How much should kittens be fed?

gemstars

Hi all!

I'm not after money saving advice, just the regular kind

I have 2 kittens, born on the 24th September and I got them at 6 weeks old. They're my first cats (I've just bought my first home) but I've always lived with cats.

They're now 10 weeks old and I'm feeding them Felix kitten pouches. How much should I be feeding them? They always seem to be hungry and go crazy when they're fed or if anyone else has food. I want to make sure they get enough but obviously I don't want to over-feed them either.

The Felix box says to make sure there's always food available, my mum (crazy cat lady) says 2 packs a day between them (so 100g each) and a cat care book I have says 200-300g each per day.

I'd be grateful for any opinions so I can see what the most frequent answer is.

Thanks!

Ruby_Moon

10 weeks old, 2 sachets each a day split into 4 meals. So 1 sachet between them, 4 times a day.
Add a few biscuits when they get to about 12 weeks.

bramble1

cats tend not to over eat like dogs do, they will stop if they're full, split the meals so they eat little and often, if they seem really hungry give them a bit more.

golden_eagle

I presume it doesn't say on the pack how much? My previous cat was a greedy so and so and loved his wet food. So I made sure I strictly stuck to the recommended daily allowance but put some biscuits down for him too. he wasn't keen on those so I knew if he ate them he was truly hungry not just greedy.

gemstars

golden_eagle wrote: »

I presume it doesn't say on the pack how much? My previous cat was a greedy so and so and loved his wet food. So I made sure I strictly stuck to the recommended daily allowance but put some biscuits down for him too. he wasn't keen on those so I knew if he ate them he was truly hungry not just greedy.

The pack just says to make sure there's always food available, but I figured it would say that as the quicker it does the quicker I'll have to buy more.

I like the idea of putting down the dry food. Is there specific dry food for kittens or should I just get the regular cat stuff? I'm worried that their little mouths won't be able to manage them.

bramble1

You can buy dry kitten food, it's just slighty smaller kibble than normal, you can also soften it with water while they get used to the crunch of the kibble.

Fire_Fox

If you feel the kittens are ravenous between meals then you are probably underfeeding. I have read somewhere that a growing kitten needs as much food as an adult cat, but someone with more knowledge may correct me on that?? Kittens can eat the meat off a whole raw chicken wing so they can definitely manage dry food!

mum26

Hi, the guide amounts for felix pouches are on the bottom of the box (stupid place to put it imo ), I have one here and here is what they recommend:

Age of Kitten: weaning -3 months
Typical amount pouches per day: 1-3
Typical amount of meals per day: 2-3

So they probably are hungry on one pouch each a day.
My kitten has four meals a day (works out better that way for him - breakfast, lunch, tea and supper although we are starting to move towards 3 meals as he happily goes longer between meals now), fresh water down and a small amount of crunchy dry stuff to nibble on which is left down. (I found sainsbury's own dry kitten food to be dinky so easy to manage, he also likes the pets at home "purely" dry food in a brown box). He is going to be quite a big cat though, he is 21 weeks tommorow and has 4 pouches a day.

hth.

~Chameleon~

If you were feeding a good quality dry diet then I would suggest leaving a bowlful down 24/7 so the kitten can establish it's own feeding pattern. Cats are naturally grazers, preferring to eat little and often - half a dozen pieces of kibble maybe a dozen or so times a day!

Don't forget the kitten's stomach is only the size of your finger tip so can only really eat a teaspoonful or two of meat at a time until it becomes full

bulchy

I never measure/weigh my cats food, they wouldnt allow me the time to do it, they always need fed straight away :rotfl:but theres always dry food available for them, and always has been from them being kittens. While they were kittens, I would give them wet food 2-3 times a day, now they just get it when they demand it :rolleyes: which is usually first thing in the morning and then about 9-30 pm when I get home from work, rest of the time its just if someones in the kitchen and they decide they need wet food
Sue

~Chameleon~

bulchy wrote: »

I never measure/weigh my cats food, they wouldnt allow me the time to do it, they always need fed straight away :rotfl:but theres always dry food available for them, and always has been from them being kittens. While they were kittens, I would give them wet food 2-3 times a day, now they just get it when they demand it :rolleyes: which is usually first thing in the morning and then about 9-30 pm when I get home from work, rest of the time its just if someones in the kitchen and they decide they need wet food
Sue

Your cats sound like mine! As soon as I put the kettle on I hear a thud then the patter of paws coming down the stairs

If I ignore them they start purring very loudly and the younger one rolls around the floor on her back flirting with me. If I leave the kitchen they know they're out of luck and go back to bed in a sulk hehehe :rotfl: