First of all, how much does she eat? I would take what you are feeding and weigh it first then weigh what's left over at the end of the day.

 

Please feed canned only. So much better for cats! The reasons why are all explained here:

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition :: healthy cat diet, making cat food, litter box, cat food, cat nutrition, cat urinary tract health

I would say that a 12 week old kitten who is being picky is possibly a sick kitten. That is not normal at all. Any vomiting or diarrhea? If this continues I would go to the vet. A 12 week old kitten should be offered food 4-6 times a day and should eat heartily at each meal.

 

I took her to the vets yesterday for her last kitten shot and F/FIV testing - in 2 weeks she has gained 1/3rd of a lb so the vet isn't worried. She's 2.9 lbs at 12 weeks and I was hoping she'd be over 3 lbs by now. She's a dainty girl, so maybe she'll be a lighter cat. Just want her to be more excited about eating.

I'll concentrate on getting a few varieties of wet food and will just keep her dry as a snack.

 

I took her to the vets yesterday for her last kitten shot and F/FIV testing - in 2 weeks she has gained 1/3rd of a lb so the vet isn't worried. She's 2.9 lbs at 12 weeks and I was hoping she'd be over 3 lbs by now. She's a dainty girl, so maybe she'll be a lighter cat. Just want her to be more excited about eating.

I'll concentrate on getting a few varieties of wet food and will just keep her dry as a snack.

Mia weighed 3.1 lbs at her 12 week appt and now weighs 12lbs. She is not over weight though as she is very long and tall. Vet says she is fine. Cant depend on how little they are in the beginning. lol

 

When Mia was that little I free fed her (dry) food. She ate off and on all day but never to much or little. Checking in her baby book, I was putting 1/4 cup in her bowl in the morning then again in the late afternoon. So she ate about 1/2 cup kitten food every 24 hours.
She was a picky eater too. Went through lots of different foods. Thankfully most pet stores will give you a refund if they dont eat it.

 

Thanks Penny - I'll start keeping track of how much she eats of dry and wet. She does go to her dry and eats little bits throughout the day. You wouldn't happen to remember which kitten dry food you used? Yes, I've returned quite a bit at Petsmarts - they know me personally now. lol

 

If you are leaving dry food available of course she's not eating the canned. Take the dry up and feed her 4-6 times a day canned only. She'll develop a great appetite! Dry food is truly bad for cats, even as a "snack." See the link I posted-I recommend that you carefully read the whole thing.

 

Thanks for the article, Hoofmaiden.

 

She ate Nutro Natural Choice Healthy Kitten Food for at least 2 months before tiering of it. Check a lot of differant web sites about the dry versus wet debate. Not everyone agrees. I've done alot of research lately myself and have decided to go fully dry is ok. I'd post links if I knew how.

 

Thanks Penny for the info! Yes, I'm reading that article from Hoofsmaiden then searching other articles. My Vet said all dry is absolutely fine but just make sure it has that 'statement' from the Vet Society (don't remember the proper name) that it provides complete kitten nutrition (or something along those lines). I had a cat that only ate Max Cat dry food (with an occasional can of fancy feast as a treat) and he was the healthiest darn cat - lived until he was 20 years old! Never visited the vet after his kitten shots.

In 23 years, kitten stuff sure has changed and TMI from the internet. lol That's why I'm feeling awkward.

 

Unfortunately vet's are given minimal training in nutrition and more often than not that training is sponsored by the large pet food companies. The textbooks are published by none other than the large pet food companies.

Unless your vet has taken additional classes specifically in feline nutrition I would do a lot of research and make your own decisions on what/how to feed.

The fact that he said "ll dry is absolutely fine" would raise a red flag to me and have me hunting for a new vet. Dry is NOT absolutely fine.

 

Thanks Mow Mow. My daughter will be shadowing at a new Vet office this summer so I'm going to check them out - the current Vet I'm seeing is waaayyyy too expensive anyways. lol

I never wanted to use dry only but wanted to use wet with dry as back up. My other kitty was dry only and thrived for 20 years. It's all really confusing!!

