Kittens acting hungry all the time. updated

[Furballsmom]

Her current diet isn't balanced and I'm worried about her development. Just the juice from canned food isn't enough to add the necessary vitamins. Lack of taurine can lead to heart defects and blindness. If she's unable to switch to canned kitten food, ask the vet for a supplement recommendation.

I completely agree.

perhaps feeding her alone in a smallish carrier with a towel over it could help her focus.

Use that playpen and put her in it while she's eating, with a towel, as suggested, so that she can't see what the others are doing.

 

[StefanZ]

I bought a playpen for them all and she stays in it with her siblings until they eat. She has no fear and will take off mid eating and I have to grab her and get her attention back on food.

The vet had us take her off KMR as he believed it was one of the things making her glucose shoot up. So I've been mixing in the juice from Whole Hearted kitten wet food into her human baby food.

She mainly eats ham with chicken juice, she can't seem to get enough of it.

What brand of kmr did you use?

Goats milk is a good alternative.

 

[kamijo]

Her current diet isn't balanced and I'm worried about her development. Just the juice from canned food isn't enough to add the necessary vitamins. Lack of taurine can lead to heart defects and blindness. If she's unable to switch to canned kitten food, ask the vet for a supplement recommendation.

If she gets really distracted at mealtime, perhaps feeding her alone in a smallish carrier with a towel over it could help her focus.

I completely agree.


Use that playpen and put her in it while she's eating, with a towel, as suggested, so that she can't see what the others are doing.

What brand of kmr did you use?

Goats milk is a good alternative.

We pretty much used to use any kmr we could find as the pet store here wasn't able to restock a lot but we ended up doing Whiskas cat milk the most because of it.

The vet has ordered us PetAG and that's coming for her to drink and we've also got her taking just a tiny drop of Nutri-Cal. The vet said we have to be very careful with Nutri-Cal since she's so small that she could overdose quickly on it.

I've started feeding her in my bedroom so she can be away from the other animals in the house. She's starting to get a fatter stomach and last weigh in she was 475 grams.

Mostly she still has no focus and I'm mainly finding wet foods I can blend together that has strong smells. Those seem to keep her eating longer.

Her siblings are all in the 700s to 800 grams and they're so much bigger it looks like they're from different litters. She's sassy and tries her best to beat them all up.

She also believes she can beat up Crowley our 2 year old male cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She also believes she can beat up Crowley our 2 year old male cat.

I hope he lets her, for now! Too cute !!

 

[kamijo]

I hope he lets her, for now! Too cute !!

He does! It's like he knows she's too small to hurt him and just wants to wash her head.

 

[StefanZ]

We pretty much used to use any kmr we could find as the pet store here wasn't able to restock a lot but we ended up doing Whiskas cat milk the most because of it.

The vet has ordered us PetAG and that's coming for her to drink and we've also got her taking just a tiny drop of Nutri-Cal. The vet said we have to be very careful with Nutri-Cal since she's so small that she could overdose quickly on it.

I've started feeding her in my bedroom so she can be away from the other animals in the house. She's starting to get a fatter stomach and last weigh in she was 475 grams.

Mostly she still has no focus and I'm mainly finding wet foods I can blend together that has strong smells. Those seem to keep her eating longer.

Her siblings are all in the 700s to 800 grams and they're so much bigger it looks like they're from different litters. She's sassy and tries her best to beat them all up.

She also believes she can beat up Crowley our 2 year old male cat.

OK. I wondered if it was some inferior brand of kmr, alike Hartz. Because to get too much glucose isnt common - its difficult to get too much glucose, as its a natural food source, so to speak... BUT if it once happened with too high level in the blood, I can imagine she got comatose.... And thus a luck you didnt gave her more glucose, just plain water, this brushing, and comfortable warmth...

Anyway, Whiskas cat milk isnt no true kmr. You can use this in a pitch when you dont have anything else, but its no kmr.
PetAg makes good brands. Their powder version is better than their premade liquid KMR.

If you can get goats milk, its useful both as emergency kmr, and as a good supplement for adult cats, if they do need something more than plain water.

