My New Kitten Eats Like A Horse!

[sparrow13]

She eats a kitten-sized can of food 4 times a day, which is what I was told for her age, 10 weeks. But she is starving all the time. We have to hide our other cat's food or she'll gorge on that too. Vet gave her a clean bill of health, so I am guessing this is standard??

She's cute as can be though. All black with huge ears. She looks like a bat! We named her Magpie.

TIA!

Sparrow

 

[SirenSongWoman]

Aw. I'd go with what your vet says but three of the cats I have I got as babies and I don't recall them eating that much. Actually, I just didn't FEED them that much, I guess. But I do remember my boy, Tangerine (the sock thief I spoke of here recently), who was tiny, climbing dead-center into the food dish, grunting like a pig as he scarfed down every morsel he could get, annoying his grown siblings with his rudeness. As your kitten becomes a cat you might want to cut back a bit (again, get your vet's advice) or you could wind up with another Princess Chunk!

 

[kathryn]

That sounds like a lot of eating.
But the only recent experience I've had with kittens is Pete, who was 6 months when I got him.
Are you sure only she is getting her food?
What is her background? Sometimes, cats who had to compete for food with others (like in a shelter situation where they are boarded together) develop food problems.

If she has a clean bill of health (no intestinal parisites, no disease that might cause this), it might just be a way of getting attention. Make sure she gets lot of attention away from food (which I'm sure you do), and find some ways of distracting her (toys, playtime).

You might want to look into different foods. Maybe she just doesn't feel satistisfied with what she's got? (especially if it's regular processed cat food). Her appetite might regulate on a natural raw-food diet appropriate for cats (I don't do this with my cats, but I'm just putting it out there as an option and a thought).

Whenever there's a cat question my vet can't answer (like how to possibly reverse diabetic neuropathy in a cat...which my vet said was impossible), I like to do a web search. We've got such a wealth of information and experience out there, the answer to "kitten appetite" or "kitten overeating" is probably out there (as well as a lot of unhelpful stuff as well, of course!).


So, the big question....when do we get to see pictures of this new addition to the family? Make us a photo album, girl! (And don't forget the others...I don't want them to feel left out!)

 

[sparrow13]

Thanks for the replies!!

Magpie did come from a shelter. She was born there and lived in a cage with many brothers and sisters, so maybe that is it. If she didn't always get enough to eat because of food competition, she may feel like she needs to stock up when food is put down. Poor baby!

We feed her the Wellness brand "holistic" kitten food, so it's pretty good stuff. I'm going to try distracting and playing with her after she eats, while Comet (big kitty) is still eating.

As for pictures, I've been trying to get Maggie, Comet and Pearl the chicken to sit still for a family portrait but they won't cooperate. Kidding! I actually have pics and will post them as soon as DH downloads them from his camera.

I never thought I would enjoy having animals but they are such a hoot. Don't ever let people tell you chickens have no personality!

Sparrow

 

[kathryn]

As for pictures, I've been trying to get Maggie, Comet and Pearl the chicken to sit still for a family portrait but they won't cooperate.

One word : "Photoshop" (LOL!)

(Where are the smilies we could add to our posts within the post? Hmmm....)

 

[kathryn]

Don't ever let people tell you chickens have no personality.

I've heard they can be very affectionate, and have personalities. (I think most animals do, but most people never take the time to find that out. Especially with animals they consider food.)


So, how do Maggie (or is it Magpie? I see both in your post), Comet, and Pearl the chicken get along ? Is Mag* giving Pearl hungry-eyed looks?

 

[sparrow13]

Magpie - Maggie for short - hasn't noticed Pearl yet, but Comet has. For days after we got Pearl Comet sat in the kitchen window watching her with a WTF is that? look on her face. I think she'd like to go outside and check her out but her last owner had her declawed - insert angry face - so my honey has to stay inside.

Chickens are great and we plan to have more by summer's end. Friendly, funny, and interesting! I could watch Pearl all day. She will *never* be food, and that would be true even if I were still eating meat. We do eat her eggs but even if she never lays another one she'll have "3 hots and a cot" with us until she meets her natural end. She free-ranges around the property and I love the energy she adds to the place. I think it's a good life, for a chicken.

 

[kathryn]

her last owner had her declawed - insert angry face

I will add several angry faces of my own (if I could figure out where the #)$@#* insertable smilies went!).

(The other day at the shelter, where I volunteer, I talked to a woman who was looking for a cat. I pretty much educated her about not needing to declaw--we talked at length, and she was very open to alternatives--AND about probably getting 2 cats instead of one. Score one/two for the animals!)

 

[kathryn]

We do eat her eggs but even if she never lays another one she'll have "3 hots and a cot" with us until she meets her natural end.

I'm happy for Pearl!

And you get absolutely cruelty-free-for-sure, healthier eggs, from a well-treated chicken. Now, in that situation, even I might eat eggs! (at least using them occasionally). (do you give pearl flax meal? It's a good way to get more omegas in the eggs...strange to think *I'm* giving suggestions for eating eggs! But only for 'perfectly-happy Pearl' eggs..and those of her future companions).

