Maine Coon kitten - how much is too much?

[Bookishjessica]

Hi! We have two kittens, Hamish (a Maine Coon) and Cornelius (Ragdoll-Highlander Lynx-Sneaky Neighbor Cat mix.)

Hamish is 12 weeks old (born May 10) and Cornelius 10 days older.

We feed then grain-free wet kitten food as well as leave out a few ounces of Wellness Core kitten food for free feeding. We'd been feeding a 3 oz can each in the morning @8am, and 1/2 can each at four additional feedings through the day. They ate very little of the kibble. Our vet thought that was a lot and we should cut back, so now they get 1/2 can each at 8am, Noon, 4pm, and 8pm. Most the kibble gets eaten. They are yowling for breakfast most mornings and seem anxious for the other feedings, Hamish especially.

For others with large breed kittens, were we over feeding or was maybe our vet not as familiar with how much Maine Coon kittens eat? Hamish is a bit round, but he has been since we got him a month ago. He is playful and gets lots of excercise. We haven't had a Maine Coon kitten before and we don't want to starve him, or overstuff him!

Thank you!
Jessica

 

[lutece]

They are adorable!

Kittens at that age can't really be overfed, unless you are seeing signs that they are gobbling their food too fast (such as gorging themselves and throwing up). Some kittens eat more than others. I would feed them as much as they want. At that age I would feed three times a day, but four times a day is OK too.

If you have had Hamish for a month already, does that mean you bought him from a breeder at 7-8 weeks old? Or are you guessing that he is a Maine Coon because of his appearance?

 

[Bookishjessica]

Our family agrees, they are super cute! We adore them.

The kittens were each listed in ads on Craigslist for kittens. It's been 20 years since I had kittens last and had gotten my previous ones at about 8 weeks, I hadn't realized until I brought him home and started researching that it was considered too young now. The young woman who we got him from had his mom (Maine Coon) and said that the dad cat was her friend's cat who is a Maine Coon and I believed her. We text about once a week on how he's doing and she seems very interested in his continued well-being. She's also sent a picture of Mom cat who has the face look of a MC.

If it turns out he is just a big furry cat, that will be okay too. We wanted the size and friendly personality of an MC, and he is definitely super sociable and chatty with us and on track to outgrow Cornelius. Happy is most important, we aren't showing or breeding or anything.

Thanks!
Jessica

 

[Bookishjessica]

I posted a new response to the top thread vs replying to yours, apologies for that. Appreciate your fast response!

Jessica

 

[lutece]

A lot of longhaired brown tabby cats resemble Maine Coons. Unless the parents are registered, it's hard to know for sure what they are, but in either case I'm sure he will turn out to be a very handsome guy! He looks very sweet, too!

The only reason I asked is that unless he comes from a bloodline bred for especially large size, there wouldn't be any special "large breed" feeding instructions. Cats don't vary in size as much as dogs do. Are his parents outrageously huge, or just large cats?

 

[Bookishjessica]

The only reason I asked is that unless he comes from a bloodline bred for especially large size, there wouldn't be any special "large breed" feeding instructions. Cats don't vary in size as much as dogs do. Are his parents outrageously huge, or just large cats?

Mom is 20#, not sure about Dad. My previous cats (three garden variety mutts that our friends cat had before he got her fixed and a feral we slowly tamed to be a house cat) ranged from 16-20# so I don't consider kitties under 25# or so as especially large. I just think of cats that are under 15# as dainty.

 

[Bookishjessica]

Mom is 20#, not sure about Dad. My previous cats (three garden variety mutts that our friends cat had before he got her fixed and a feral we slowly tamed to be a house cat) ranged from 16-20# so I don't consider kitties under 25# or so as especially large. I just think of cats that are under 15# as dainty.

Mom cat.

 

[lutece]

Mom does look like a MC