How much to feed kittens?

[Lee and Tida (GA)]

As many of you know, I got 2 new kittens....(sisters from the same litter), after my sweet Tida died. They are so cute and so full of energy. They were born Nov. 12th, so that makes them about 4 months old now.

They are really going through the food. I have been feeding them 9-lives tender morsals with gravy. Connie suggested that I feed them anything and everything while they are little. I'm getting ready to go to the pet supermarket and stock up on some cases. I have a question, though. Should I get canned food with high carbs? High fat? Should I just get kitten food?

And how much should I be feeding them? They are constantly playing and running around, burning up many calories.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Lisa and Merlyn (GA)]

Our shelter feeds kittens under 6 months old 1/3 cup dry kitten food and 1/2 of a kitten ff 3oz can twice a day.
edited to add that its purina, cuz they give shelter food for FREEE.
that said, there are no mice labeled "kitten" and "senior". With kittens, its all about the amount. There may be slight increase in protein in kitten food, you can look on Janet and binkys charts. But theres not too much difference.

If (and thats a big if!) their energy level levels off, decreases and they are getting fat, decrease the amount. If they are burning it all off, continue. :lol:

 

[Deanie and Boo (GA) and Scout]

Our shelter feeds kittens under 6 months old 1/3 cup dry kitten food and 1/2 of a kitten ff 3oz can twice a day.

Wow, that's not very much food. Scout would have gnawed my arm off if that was all he got

Scout got to eat as much as he wanted--as he got older, he began eating less on his own but as a kitten, he ate a lot!

 

[Lee and Tida (GA)]

Wow, I have been feeding them way more than that!

In the mornings, I have been giving them a full 5.5 oz can, split onto 2 plates. Then around lunchtime, a small 3 oz FF can (split for 2). And then at dinnertime another 5.5 oz can (split) and then another 3 oz FF can for a late night snack. That would equal 8.5 oz each a day. I was also leaving a small amount of dry kitten chow out, but I've just about weaned them off that.

And they still seem to be hungry all the time! They don't look chubby at all. With them being littermates, the are constantly play wrestling and chasing each other through the house. They are a bundle of climbing and running energy.

Does anyone else think that is too much?

BTW, Deanie, I absolutely LOVE the Boo memorial video. I just bawl everytime I watch it. Boo reminds me so much of my little Tida. I wish I had taken more pictures of my sweet girl to put in a video.

 

[Lisa and Merlyn (GA)]

Keep in mind that these are shelter kittens, they dont stay with us long. If they are hungry and are not getting fat, feed them. We do have volunteers playing with them and they are in rooms but it probably does not compare to having an entire house/apartment to run around in and burn off energy.

We actually used to feed underage kittens (under 2 months) an extra portion of canned food around 11am but found that they werent eating it.

 

[Lee and Tida (GA)]

Keep in mind that these are shelter kittens, they dont stay with us long. If they are hungry and are not getting fat, feed them. We do have volunteers playing with them and they are in rooms but it probably does not compare to having an entire house/apartment to run around in and burn off energy.

We actually used to feed underage kittens (under 2 months) an extra portion of canned food around 11am but found that they werent eating it.

Thanks, Lisa. I am going to be taking them both in to get spayed in a month or two, and I'll have the vet tell me if they are at a good weight.

I just went to Merlyn's catster page. He was such a handsome boy! I know you miss him dearly.

 

[Steph & Cuddles (GA)]

My rule with kittens, is feed them however much they want! They grow pretty fast in the first year, so they need usually double to 3x the amount of food an adult does. The best food for them is what we feed our kitties.. low carb canned. If you look at J&B food chart, you'll notice the 'kitten' labeled food is just that.. low carb, high protein & high fat. They just eat WAY more of it! At the shelter I volunteer at, they always keep dry kitten food available in the kitten cages, then give 1/4 can (5.5 oz) of wet twice a day. They mix lysine in with the wet food for the kittens, just because they're in a shelter environment, and it helps ward off URIs & such. But they always have access to as much dry food as they want.

Same as when we foster.. I have a mom cat with 4 kittens right now (about 4-5 weeks old) and we're supposed to keep the dry kitten food down 24/7, and feed the wet twice a day. Right now it's not too much, because it's just for the mom.. the kittens are still only nursing, and not eating food yet. But when they start eating the food.. WHOA! It starts going down WAY faster than when mom is eating it alone! (& even then, mom eats a lot because she's producing milk for them.) And at that age, they inhale the food, as well as nurse! So they're getting a LOT of calories to just grow & develop.