Kitten Feeding Schedule?

[shan841]

How often should a 6 month old kitten be eating? I read the they should eat every 4 hours. The problem is that I am trying to switch him to an all canned food diet, and since I work 8 hours a day i have been leaving dry food out so he has something to eat while I am at work. This causes a problem because he isn't too excited about the wet food so if he isnt really hungry when I give him the wet he wont eat it. Is it okay to only feed a 6 month old kitten 3 times a day??

I also found that if I give him dry when he is hungry then he eats too fast and throws it up. (But he still wont be hungry enough to eat the wet)

Any advice would be appreciated!!

[Auntie Crazy]

Hi, Shan!

Four meals are better for kittens, but eating three times a day is the minimum. Feeding them canned food only three times is much, MUCH better than feeding them any kind or amount of kibble.

Best regards!

AC

[yingying]

It's nonsense that 6 month old kitten should be fed every 4 hours. That's 6 meals a day! 4 meals a day would be perfect, but 3 will do. I feed mine 7:30 in the morning before going to work, 5:30pm after I come back, and a late night snack around 11:30pm before I go to bed. I only give wet/raw, no dry and no free feeding. They have to finish the dish right away and I will take away leftover (if there are any). Three of us are all happy with this arrangement

[valer4ik]

I am having the same problems - the kitty is not too excited about wet food and she does not eat it right away, so I leave it out for her, along with the dry food. Sometimes she eats wet after a while, sometimes leaves it and it dries up... I was thinking of training her to eat wet only by placing a meal and taking it away after 30 min with anything that's left. However it seems too harsh, since she may not even touch it in this 30 minute period, and that would mean she will be hungry for a good portion of the day... Not sure what to do about this. Also, how much wet food should a 6 month old kitten eat if I stop providing kibble?

[valer4ik]

sorry to bombard your thread with my own questions, but it seems like you're having the same issues

[Auntie Crazy]

Originally Posted by valer4ik

I am having the same problems - the kitty is not too excited about wet food and she does not eat it right away, so I leave it out for her, along with the dry food. Sometimes she eats wet after a while, sometimes leaves it and it dries up... I was thinking of training her to eat wet only by placing a meal and taking it away after 30 min with anything that's left. However it seems too harsh, since she may not even touch it in this 30 minute period, and that would mean she will be hungry for a good portion of the day... Not sure what to do about this. Also, how much wet food should a 6 month old kitten eat if I stop providing kibble?

Throw away the kibble and feed the kitty as much as she wants to eat at each meal, leaving the food down for twenty or thirty minutes each time.

Generally-speaking, adult cats eat around 5.5 - 6 ounces of canned food a day; kittens can eat up to twice that amount for the first year or so of their lives.

Best regards.

AC

[noladeb]

Thanks for this thread! It looks like I may not be feeding my kitties enough? I give them each 1/4 cup kibble in the am, and then a small can of wet in the evening (I think 3 oz). Due to my work schedule, I may need to adjust the feeding time too. I feed around 6:30 am and then 5:30 pm. Maybe I should give them a snack too?

They are 4 months and weigh approximately 4 lbs each, the vet said they were a good healthy weight.

[yingying]

Originally Posted by valer4ik

I am having the same problems - the kitty is not too excited about wet food and she does not eat it right away, so I leave it out for her, along with the dry food. Sometimes she eats wet after a while, sometimes leaves it and it dries up... I was thinking of training her to eat wet only by placing a meal and taking it away after 30 min with anything that's left. However it seems too harsh, since she may not even touch it in this 30 minute period, and that would mean she will be hungry for a good portion of the day... Not sure what to do about this. Also, how much wet food should a 6 month old kitten eat if I stop providing kibble?

If your kitty prefer dry over wet and you leave dry out, then for sure she won't be interested in eating wet. I agree with AC that you should take away the dry food completely. At the beginning if you worried that kitty is being picky and not eating enough, you can crush some dry kibbles and sprinkle it on the wet food (I still do it when my cats refuse Wellness). You can put a bit more wet, and after half-one hour, save the leftover for next meal

[Auntie Crazy]

Originally Posted by noladeb

Thanks for this thread! It looks like I may not be feeding my kitties enough? I give them each 1/4 cup kibble in the am, and then a small can of wet in the evening (I think 3 oz). Due to my work schedule, I may need to adjust the feeding time too. I feed around 6:30 am and then 5:30 pm. Maybe I should give them a snack too?

They are 4 months and weigh approximately 4 lbs each, the vet said they were a good healthy weight.

*I* don't think that's nearly enough. Toss the kibble in the trash and start feeding them a half to three quarters of a 5.5 ounce can three times a day; once shortly after you first get up, once right after you get home from work and again just before you go to bed.

Feed canned products that are low- to no-carb (i.e. contain low to no grains, fruits and veggies) and have a high percentage of a named meat (i.e. "turkey" instead of "poultry"). Wellness, Natural Balance and Felidae all have grain-free varieties, and Nature's Variety Instincts and Evo 95% meat products are all grain-free. A "grain-free canned cat" search on petfooddirect.com will yield a veritable cornucopia of options, and you can conduct a side-by-side analysis of the ingredients and nutritional profiles.

Even better, buy frozen (raw) foods. You can use petfooddirect.com to search for those as well.

Feline-nutrition.org has a nice article on deciphering pet food labels under their Nutrition section that offers additional insight into choosing different products.

I'd also recommend feeding your kitties a rotation of foods; this will keep them from becoming fixated on any one product (a problem if they change or stop producing it) and protect them from potential quality control issues by diluting their impact. Since cats can develop hypersensitivity when continually exposed to the same proteins or ingredients for extended periods, it will also help prevent food intolerance issues (and the associated diarrhea and vomiting).

Dr. Hofve has a great article with even more reasons for rotating foods: Switching Foods

Best regards.

AC

[yingying]

Originally Posted by noladeb

Thanks for this thread! It looks like I may not be feeding my kitties enough? I give them each 1/4 cup kibble in the am, and then a small can of wet in the evening (I think 3 oz). Due to my work schedule, I may need to adjust the feeding time too. I feed around 6:30 am and then 5:30 pm. Maybe I should give them a snack too?

They are 4 months and weigh approximately 4 lbs each, the vet said they were a good healthy weight.

Kittens do not have big stomach to hold food sufficient for half day activity, so they need many small meals. 2 meals per day is definitely not enough. Adding a late night snack (may be lighter than the 2 regular ones) is definitely better. If they eat up all you give them, then you should provide more.