Underweight Persian Kitten

[Meowmee]

A

Ah that article does make me feel better, that would mean he is on track if he was to be a 8/9lb adult which he well could be. I have talked myself into thinking he is dangerously underweight!
Tell me about it, I think because of his breed I worry about every little thing. He is the most gorgeous, affectionate little boy I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him. I have attached a photo

Omg gorgeous little fluffball he is I am envious... I have read persians are very cuddly too, I would love to get a dollface one someday, reminds me of my Syb who was part nfc part Siberian. I am sure he is ok

 

[hillyy13]

Yes, it is well known that kittens are so active and growing so much they should be fed as much as they want until 12 months of age. I would continue giving him 5 pouches a day and some deli chicken and see how he does. Beautiful cat!

I will continue with the 5 pouches and see how we get on. I feel bad that I’ve been under feeding him now!

does anyone know how quickly I can expect to see weight gain? Thinking I should probably wait a week or so at least before weighing again?

 

[mentat]

Rather than an ideal number in a chart, body condition scoring is preferred to know if your cat is at ideal weight, which is usually a range, i.e. 2-2.5kg with BCS 5/9. You indicated your vet has examined your 7 month old kitten many times. Growth and development are significantly reduced by 7 months age. Ask your vet if he was at ideal body condition at his last assessment. If so, maintain the quantity you were feeding. 7 months is adequate age to be eating adult maintenance diet, transitioned from kitten's growth and development diet. Many adult persians are healthy BCS at 6lb adult weight; some do not meet the breed standard for weight or dimensions. If your cat's vet deemed him healthy and at ideal BCS, his diet is meeting his daily caloric needs already.

 

[amandag1]

A

Ah that article does make me feel better, that would mean he is on track if he was to be a 8/9lb adult which he well could be. I have talked myself into thinking he is dangerously underweight!
Tell me about it, I think because of his breed I worry about every little thing. He is the most gorgeous, affectionate little boy I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to him. I have attached a photo

Just feed him more he is so beautiful....Maybe add in some hi-calorie gel but i think feeding more is just fine...
if you can find a food with a little more protein
Here is a great website to help with commercial foods and it has a chart with the protein/fat/carb listed out. When the package says 8% after true conversion it isn't actually 8%
Here is the chart- https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

 

[mentat]

Rather than an ideal number in a chart, body condition scoring is preferred to know if your cat is at ideal weight, which is usually a range, i.e. 2-2.5kg with BCS 5/9. You indicated your vet has examined your 7 month old kitten many times. Growth and development are significantly reduced by 7 months age. Ask your vet if he was at ideal body condition at his last assessment. If so, maintain the quantity you were feeding. 7 months is adequate age to be eating adult maintenance diet, transitioned from kitten's growth and development diet. Many adult persians are healthy BCS at 6lb adult weight; some do not meet the breed standard for weight or dimensions. If your cat's vet deemed him healthy and at ideal BCS, his diet is meeting his daily caloric needs already.

 

[hillyy13]

View attachment 325080

This is really useful thank you, the vet mentioned he was putting on muscle well so I think he is happy but I will asking about his body conditioning score when he goes for his next check up. I have also given it a go myself and he definitely feels somewhere around the middle (perhaps with a bit too plump of a belly if he’s eaten haha!!)

 

[hillyy13]

Just feed him more he is so beautiful....Maybe add in some hi-calorie gel but i think feeding more is just fine...
if you can find a food with a little more protein
Here is a great website to help with commercial foods and it has a chart with the protein/fat/carb listed out. When the package says 8% after true conversion it isn't actually 8%
Here is the chart- https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Thank you.. he is a beauty isn’t he. I was thinking of finding a food with higher protein content in so I will take a look

 

[amandag1]

Thank you.. he is a beauty isn’t he. I was thinking of finding a food with higher protein content in so I will take a look

np! catinfo.org has great resources and info written by Dr Pierson, DVM

 

[hillyy13]

Hi everyone, just wanted to post a little update here as I know they are sometimes useful for others!

Cecil went to the vet yesterday and I mentioned that I was worried he was underweight. The vet weighed him and he was 2.5kg (at 7 months old - which according to Google is very tiny)... and can you believe it the vet said he is, if anything, putting on TOO MUCH weight!

The vet explained that all cats are different and that body condition scoring is a much better way of telling if your cat is healthy. According to the body condition scoring he has muscle and fat in all the right places, and is actually getting a bit of a belly and a "fat pad" from me feeding him a lot. He reassured me that he is not underweight by any means and that he is just naturally smaller than other cats!

 

[Meowmee]

Good news that he is not underweight, I was thinking he is prolly just going to be small. I was looking at old pics of Quinn and he weighed 7.5 lbs at that age! He was not over weight though. He is mostly muscle and very strong. Guess you can cut back on feeding Cecil so much