 

[Willowy]

Yeah, Whiskas cat milk is just a treat, not a balanced kitten formula. Hopefully you'll see some improvement with the PetAg KMR. I really wonder if some of her issues aren't from a deficiency since she isn't eating kitten food like the others.

 

[Sarthur2]

I agree with W Willowy about this stemming from a nutritional deficiency from using Whiskas treat milk instead of actual kitten formula. Kittens need taurine for neural development, which is not in treat milk, but is added to KMR and wet and dry food. It’s good she came around and that the vet has ordered PetAg for you. She should begin to grow once she is getting proper nutrition.

Are the other kittens no longer acting hungry all the time now?

 

[kamijo]

OK. I wondered if it was some inferior brand of kmr, alike Hartz. Because to get too much glucose isnt common - its difficult to get too much glucose, as its a natural food source, so to speak... BUT if it once happened with too high level in the blood, I can imagine she got comatose.... And thus a luck you didnt gave her more glucose, just plain water, this brushing, and comfortable warmth...

Anyway, Whiskas cat milk isnt no true kmr. You can use this in a pitch when you dont have anything else, but its no kmr.
PetAg makes good brands. Their powder version is better than their premade liquid KMR.

If you can get goats milk, its useful both as emergency kmr, and as a good supplement for adult cats, if they do need something more than plain water.

I've thought of trying goats milk in the past but wasn't sure about it.

Yeah, Whiskas cat milk is just a treat, not a balanced kitten formula. Hopefully you'll see some improvement with the PetAg KMR. I really wonder if some of her issues aren't from a deficiency since she isn't eating kitten food like the others.

We had them all on that milk and Nutri-Cal for any lacking of vitamins. The other ones have grown up to have no problems.

I agree with W Willowy about this stemming from a nutritional deficiency from using Whiskas treat milk instead of actual kitten formula. Kittens need taurine for neural development, which is not in treat milk, but is added to KMR and wet and dry food. It’s good she came around and that the vet has ordered PetAg for you. She should begin to grow once she is getting proper nutrition.

Are the other kittens no longer acting hungry all the time now?

Yes, the others have now taking to wet food and have grown a lot. Well over 700 and 800 grams in weight. They now eat whenever they want as I've been leaving a small bowl of food for them.

 

[Willowy]

Nutri-cal doesn't have taurine either :/. It might be worth adding something like this:
GNC Pets Ultra Mega Multivitamin Plus Chicken Flavor Soft Chews Cat Supplement, 45 count - Chewy.com
Or Vetriscience NuCat (can't link to it because it asks for my vet's name?) to help her catch up. The NuCat tablets could be crushed and added to her milk if she won't chew anything.

 

[Sarthur2]

Kittens at 8 weeks should weigh about 2 pounds, which is 32 ounces, or 907 grams. It sounds like all but the runt are moving in that direction. Hopefully, she will begin catching up. Kittens need to eat as much as they want the first few months of life as they are growing so fast.

 

[kamijo]

Update: Fallon is still doing well. She's started to gain weight and hit 590 grams. Her attention span has started to improve as well and she's let us know that she is a tree cat.

Since this post is now a mix of her other siblings as well I have a question about her older brother, Blake. He is 100% male, ball sack and after using the litterbox his little member was out on show.

Anyway, he's now got these tan patches showing up on his gray tabby fur. Now the other female, Bella is a gray/white/cream tricolor and I know it would be super super rare but could he be a tricolor as well?

I'll post a pic of him. The tan spots are on his back leg/foot and on his front foot near his jaw in this pic. I haven't gotten any other angles yet because he's hard to keep still and I'm home alone at the moment.

First pic is Fallon and second is Blake.

 

[lutece]

Looks like he is probably a blue tabby. Blue tabbies have gray tabby markings on a beige or tan background. Are the tan spots symmetrical, or are they different on each leg?

 

[kamijo]

Looks like he is probably a blue tabby. Blue tabbies have gray tabby markings on a beige or tan background. Are the tan spots symmetrical, or are they different on each leg?

They're different on each leg. So I wasn't sure.

 

[lutece]

More pictures would help, when you manage to get them... I totally know how it is to try to take pictures of wiggly kittens by yourself!!