Wet Vs Dry

[SaraBeth88]

I have a question about what my kittens are eating. Everything they are eating is formulated especially for kittens. I have been feeding them wet food 2 to 3 times per day, about a spoonful each, and then letting them free eat the dry food. My little boy is having issues with the dry food though, he wants me to feed him wet food all of the time and cries for it, even though the dry food is there on the floor, and when I feed them even though they are separate bowls, he inhales his and then moves over to her Bowl. He is getting quite a belly, he was just dewormed about a week ago so I do not think it is worms, but I am worried about him getting too fat too fast. Should I ignore his cries and let him eat the dry food, or is he still young enough to where I should feed him what he thinks he wants?

 

[war&wisdom]

He should eat what he wants. I feed my two as much wet food as they can eat, and I free feed them dry, and yes, I did this when I got them at 8 weeks. The common wisdom is that you can't overfeed a kitten!

 

[ramscici]

Hi there! If I may, what I do personally is feed my kitties 3 times a day, exclusively wet food (no dry, as I am not a fan of free feeding) as much as they want. If I think they are going to vomit I usually stop, but my girl, Celeste has been getting way more than just a spoonful of wet at each meal. I usually feed them both about a 3 oz can at each feeding (they are both approximately six months), and when they were little I gave about 2-2.5oz or more if they meowed for more at each meal. I think maybe if you switched to only scheduled meal times, gave him more wet at each meal, and took away the dry food, it might make a difference?

 

[ramscici]

And also forgot to mention that Celeste was always a little ball of pudge! I was always afraid I was overfeeding her because she had SUCH an appetite, but she is at a healthy weight currently. Kittens should get as much as they want. They need the excess nutrients and calories to grow.

 

[war&wisdom]

Based on my research, I don't think there's anything wrong with free feeding dry as long as they're getting mostly wet food. I free feed when I'm at work, since I'm often out of the house for 10-12 hours at a time.

 

[kittyluv387]

Wet food is much better for them anyways. If you can afford it you can feed more wet. There is actually no dry food at my place for my 3 cats!

 

[ramscici]

Based on my research, I don't think there's anything wrong with free feeding dry as long as they're getting mostly wet food. I free feed when I'm at work, since I'm often out of the house for 10-12 hours at a time.

I don't think there's anything particularly bad about it either, but in my experience my cats have behaved better / slept better and been at a better weight while they're on scheduled meals vs. free feeding, since they're not constantly digesting something. If you're at work for long hours though I get that. The most important thing is that their diet mainly consists of wet.

 

[Willowy]

For kittens, yeah, I'd leave dry food out all the time. You can reevaluate that when they're a year old or so.

How old are they?

 

[SaraBeth88]

For kittens, yeah, I'd leave dry food out all the time. You can reevaluate that when they're a year old or so.

How old are they?

They are 8 weeks currently

 

[SaraBeth88]

And also forgot to mention that Celeste was always a little ball of pudge! I was always afraid I was overfeeding her because she had SUCH an appetite, but she is at a healthy weight currently. Kittens should get as much as they want. They need the excess nutrients and calories to grow.

It's mostly that when I lock him up after a meal he feels ready to pop, sometimes he even gets hiccups lol, I'm just worried he might not have an off switch! He was the runt.

 

[SaraBeth88]

It's mostly that when I lock him up after a meal he feels ready to pop, sometimes he even gets hiccups lol, I'm just worried he might not have an off switch! He was the runt.

Pick him up, not lock him up lol

 

[ramscici]

It's mostly that when I lock him up after a meal he feels ready to pop, sometimes he even gets hiccups lol, I'm just worried he might not have an off switch! He was the runt.

This is all too relatable. Celeste was the same way. She had such a round tummy as a kitten and I too was surprised by how much food she could stuff in her at times. I feared if she ate any more she would get sick sometimes, lol, and she did vomit a few times after! I think some cats do have less restraint than others. I think if he's getting hiccups and feels full it's okay to stop feeding him. But make sure he's had plenty!

 

[SaraBeth88]

Another question I have is about kilocalories, how many should each kitten have per day?

 

[war&wisdom]

My vet told me (and Royal Canin suggests) about 200 kcal per day, but again, they should really eat as much as they want!

 

[Willowy]

I've found that many 8-week-olds aren't quite ready for dry food yet. I'd try to bump his canned food intake up for another couple of weeks. After that he should be eating enough dry food to keep him full in between canned food feedings.

 

[SaraBeth88]

I've found that many 8-week-olds aren't quite ready for dry food yet. I'd try to bump his canned food intake up for another couple of weeks. After that he should be eating enough dry food to keep him full in between canned food feedings.

Would you say that if they have 1 can per day broken up of the wet (122 kcals per can) they can be ok with dry food calories for snacks? As in is 122 kcals a good amount of wet alone?

 

[Willowy]

I'm not sure about calories. I would say that if he's content and not begging for more after eating, that would be the right amount. And if he's struggling with the dry food, try to make an effort to get him more canned until he can deal with the dry food.

 

[war&wisdom]

At 8 weeks, mine were eating about 140 kcal of wet and about 70 of dry. If your boy doesn't like or can't handle dry, give him more wet.

 

[SaraBeth88]

He started vomiting with diarrhea today after I increased his wet food for a couple feedings, is this normal?? I'm so worried!! He is still playing with his sister but I'm afraid if I go to sleep something bad will happen, I've lost cats and I'm just so paranoid and afraid... He was dewormed about 1 week ago maybe his tummy is upset from that??

 

[war&wisdom]

Diarrhea isn't normal and probably isn't caused by the wet food -- contact your vet if it continues!