[ladycat]

I've read that kittens have a huge appetite and can put away more than you ever think they could! At what point though should their appetite slow down? I have 3 8.5 mo. old kittens (one small, one medium and one very large) and their combined weight is about 30 pounds. The small one is skinny/healthy and the bigger two are muscular and maybe a could lose a half a pound each to be the perfect weight (on the skinny side).

Until they got spayed/neutered (a month ago), I let them eat as much as they wanted. Now I'm trying to slow them down so they don't get overeat, so I feed them eat according to the directions on the can. I usually feed them trader joe's and petguard (wet only - no dry except for treats). For TJ's that equates to about 4 or 5 (5.5 oz) cans a day. Problem is, I'm feeding them that and they still act like they are starving!! They scarf it down in minutes and several times a day are looking for more food. I don't want to overfeed them, but on an all wet diet won't they sort of regulate themselves?

 

[catloverami]

Are you feeding them just once a day or twice? At 8.5 mos., they should be fed twice a day, with a snack (treats) in between. They're still growing, and will likely taper off after a year old on the amount they're eating now. Do you put down their food on one plate and let them all eat together or are they fed individually? It's better to feed individually so you know how much each one is eating. The small skinny one may not be getting enough if he's competing with the other two or they're eating his food. Feed him in separate room if you have to, or a cat carrier. The directions on cat food cans I've always found to be approximate. The best way to determine whether a cat is too thin or fat is to feel for a light layer of fat over the ribs and cat should should show a slight waist indentation when you view it from above while it's standing. Just a thought.... have you had them wormed? If they were only wormed once, it may not be enough. Worms will cause a cat to be ravenous. Have them checked for worms just in case.

 

[ladycat]

I'm feeding them at least 2x per day. If I'm going to be home all day or home early, I'll space out and feed them 3x a day and they do get treats. I do put their food all on one plate and I've been thinking of changing that. I think the skinny one (girl - Toona) is getting enough..she's not too skinny (the vet said she was the perfect weight). The two bigger cats (boys)...you can feel their ribs (slightly less then on Toona) and they have slight waist indention, but also a tiny "poochy" belly, that's why I'm hesitant to give them more food! I'll try feeding them separately and see what happens! Oh..and they all had two or three doses of Strongid as kittens and all tested negative for worms, so hopefully that's not it. Thanks!

 

[Lyndzo]

Mine are like that too, especially our 9 month old. She will eat her dinner (wet food) and then try to eat her mom's (on occasion she has). She eats some dry food in the morning but leaves some behind. But with her wet food she can eat and eat and eat. She also always wants to eat everything that I eat. She loves people food.