5 month kitten- Not eating Much

[Oford21]

Some advice needed here… I currently have a 5 month old kitten Penelope. I will preface this by saying I did just bring home another kitten last Saturday Ivy, and the first 2 days were rough- But now they are already best friends and play and nap together so I don’t think this could be stress induced at this point. Overall she had never been a big eater but originally I thought it was because she was so little. I am noticing recently that she still doesn’t eat a lot although she is acting completely normal! Playing, using her litter box, etc. I will say that I do always put some Churu on the top of her food as a food topper.. I’m thinking a started a bad habit because the only time I can get her to eat is if I put a little churu on the top. And then ultimately she just eats the Churu and the food around it. I have tried the kitten Meow Mix, Iams, and Blue Buffalo. I have tried heating the food to enhance the smell. Still doesn’t eat all of her food.

Then 2 days ago I noticed she had vomited a couple times. Mostly it being all her food whole. She did vomit again today but only once and again, it was all her food whole. I’ve read some cats can do this if they eat too fast, but again I don’t think she is eating enough to have this issue.

Since she is acting completely normal I am hesitant to call the vet as we were just there last week to get her final vaccines and rabies shots.

My only thought now is that she could possibly be constipated? She is maintaining a healthy weight at 5lbs and I haven’t noticed she has lost any weight.

Not sure if I am overthinking this and I just have a picky eater on my hands, or if there is something else going on.

I appreciate any and all feedback!!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Some advice needed here… I currently have a 5 month old kitten Penelope. I will preface this by saying I did just bring home another kitten last Saturday Ivy, and the first 2 days were rough- But now they are already best friends and play and nap together so I don’t think this could be stress induced at this point. Overall she had never been a big eater but originally I thought it was because she was so little. I am noticing recently that she still doesn’t eat a lot although she is acting completely normal! Playing, using her litter box, etc. I will say that I do always put some Churu on the top of her food as a food topper.. I’m thinking a started a bad habit because the only time I can get her to eat is if I put a little churu on the top. And then ultimately she just eats the Churu and the food around it. I have tried the kitten Meow Mix, Iams, and Blue Buffalo. I have tried heating the food to enhance the smell. Still doesn’t eat all of her food.

Then 2 days ago I noticed she had vomited a couple times. Mostly it being all her food whole. She did vomit again today but only once and again, it was all her food whole. I’ve read some cats can do this if they eat too fast, but again I don’t think she is eating enough to have this issue.

Since she is acting completely normal I am hesitant to call the vet as we were just there last week to get her final vaccines and rabies shots.

My only thought now is that she could possibly be constipated? She is maintaining a healthy weight at 5lbs and I haven’t noticed she has lost any weight.

Not sure if I am overthinking this and I just have a picky eater on my hands, or if there is something else going on.

I appreciate any and all feedback!!

Hi again, O Oford21 , Penelope, and Ivy! Yes, it does sound as if Penelope is eating fast and regurgitating. Elvis does this sometimes, too. Some people will say it's not normal, but it has been common in my life with cats, and as long as their weight is good and they are healthy, I personally don't worry too much. You can get feeding puzzles that will help her to eat more slowly. Most cats do not eat all of their food at one time. They return to it multiple times throughout the day. I feed my two twice a day (used to be 3 times, but at 17 and 14, they aren't eating that much now) and if they leave some of their early meal, I throw it out, wash the bowls and fill with dinner. That stays overnight if they leave any, and we start over in the morning. For young kittens like Penelope and Ivy, I would feed at least 3 meals a day, and they can be small meals if preferred.

 

[Oford21]

Hi again, O Oford21 , Penelope, and Ivy! Yes, it does sound as if Penelope is eating fast and regurgitating. Elvis does this sometimes, too. Some people will say it's not normal, but it has been common in my life with cats, and as long as their weight is good and they are healthy, I personally don't worry too much. You can get feeding puzzles that will help her to eat more slowly. Most cats do not eat all of their food at one time. They return to it multiple times throughout the day. I feed my two twice a day (used to be 3 times, but at 17 and 14, they aren't eating that much now) and if they leave some of their early meal, I throw it out, wash the bowls and fill with dinner. That stays overnight if they leave any, and we start over in the morning. For young kittens like Penelope and Ivy, I would feed at least 3 meals a day, and they can be small meals if preferred.

Hi again!!

thank you!! I might try a feeding puzzle to see if this helps? I do normally wash their bowls before feeding but I do normally feed 3X a day- not at specific times but first thing in the morning, afternoon, and evening and then leaving their bowls out in the night incase they get hungry. I appreciate all your advice as always!!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Hi again!!

thank you!! I might try a feeding puzzle to see if this helps? I do normally wash their bowls before feeding but I do normally feed 3X a day- not at specific times but first thing in the morning, afternoon, and evening and then leaving their bowls out in the night incase they get hungry. I appreciate all your advice as always!!

I've never had a feeding puzzle, but I have heard that they do help some cats with their snorking.
Good on ya for three-times-a-day meals! That's my schedule, too. They eat before I do.

 

[Oford21]

Hi again!!

thank you!! I might try a feeding puzzle to see if this helps? I do normally wash their bowls before feeding but I do normally feed 3X a day- not at specific times but first thing in the morning, afternoon, and evening and then leaving their bowls out in the night incase they get hungry. I appreciate all your advice as always!!