A perfect symbiotic relationship between human and non-human.

I'd actually tinkered (not to seriously) with the thought of having chickens to get eggs to feed to my cats (to reduce their consumption of other animal foods, and have a for-sure cruelty-free source of food for them), but there's no way I'd do it unless I had the space and could rescue some chickens that need some rescuin').

(Luckily, hens don't need the guys to make eggs : A friend of mine lives next to a family that as a rooster, and that bird must have jet lag or something, because he starts crowing WAY early in the morning!)

 

[hiitdogs]

That is too cute with the chicken and two cats!!!!!!

I wouldn't worry too much about your kitty eating like a horse. Different cats have different requirements. She may be going through a growth spurt and need more food than the can or the vet recommends. And those are no rules, they are only guidelines.

My cat Nemo was like a bottomless pit when we got him at 9 weeks old. He would eat and eat and then eat again. I would feed him as much as he wanted at every feeding, I fed 3 to 4 times per day. He still eats more than most other cats I know and he is a tiny little thing (but don't underestimate him, he rules the house and his 5 doggie companions ). He is 5 years old now and still has his moments when he eats like a horse, and then the next day he is Mr. Finicky, just looks at his food, gives me THE look and strolls away, pouting .

There is no one size fits it all and there is a lot about cat or pet nutrition that doesn't fit the "guidelines" established by us. Just goes back to cats have a mind of their own and rarely give a rats patootie about what we want or what we think

I second Kathryn's request about pictures!!!!! All the best to your new family addition.

 

[sparrow13]

That is too cute with the chicken and two cats!!!!!!

I wouldn't worry too much about your kitty eating like a horse. Different cats have different requirements. She may be going through a growth spurt and need more food than the can or the vet recommends. And those are no rules, they are only guidelines.

My cat Nemo was like a bottomless pit when we got him at 9 weeks old. He would eat and eat and then eat again. I would feed him as much as he wanted at every feeding, I fed 3 to 4 times per day. He still eats more than most other cats I know and he is a tiny little thing (but don't underestimate him, he rules the house and his 5 doggie companions ). He is 5 years old now and still has his moments when he eats like a horse, and then the next day he is Mr. Finicky, just looks at his food, gives me THE look and strolls away, pouting .

There is no one size fits it all and there is a lot about cat or pet nutrition that doesn't fit the "guidelines" established by us. Just goes back to cats have a mind of their own and rarely give a rats patootie about what we want or what we think

I second Kathryn's request about pictures!!!!! All the best to your new family addition.

That makes me feel much better, thanks!! I know I am worrying too much about my kitties, but I just want them to be happy.

Kathryn: I haven't given Pearl flax seed but that's a great idea. Her favorite food right now is unsalted sunflower seeds, so I'm sure she'll like the flax.

I love that her eggs are guilt-free! And we consume them in the spirit of thankfulness. I know that sounds flaky but we *are* grateful to her for providing us with such a fantastic food source. I've definitely "gone" animal rights in the last year. It started for me after that footage of the cows being mistreated at the stockyard hit the media. After that I stopped buying any meat at the grocery store, and went to local farms instead. Then I read Farm Sanctuary and just made the choice to not purchase meat at all, from any source. It's a spiritual thing for me, right now.

Pictures to come, soon!

 

[kathryn]

And we consume them in the spirit of thankfulness. I know that sounds flaky but we *are* grateful to her for providing us with such a fantastic food source. I've definitely "gone" animal rights in the last year. It started for me after that footage of the cows being mistreated at the stockyard hit the media. After that I stopped buying any meat at the grocery store, and went to local farms instead. Then I read Farm Sanctuary and just made the choice to not purchase meat at all, from any source. It's a spiritual thing for me, right now.

I don't think it sounds flakey at all (and it's a shame that some people do: ridiculing empathy and positive feelings). But I'm sure there are people who find me flakey...so flakes unite!

Congrats on your journey to animal rights (though personally I never liked that label. I think of it more as 'compassionate living' or the state of feeling our connectedness with all life---flakey enough for you?).

I definitely understand the spiritual aspect of it (my stepmother, who is a Baptist and praying a lot once said that animals were my religion---like I 'worshipped' them. Not quite getting the idea.).

It can be a very 'everything is connected' experience to be able to relate to an animal in which you have no vested interest in taking its life or part of itself for some perceived need (like using its flesh for meat, leather, etc). Definitely not something most people can understand (and which they may qualify as 'flakey'). (But 'flakey' also makes one think of tasty biscuits that are light, flakey and melt in the mouth--vegan version, please!--so maybe it's not so bad to be 'flakey'?).

And strangely, though I'm an agnostic, it makes me understand a bit where some believers are coming from.

ETA: I just now noticed your sig quote. I totally agree with that Confucius dude!

FYI: http://store.nexternal.com/shared/S...s&Target=products.asp&Submit1.x=6&Submit1.y=6

They're pretty yummy! ;-)