Hi everyone,
I'm coming here because I'm getting a lot of conflicting information on feeding these little kittens.
I have two five week old kittens that were abandoned by mom and we're fostering until they can find forever homes. These two little girls seem quite healthy, but their feeding habits don't make sense to me.
I had always heard you can't overfeed kittens, but after diarrhea issues when they were fist brought home I realized these greedy girls didn't know when enough was enough and cut their feeding down to 1/2 a can of Fancy Feast kitten food 4 times a day.
Link to the food with the feeding info is below
Fish Gourmet Wet Kitten Food | Fancy Feast? | Fancy Feast®
I've had them a week now, and they're still happily eating 1/2 a can four times a day and would still eat more if I let them. The one gobbles her food up in 30 - 45 seconds. Her sister takes longer and hasn't quite got the hang of it yet, but is still eating with a lot of urgency. I feed them at 7AM, Noon, 6PM, and usually 10 PM.
So here's my concern. The instructions on the can say feed 1 can per 3 pounds of body weight daily. These girls weigh about 1 pound each. By that logic, unless I'm missing something, does that mean the should be eating a third of a can a day each? Compared to two cans each that they are happily gobbling up, that's a pretty big discrepancy. I don't want to starve them, but this just isn't adding up for me.
By comparison, the last foster kitten was 7 weeks old, and took her time eating 1/3 of a can at a time and was quite content.
No worms, I've looked and looked and looked. They're strong, curious, and seem in excellent health overall. They pee and poop almost immediately after each meal. Poop is soft in texture, but no longer runny.
Should I ration these girls a bit more? What would be the signs to look for if they aren't getting enough food?
I'm coming here because I'm getting a lot of conflicting information on feeding these little kittens.
I have two five week old kittens that were abandoned by mom and we're fostering until they can find forever homes. These two little girls seem quite healthy, but their feeding habits don't make sense to me.
I had always heard you can't overfeed kittens, but after diarrhea issues when they were fist brought home I realized these greedy girls didn't know when enough was enough and cut their feeding down to 1/2 a can of Fancy Feast kitten food 4 times a day.
Link to the food with the feeding info is below
Fish Gourmet Wet Kitten Food | Fancy Feast? | Fancy Feast®
I've had them a week now, and they're still happily eating 1/2 a can four times a day and would still eat more if I let them. The one gobbles her food up in 30 - 45 seconds. Her sister takes longer and hasn't quite got the hang of it yet, but is still eating with a lot of urgency. I feed them at 7AM, Noon, 6PM, and usually 10 PM.
So here's my concern. The instructions on the can say feed 1 can per 3 pounds of body weight daily. These girls weigh about 1 pound each. By that logic, unless I'm missing something, does that mean the should be eating a third of a can a day each? Compared to two cans each that they are happily gobbling up, that's a pretty big discrepancy. I don't want to starve them, but this just isn't adding up for me.
By comparison, the last foster kitten was 7 weeks old, and took her time eating 1/3 of a can at a time and was quite content.
No worms, I've looked and looked and looked. They're strong, curious, and seem in excellent health overall. They pee and poop almost immediately after each meal. Poop is soft in texture, but no longer runny.
Should I ration these girls a bit more? What would be the signs to look for if they aren't getting enough food?
