need some advice

Hi all

Just need some advice really

Ollie is 14 weeks now and is currently on 125g of wet food per day, plus dry food down for free feeding. although my breeder was giving him 100g a day I do appreciate that i have to increase eventually!(we have had Ollie since last week) Thing is he is hungry all the time! He is fed 4 times per day. plus a little kitten milk once or twice a day ( and I mean very little, plus little tid bits of say ham and cheese............they really are very little bits too.u can hardly see them)! He does eat his dry food too, but i reckon he eats that out of desperation as he thinks I am deliberatly starving him! Is what I am giving him enough do u think? Should I feed him when he wants something? He was doing 2 poos a day, now as I have increased he is doing more ( he is on the top stuff)!!! He can't be bored as we play etc when he wants to play you know.....but he meows at his little bowl and then looks at me saying 'FEED ME...........NOW..... OR I WILL DIE FROM STARVATION!!! I don't want to give him probs later if I feed on demand......given a chance he will eat and eat and eat! God He makes me feel so awful at times! Help please!!!!!!!!!!

Lisa

He has been vet checked and wormed hasn't he? You can go to the vet and get a tube of Nutri-cal that usually helps them if they are a bit underweight and hungry all the time. I know you mentioned a breeder, but he sounds like he is just like a feral kitty. They eat anything and everything you put down. Talk to your vet about how much to feed and go from there. The vet has seen the cat and it is easier for him to guide you then for us who have never seen your kitty. Good luck..sounds like you are a good mom and he has you neatly wrapped around his paw.

yes, he has been checked and wormed ect......He is a ragdoll. He just seems to be hungry all of the time. My breeder has had him wormed recently too.
Lisa

I haven't dealt with a kitten in quite a while but I can tell you what happened with my cat - it might be of some use. However, a good way to get an informed answer would be to contact the vet and/or the breeder (as mentioned by Hissy, the vet has seen the cat).

My cat had gotten all his shots and was wormed but I found signs of tapeworms after I had him for about two months (and he is an indoor kitty). The cat also had the appetite of a horse. Even after he was treated for the worms, he continued to want lots of food (I was also feeding him a top food). The vet said to try and feed him as much as he wanted and if he *didn't* show signs of weight gain, then that was a sign of a bigger problem. But, if the cat started to gain too much weight, then he was just a big eater. The cat's breaking point turned out to be twice as much food as the guide recommended! Keep in mind though, the guidleines are just an approximation - cats' appetites vary. You may just have to experiment to see how much your kitten requires.

After feeding the kitty his ideal meal for two months, he definintely gained too much weight. My options were to switch to diet food or reduce the amount of regular food. I reduced the amount of his regular food. He does get cranky sometimes but I just let him 'complain' until he gets bored with it. So far, this has worked, and kitty is slimming back down. If he ever gets to the point of causing too much of a fuss in the apartment (e.g. chewing up things) because he is hungry, I'll switch him to the diet food so that he gets a bit more to eat.

I hope things work out for your furrball and that he isn't a little eating monster. You might get some peace of mind talking to the vet, and then feeling your way through the situation.

Could it be he is seeing what your boundaries are and how much he can get out of you? Cats do try to push their boundaries and some are more pushy than others. Obviously, get him a clean bill of health and advice from the vet and breeder. This was just a thought...

If he is getting his regular vet checkups and fecals without parasites, my guess is that he is partial to the wet food and is begging you for more. If he has dry food out, if he was starved he would go over and eat that. If that's the case, you just have to show him who's in charge