I've never had a feeding puzzle, but I have heard that they do help some cats with their snorking.
Good on ya for three-times-a-day meals! That's my schedule, too. They eat before I do.

Ha I know!! The babies always come first! I will say though- she had never puked up her food before- she JUST started this a couple days ago and again, I think she has puked about 3 times total ..Is this something that they can start doing after not having any problems previously?

 

[tarasgirl06]

Ha I know!! The babies always come first! I will say though- she had never puked up her food before- she JUST started this a couple days ago and again, I think she has puked about 3 times total ..Is this something that they can start doing after not having any problems previously?

Sure. If she is stressed or nervous about anything -- and cats are very sensitive! Some experts believe they are more sensitive than humans, which wouldn't be saying much on the face of it. But cats' senses are certainly more acute than ours, for the most part, and as small predators, they must be always on alert -- or just very hungry, as most of us are in cold weather, she may eat faster and then regurgitate.

 

[Oford21]

Sure. If she is stressed or nervous about anything -- and cats are very sensitive! Some experts believe they are more sensitive than humans, which wouldn't be saying much on the face of it. But cats' senses are certainly more acute than ours, for the most part, and as small predators, they must be always on alert -- or just very hungry, as most of us are in cold weather, she may eat faster and then regurgitate.

Hi!!

sorry for the delayed response! Penelope is doing much better- I got her and Ivy some elevated bowls just in case to help with their digestion

I actually have another unrelated question- the other night they were grooming eachother and I noticed ivy was fixated on Penelope’s belly- did not think a single thing about it and then today ivy was doing it again! Then I took a closer look and Ivy was trying to nurse on Penelope. Most of the time Penelope just lets her and will sometimes even lick Ivy during- however last night ivy had tried and Penelope gave her a short growl- I’m thinking maybe the area is sore.. Ivy is just so little(10 weeks now) and I don’t think she understands- is this OK to let it happen? Or should I be trying to keep ivy from doing this?

as always I appreciate all your advice!!

Here is a picture today of them napping together!! They’ve made so much progress in just a short week!!

 

[Joelle and the kittens]

Aww yeah I would discourage the suckling, it can irritate the suckled cat's skin. My boy kitten Orange&White would suckle on his sister Grey Kitten when they were younger, especially when sleepy or stressed (this pic was in the carrier at the vet...).

At some point he decided this one super soft bed had a nipple and would suckle on that instead.

Then one day he just...completely lost interest in suckling at all and hasn't done it since he was ~4.5 months old. So yeah, don't worry too much but do try to get her to suckle on something other than Penelope

 

[tarasgirl06]

Generally, an older/bigger/more dominant cat will let a smaller/less dominant cat know when enough is enough. Ivy must have been taken from her mom too soon. This happens with a lot of kittens. Some of them develop pica, which is licking/suckling/biting on inappropriate things like material. Hoping that a lot of loving attention, good food, and training by Penelope will get Ivy through this so she doesn't develop this behavior.

 

[Oford21]

Generally, an older/bigger/more dominant cat will let a smaller/less dominant cat know when enough is enough. Ivy must have been taken from her mom too soon. This happens with a lot of kittens. Some of them develop pica, which is licking/suckling/biting on inappropriate things like material. Hoping that a lot of loving attention, good food, and training by Penelope will get Ivy through this so she doesn't develop this behavior.

I will say she doesn’t do it a lot- I’ve only seen her do it about 3 times (Including trying to suckle my earlobe last night in the middle of the night…. lol) I haven’t noticed her licking or biting inappropriate things just your usual kitten behavior with strings etc. but I got her at 9 weeks- the lady who I got her from told me she had been transitioned to dry and wet food BUT the mom was still around- so I’m wondering if she wasn’t still nursing on the mom in addition to eating the dry and wet food up until I took her home. Hoping she will grow out of it but in the meantime- are there any toys recommended that she could do this with or is that enticing her to continue the problem? She is SO loving she was the perfect addition! I’m not too worried about this being a continued problem but I will mention it to my vet when I take her for her next round of shots.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I will say she doesn’t do it a lot- I’ve only seen her do it about 3 times (Including trying to suckle my earlobe last night in the middle of the night…. lol) I haven’t noticed her licking or biting inappropriate things just your usual kitten behavior with strings etc. but I got her at 9 weeks- the lady who I got her from told me she had been transitioned to dry and wet food BUT the mom was still around- so I’m wondering if she wasn’t still nursing on the mom in addition to eating the dry and wet food up until I took her home. Hoping she will grow out of it but in the meantime- are there any toys recommended that she could do this with or is that enticing her to continue the problem? She is SO loving she was the perfect addition! I’m not too worried about this being a continued problem but I will mention it to my vet when I take her for her next round of shots.

IDK about toys and whether or not that would help. Nine weeks is a little early to separate from mom -- these days, caring experts recommend 12 weeks as the earliest age to separate kittens from their families. Of course you're making sure to "kitten-proof" your environment, including putting away any toys, like string toys, that could be swallowed and create a potentially life-threatening emergency! Also, I'm sure you're only buying toys that do not have small parts that could fall or be chewed off and swallowed. If your girl is a chewer, it's probably best to put all toys away except when you're playing with them and can supervise. Much, much better safe than sorry! One of the best things about a multicat family is that once they are friendly toward each other, they will play with, groom, comfort, curl up and otherwise keep each other occupied in a good way.