Kitten doesn't know how to eat? how do i help him?

[haley]

I have 4 months old kitten he's flat faced and  i had him since he was 7 weeks and i think this is why he's having this problem ... when i give him food he keep licking it like he's waiting for the food to jump to his mouth? but never bites sometimes he does and he eat just fine but he bite once or twice and then start licking again.

I tried all types\brands of canned food shredded, pate. small pieces, and he keeps licking the food till he give up. Vet said his jaw is fine and nothing is wrong.

I feed him now by my hand and sometime i mix his food with water in the blinder to make the food watery and he can drink it but the vet said this might cause diarrhea so i stopped.

He is ok with dry food though but doesn't like it very much. i need tips how do i teach him he must learn how to eat by himself. 

 

[andrya]

Hi Haley,

One of my cats is a licker, and therefore a VERY slow eater. He had a bad tooth, so l think that's how it started.

lf your cat is 4 months old he'll be teething, so he might be sore in his mouth.

Or as you say, maybe he feels a suffocation reflex when he eats his wet food. Have you tried low sided dishes or saucers rather than bowls?

Maybe if you sat his dish a little higher, like on a phone book, he wouldn't have to get his whole face in the food to eat.

That's all l thought of, hopefully others will stop by with some thoughts 

ps/ l don't know why adding a little water to his canned food would give him diarrhea 

 l do it all the time.

 

[haley]

I changed the bowl\plate didn't help still having problem

 

[GoldyCat]

How was he doing before when you added water to his food? Was he eating enough? Did he have any diarrhea then? If he did well with it before there's no reason you couldn't go back to that. I don't understand why the vet thinks extra water will give him diarrhea. One major issue that you'll hear about often on TCS or other cat-related websites is that it's hard to get a cat to drink enough water. Also, think about how your body handles extra water. If you drink a lot you don't get diarrhea, but you will pee more. It should do basically the same for your kitty.

How are you feeding him by hand? Just having him lick the food off your fingers? At shows I've seen persian owners feeding their cats from spoons. They just dip a little food out with the spoon and kitties lick it off without any problem.

I know your vet said his jaw is normal, but did he check the teeth and gums? Whenever you take your kitty to the vet for anything (regular check-up, neutering, shots, etc.), ask the vet to check inside his mouth for possible problems.

What is your kitten's name? We'd love to hear more about him.