I have two cats, a 6 month old and a 3 month old kitten that we got last week from the shelter. The older one is very well behaved and eats only when he's hungry, can easily leave half a portion to go back for a nibble later. Very conveneint for us of course, as whenever we are away for a little longer, we can just leave a bigger portion out for him and he can eat when he wants.
Now, the small one probably had a tough childhood and not always enough to eat, as she absolutely stuffs her face. She eats every little piece we give her and then everything the older cat left behind. She looks like a little barrel most of the time.
I'm of course hoping that she will realize that there is enough food now, but does anybody have any experience or tips how to stop her from overeating? Not only do we have to limit her portions, but we have to keep an eye on her all the time so she does not eat all the older cat's food as well. And of course I'm worried that if we start limiting the older's portions, he will start behaving the same way and scoffing down all the food he sees. Any ideas?
Not a great expert but I only feed my cat enough food that they should eat at a time. Kittens, really any cat for that matter, should be fed many small meals throughout the day rather than single large meals. They can get fat quickly otherwise.
I've had a lot of cats and dogs and my experience is that if they know that there will always be food available, they do not feel the need to stuff themselves like there's no tomorrow. All my previous pets, like our older cat now, have been sensible eaters and no problems with overweight, so I would really like to get the small one to follow the pattern too, that she would eat until she's full, not until all the food is gone (sensible eating habit as humans are concernedtoo, btw ).
Not all animals are the same, as your kitten proves.
Kittens can have massive appetites, they are growing fast and some do eat a lot.
As I said I would try and limit the kitten's meal size with smaller, regular meals more often throughout the day until she gets into the habit of eating smaller portions. I know this can be difficult when you are not around all the time but some kittens need a lot of attention especially if they have been mistreated.
But you have had a lot of experience so who am I to offer suggestions But you did ask!
I find putting out a huge bowl of dry food encourages my cat to nibble (remember to put out a load of water though). If it's wet food or a can of tuna, he'll eat until he's stuffed (even when he's full, if there's some left he'll return for it in a couple of minutes)
I have a 4.5 month old kitten that also loves to eat. Constantly looking for more food and if she doesn't get it, she makes it known...
In the end, to limit them from growing fat, you need to limit the amount of food you give out. Feed them smaller portions but more often. Once they grow older, feeding twice a day (morning and evening) is enough.
Just have to persists with it. AFAIK, cat's have selective memory and they forget certain things pretty quickly. But something like being starved when young may remain "psychologically" in the kittens mind. But I wouldn't look too deeply into that as an explanation. They're not particularly clever to be honest...
Some dogs species such as Labradors also have a bottomless stomach, it can be so bad that they'll quite simply eat until they burst. It just happens and you need to keep an eye on the pet.
haha. the image of a greedy little kitten made me smile.
when i was a kid, my dad gave me money to go to shops to buy sweets. one day, he gave me a lot more than usual and i ended up buying loads and scoffing it all. it made me really sick and i didn't eat so much in the future.
maybe you can give the kitten so much food it will eventually get sick and stop being so greedy. Or then again, it may end up like this:
This behavior is usually triggered if the kitten is taken away or has lost its mother too early in life. The good news is that it should settle down after a while.
One way of slowing down the kitten's eating is to shred carrot finely and mix it with the food. Give much smaller portions several times and more of dry food as wet food is harsher on the stomach.
Stomach worms can be a factor too. First check to see if it has been de-wormed and then I suggest that you have it checked once again as it is quite possible for them to survive the first treatment. Once cleared, the kitten will resume to normal eating if this is the cause.
yes, cat is dewormed twice and checked by vet. It's a female and otherwise happy and healthy, they do get dry food as well, which takes more time to eat. Otherwise I guess limiting the portions would be the best idea, but I'm a bit worried that the older cat will then start to think that food is limited and start behaving like the little one as well..
As someone with a fat cat I was told the following from the vet:
You need to feed the cats separately, so separate bowls and teach them not to take from the other bowl. This takes time but is important if one eats more than the other.
More importantly you should put the correct portion out, let them eat as much as they want and then remove the food after the eating is over. Once the realise that the food is gone and not there to nibble whenever they want, they will eat enough, what the need, in one sitting.
ah but this is exactly where the problem is - there is never anything left. I have not tried to test how much the small one can actually eat, but what she has so far has definitely been more than enough. I have no issues with the other one, he can go and nibble as far as I'm concerned. As said, the older cat is perfectly capable of regulating his own eating and does not feel the need to clean the plate. Ideally this is how I would like it, that the cat would himself decide what the correct portion in one sitting is, not me.
I'll try to keep them separate and give the little one more dry food. And I guess if she does not change the habits, I will have to regulate the feeding more and accept that some cats are different..
On another note, I would only give dry food, wet food is crazy something like 99% water/moisture. Its a waste of time. The vet has said just give dry food.
Dry food can be bad for your kitten. They can develop kidney problems. So only in small quantities. If you worry about how much she's eating, you can try a Pipolino to make sure she stays very active.
A Pipolino is a toy cylinder that rolls and makes noise and has small holes of different sizes along it's base. You fill it will some dry food croquets / tibits and your kitten will spend hours rolling it around to release the croquets.
Strange, all the docs I read said that cats will be more likely to drink water from a shallow cup if they're dried food.
Well, I know my cats slurp happily away at water now and then, and I only feed them dry food. Their fur is a lot nicer to the touch than that of other cats I've felt (that do not eat the same food). hmm...