 

The catinfo site is run by a vet who took the time to educate herself, but most vets do know nothing about nutrition. They are all pretty much trained by Hills (the Science Diet people)--Hills funds chairs at vet schools, pays for student scholarships, and publishes the text book most vet schools use. Conflict of interest? Uh, yeah, but no one seems to care. And Hills products are some of the nastiest foods made.

I love my vet and appreciate her input in areas in which she has training. Nutrition is NOT one of those areas, period.

Edited to add that I would not switch vets b/c the vet said dry is fine--99% of vets will say that, alas. Just don't look to the vet for nutritional advice. Vets are there to treat disease and injury, period.

 

I think years ago that would have been true, that all vets would say that dry was fine and not know better. I wouldn't be able to see a vet who didn't agree with something that is so important to me as feeding. The same way I would never be able to use a vet who does de clawing (without a true medical reason). I just wouldn't use that vet.

Now a days I think that more and more vets are becoming enlightened to proper nutrition. I know i was able to find one who went so far as to claim on their web page that raw is best, but grain free canned was ok. They stressed NEVER to feed dry and don't sell it (they do sell SD canned prescription cans) but never p ushed it (and again stressed that raw/grain free canned would prevent the need for it).

I think (hope) that a change is coming and with each new generation of vets the old ways of feeding (read poisoning) our pets will become outdated.

 

You live in the Pacific NW. Around here, fergittabout it. Most vets declaw and most vets think Hills hung the moon. If those were deal breakers for me I'd be doing my own spays LOL!

I know more about nutrition than any vet I've ever met, so I don't need a vet to help me there. So I choose vets based on petside manner, willingness to work with me as a partner (instead of "me vet-you stupid client"), and the clinic facilities and equipment.

 

So I choose vets based on petside manner, willingness to work with me as a partner (instead of "me vet-you stupid client"), and the clinic facilities and equipment.

Oh I agree those are deal breakers as well. I interviewed this vet and observed an exam before my cats ever made it to their office. We had a nice long chat about cat care and the fundamentals.

Personally, I wouldn't chose a vet that was missing any of the mentioned. A agreement with my feeding beliefs, the need for unneeded surgeries, a good petside manner and a good attitude with the owner.

I'm just saying that I think it's getting easier to NOT sacrifice some of those requirements for others and that I HOPE it gets easier and easier in the future.

 

Spent all morning researching and watching videos. Will go out today and try to find a grain free canned kitten food. My local Petsmart has been out of the Blue Wilderness kitten food for weeks now And my little one turned her nose up at Blue Buffalo kitten canned food.

 

You don't need "kitten food." Just get Evo 95% meat--it's fine for all cats. There is no "kitten food" in nature--cats of all ages eat meat, bone, and organ, period. Stick as close to that as you can (raw being best, a food like EVO being second best) and you won't go wrong!

 

Also, as I just said elsethread, folks need to stop catering to their cats. Your kittten won't turn her nose up if you (1) take away the dry food, period, (2) feed small meals several times a day (4 times a day now, 2-3 times a day later on), and (3) mix the new food in with the old food, gradually increasing over the course of a week or 2.

 

Since I've only had Penny for 3 weeks and have fed her Science Diet, do you think I still need to slowly introduce the new food or do you think, since she hasn't been on it that long, I could just start feeding her the new food. I REALLY don't want her to get the runs.

 

My kittens love Wilderness, Evo, and Blue Buffalo. Guess I've just gotten lucky. Going to try Fromm too but its spendy, so probably will just use it as a treat here and there. I feed just a little dry, but only after they have eaten their wet and are still looking for more. If I have dry down, I take it back up about 2 hrs before mealtime so they are ready for their wet. I can't afford to feed wet exclusively, but they get less than 1/4 cup of dry (Evo Cat and Kitten) a day between the two of them, so I think they are just fine. Mack my 10 wk old kitten has went through a few times of trying to be particular, but it'd only last a few days and then he's back to devouring any wet I put in front of him.