dry kitten food (he used to climb into a little crate that the others couldn't get in to eat it, but he has quit that all together). If I set it out, one of the adults will gobble it up. I think we will get him some kitten wet food (other than Iams wet kitten food-he won't touch that) and see if we can tempt him with that when he is alone. He eats very often. He doesn't look too too skinny, just a bit around the hips. I am figuring it is a stage. Here is a link to some photos:
http://www.catster.com/?200785
It will be obvious which ones are newest.
Thanks
 

lionessrampant

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When my Lola was 12 weeks, she weighed in at just under 3 pounds. She's just a tiny cat! She weighs 6 pounds now at 6 months...I don't expect her to weigh anymore than 7-7.5 pounds when she's full grown. As long as the vet says your kitty is healthy, then I would trust the vet. Make sure he's been checked out for worms and parasites which can cause him to be thin. Once the vet's ruled out and problems, then I think you're safe as long as he's getting enough food and water.
 
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lilmisse

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Thanks. He has been wormed twice. He was too small with fleas and worms when we got him.
 

arlyn

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Yeah, he looks a little gangly (gorgeous boy though), a lot of kittens go through that stage.
My runty girl, Ivory, was a gangly baby.
I supplimented her regular foods with kitten glop (recipe is stickied in this forum I believe) 3 times a day, got her rounded out in no time.
 

negs

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I think he looks great! My girls are 13 weeks and they weighed in at 3.2lbs and 3.8 lbs. One of them is very long and the other one is tiny!!! They eat like crazy but are very active. They play more than they sleep. As long as your kitty is getting a good nutritional diet and you know for sure he doesn't have worms than I wouldn't worry about it!

He is sooooo cute
 

lionessrampant

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Yeah, Lola went through a gangly stage which she's just no coming out of in the past couple weeks. She looked so tiny and skinny around 16 weeks, but the vet told me that since she had been emaciated when we found her little orphan self at just a week old coupled with the fact that she's incresibly active, it would take her a lot longer to catch up than kittens who had mom around and were more sedate (if it's possible for a kitten to be sedate). And although she's still a little skinny, she's definitely been bulking up. I think between 3-5 months it's not uncommon for a kitten to a be a bit skinny. Just monitor that eating and look for any other problems. Chances are, he's perfectly healthy and is just active and burns off all of that food.
 

semiferal

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Gayef, I have never seen a 4 lb 8 week old! I think you have some very large kittens!

The general rule of thumb is approximately one pound per month, up to 6 months. At that point males and females start to diverge a little.

3-6 month olds are naturally kind of gangly and thin. They are growing longer and taller faster than they are gaining weight.
 
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lilmisse

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I was thinking, man, I am new to all this, but 4 pounds at 8 weeks? I have no doubt that they are healthy, but that is big? Anyway, I appreciate the input. I really shouldn't worry, because I know from his activity level and appetite and regular vet care that he is healthy, but you know how new parents can be...........
 

semiferal

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I always test a kitten's weight by picking him up. No matter how small the kitten is, you should feel like you are picking up something solid. A kitten who is too thin will feel light for his size. It's sort of like picking up a rubber ball vs. a ping-pong ball.
 

ashleynicole

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Likes already been said, I think the weight is okay, and he is VERY pretty! Marlee is b/t 12-13 weeks probably (I got her from a shelter, so we're not sure of the exact age) and yesterday the vet says she is 2 lbs. I know that sound little, and she is still pretty bony, but the vet says she is healthy. He says its not uncommon for them to see thinner kittens who have been rescued from shelters, since they often didn't get enough food. But she sure is gobblin up food now, and already has a little belly!
She is on her second worming treatment, just to be safe, and hopefully she'll gain more weight soon. Again, your baby is gorgeous!
 

kai bengals

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I agree with the one pound per month rule of thumb. We weigh all of our kittens from the age of 3 weeks to monitor their weight gain.
Under normal circumstances, by 12 weeks our kittens are in the 3 to 4 pound range. Sometimes if we have a runt in the litter, he/she will weigh a bit less.

I'm also in agreement with Semiferal, heft is of importance. You can feel whether a kitten is solid or not.
 
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