Maine Coon Kitten - Keeps eating?

[Baz84]

Hey,

So - It's been a while since I've had a kitten. I remember with my adults - I would give them 2 meals a day. In the morning and at night. Just got a Maine Coon Kitten - he's 17.5 weeks old.

I hope people here don't hate me for this - I got him from Poland - and he's been here less than 24 hours. Yes I e-mailed EVERY Maine Coon REGISTERED cattery in the US - but for a **MALE** silver mackerel cat - the earliest I could find was in Spring of 2021.

Okay back to topic - I bought him a TON (and I mean about 200 cans +) of grain free high protein kitten food of different varieties and brands - Doesn't matter what flavor or brand... he likes it. From Blue Freedom, Blue Buffalo, Weruva, Aloha Tiki, Nutro, Wellness etc. He eats, plays, eats, plays.... in between - jumps at me... purrs, treats me like a piece of chicken (non-stop licking), bites (I'll address in another post), etc. He has NOT pooped or peed yet (worried about this - will make another post for it).

Anyway - cat weighs 5.2 pounds and he's 17.5 weeks - so he's right on the dot. I think even Maine Coon kittens aren't big initially.

I read two sources - 5 lbs (2.3 kg) 327 kcal / day or if the kitten is less than 20 weeks let him eat as much as he likes. Looking at the kitten - he's long but looks skinny. He doesn't have a stomach pouch but it's not really flat either. He's on his 4th can of 3 oz and it's only been 6 hours I think.

Is this ok? Am I overthinking this?

Thanks

Baz

 

[Baz84]

EDIT: Can't edit previous post. I guess my previous cat experiences have all been tabbies (with the exception of adopting my brother's Himalayan cat after his divorce - but he has an ADULT then). I'm pretty sure my tabby kittens did NOT eat this much. I wonder if it's because of the long flight + long drive to pick him up from airport and he's just happy?

 

[Kieka]

Since it is the first 24 hours, I'd put down stress, long trip and new environment as factors to his not pooping yet. Just like if he had surgery and had to withhold food before the surgery, I would give him 36-48 hours before worrying. Although, I would get a new kitten appointment with your vet to make sure he is healthy either way as soon as possible.

Kittens can be eating machines when they are in a growth spurt. Link (now a muscular 16 pound cat) would go through phases where all he did was play, eat, sleep on repeat and go through what seemed to be an obscene amount of food. If memory serves, during a growth spurt a kitten can easily consume 100 calories per pound without ill effect. Which is why the usual advice for kittens is free fed dry and schedule feed wet 3-4 times a day. Especially with larger breeds like Maine Coons, it takes a lot of energy to grow. You usually don't want to limit food until they stop growing and that could be nearly two years old in large breeds.

The pouch you referenced might be a primordial pouch which usually doesn't develop, if it does at all, until they are adults. It isnt an indicator of health or if the cat is overweight.

 

[Remi&RiRi]

His behavior seems healthy as he is eating, playing, sleeping etc. Less than 24 hours is a fairly short amount of time. I would give him longer to adjust to his surroundings and specifically his litter box. "Some cats may stop defecating because their litter box isn't to their liking. They may not like the litter scent or consistency. Or it's just not tidied up often enough for them. Adding a new pet to the household can also cause stress that makes it hard for cats to do their business." What types of litter are you using and how many cats do you have per box? You should have at least one box per cat (you may know some of this if you currently have cats). I would listen to Kieka's advice provided above regarding feeding and eating!

 

[Baz84]

Well I'm actually from Canada. I used to live with my mother - we each had 1 cat (Older Tabby Female and Male Himalayan - both very friendly cats. Tabby from Humane Society and Himalayan was adopted after my brother's divorce - the couple had 2 cats and 2 dogs - Himalayan was only one left without home so I or we took him in). Since moving to Florida (before COVID) was gonna settle down and get my cat. Unfortunately, COVID hit and I haven't seen my cats (or "our cats" depends on who you're asking hahaha) for a LONG time now. I love animals - always wanted a Maine Coon so I took the chance. So right now he's the only pet.

Normally I use a regular sand box with Dr. Elsey's sand. This time - I decided to try something new since it's a kitten - I got the Tidy Breeze with the pellets/hooded box. I took the hood out in case the enclosed "hood" was scaring him (reminding him of the carrier). Still no bathroom time. He is getting used to the surroundings - has started to drink water from his fountain and scratching the scratch poles provided. My fear is - maybe he used a "sand box" in his breeder's home and doesn't recognize the pellets? I'm not sure. He doesn't seem to be in distress though.

I definitely plan on bring him to a vet on the next available appointment/day off match.

 

[Remi&RiRi]

Well I'm actually from Canada. I used to live with my mother - we each had 1 cat (Older Tabby Female and Male Himalayan - both very friendly cats. Tabby from Humane Society and Himalayan was adopted after my brother's divorce - the couple had 2 cats and 2 dogs - Himalayan was only one left without home so I or we took him in). Since moving to Florida (before COVID) was gonna settle down and get my cat. Unfortunately, COVID hit and I haven't seen my cats (or "our cats" depends on who you're asking hahaha) for a LONG time now. I love animals - always wanted a Maine Coon so I took the chance. So right now he's the only pet.

Normally I use a regular sand box with Dr. Elsey's sand. This time - I decided to try something new since it's a kitten - I got the Tidy Breeze with the pellets/hooded box. I took the hood out in case the enclosed "hood" was scaring him (reminding him of the carrier). Still no bathroom time. He is getting used to the surroundings - has started to drink water from his fountain and scratching the scratch poles provided. My fear is - maybe he used a "sand box" in his breeder's home and doesn't recognize the pellets? I'm not sure. He doesn't seem to be in distress though.

I definitely plan on bring him to a vet on the next available appointment/day off match.

I think its a good idea that you removed the hood of the litter box. I would definitely take him to the vet as soon as you can if he still doesn't go within the next 12-24 hours. When I got my cat he refused to use pellets. Some cats are just really specific with their litter and don't like the feeling on the pellet litter. You may want to look into a different type of litter. I had to use Dr. Esley's with the kitten litter attractant. Although my kitten was not using the litter box he was still peeing, but on the floor at least. "Sometimes, a kitten may even go 24 hours without pooping. If this happens, don't panic—but do keep an eye on them and focus on trying to help them go potty. If they haven't pooped in more than 48 hours, that's when you'll definitely want to head to a veterinarian for further assistance." You said he just started to drink water, this is good because he may have not gone to the bathroom because he was a dehydrated. If he's just starting to drink water, you should expect that he goes to the bathroom within the next 6-8 hours. Hopefully he does!

 

[Baz84]

So good news is... he PEED in the litter box. But no bowel movement yet. Meaning that if he needs to poop he'll hopefully be ok using it (my fear was he's scared of it or won't use it b/c it's pellets not sand). So it's 48 hours - waiting patiently.

He continues to eat ALOT and play a lot. Which is a good sign... fingers crossed. I can't believe I'm posting about poop