Kitten won't eat! :(

[ninaseele]

Good morning! I've been reading your forum for a couple of days and decided to register and participate!

. I am a mom to 2 kittens that my husband and I adopted from an animal rescue about 2 weeks ago. They are great, very smart, playful and cute. I've seen that one of them, Latte -the male- is not eating enough, I've noticed that when latte and his sister, gizmo are eating, gizmo slap him on the face while eating from a different bowl. I have no idea if Latte is now afraid of eating because of his sister, or what? He actually eats from my hand but I can't feed him the whole day from my hand! What would you recommend? They are about 16-17 weeks (4 months). Gizmo eats just fine, she devours everything.

Also, do you sleep with your cat on bed? It seems like my kittens want just to play and it's been impossible to sleep with them, they just can't wait until I move to slap my leg or arm, lol!

Thanks for any advice!

 

[minka]

Have you tried feeding them separately?

I have (semi) trained my cat to sleep at night, but sometimes if he is wide-awake, he gets put in the garage otherwise I would never get any sleep. X__X

 

[just mike]

Originally Posted by ninaseele

Good morning! I've been reading your forum for a couple of days and decided to register and participate!

. I am a mom to 2 kittens that my husband and I adopted from an animal rescue about 2 weeks ago. They are great, very smart, playful and cute. I've seen that one of them, Latte -the male- is not eating enough, I've noticed that when latte and his sister, gizmo are eating, gizmo slap him on the face while eating from a different bowl. I have no idea if Latte is now afraid of eating because of his sister, or what? He actually eats from my hand but I can't feed him the whole day from my hand! What would you recommend? They are about 16-17 weeks (4 months). Gizmo eats just fine, she devours everything.

Also, do you sleep with your cat on bed? It seems like my kittens want just to play and it's been impossible to sleep with them, they just can't wait until I move to slap my leg or arm, lol!

Thanks for any advice!

Try feeding them in separate places. I had to do that with one of my cats when she was a kitten. Not because she wasn't eating but because she was eating her own food very quickly and then stealing the adult cat's food. Thieving from someone else's food bowl is frowned upon in this household

To this day she still eats in her separate area.

At night - My cats are allowed to roam the house but for whatever reason; They seem to go by the same clock that I do. They sleep most of the night but they do get active around dawn. I think the birds chirping gets them going

You can put the kitten in a "safe" room at night with plenty of toys and things to keep them busy. Make sure there is a litter box and water in there too. Welcome to the forum!

 

[prittiegirl]

Kittens at night are my nightmare... Personally, I leave them in the house and never let them know where I sleep until they are no longer pouncing on everything that twitches!

As for food, I have a greedy kitten and a nervous cat, so I typically feed the cat in a separate room, because she tends to find eating awkward enough when she can hear the other cats, let alone when they are near her and may swipe at her (in play) or may eat her food! She's better this way for sure!

 

[benrie]

I have one cat that usually refuses to eat around the other cats. Even when I give them wet food (which they all eat at the same time), she requires her own bowl and it has to be at least a few feet away, or she simply won't eat it. Sometimes she will share a bowl with my other female, but it's never for very long, and she will never be the one to approach... she always has to be the first one at the bowl.

Try your best to prevent Gizmo from intimidating Latte in the area where they feed. If possible, give Gizmo her food first, and then Latte her's while Gizmo is still eating. It may also help to make sure that they always have food available. Cats will usually show dominance and aggression towards each other if they feel as if food is hard to come by.


----

For the sleeping thing. Try not to make a game out of bed-time. If your cat is always attacking you while you move, and you give them attention (good or bad) for doing it, they will usually stay at it, because it's fun for them. If you try to ignore them when they do it, they will eventually get bored of it.

If possible, try and keep your cats awake and active during the few hours before you go to bed. Cats usually sleep after they eat as well... so trying to control when they sleep might help you.

I wouldn't try locking them out of your bedroom completely, because they will probably get curious and keep you up scratching at the door, or meowing for attention.