Greedy kitten ?

[meimyself]

He's 12 weeks and when I brought him home he was so excited whenever I fed him. He's calmed down but is constantly asking for food. I have a slightly older kitten who eats half a pouch of food 3 times a day and a bowl of biscuits. Today the younger one wanted more so I ended up giving them both a pouch each and a serving of biscuits just for one meal. The older one didn't finish what I'd given and the younger cat ate that as well. I'm not sure if I should be giving him more or sticking to about the same as my other cat wants, as I don't want to encourage my older cat to overeat and they will eat out of the same bowls. He just seems to be obsessed with food

Yes Felix kitten and Royal Canin kitten, but we ran out of the Royal Canin and I do think he's more hungry. He's eating twice as much as my older kitten. I have been leaving biscuits out but they ask for wet food

I thought that about tuna because of the mercury content. Was thinking about adding boiled chicken thighs into their diet ?

At this age it’s impossible to give him too much - he’s growing like a weed! Our vet told us to let him eat as much as he likes at each meal time.

A higher protein food would really help, maybe even for a few months. Felix etc doesn’t have a lot of meat in it, hence he might be hungry still. if budget will stretch to it maybe try adding some plain cooked chicken, or another kitten food with a higher meat content - I found Blink was very good.

I have a big male cat who I would eat 24 hours a day.
He is fed good quality food but it makes no difference.
He steals food from the dogs too.
I worm him regularly and he has had a vet check
Nothing wrong with him just greedy

At his age he really needs to be on a complete kitten diet. The issue with giving him tuna or chicken is that it will fill him up but not give him the nutrients (taurine etc) that he needs to grow and thrive. It's less of an issue with adults as they're "done" growing and their bodies are stronger too.

Neither Felix or Royal Canin are great in terms of meat content - can you look to switch him onto a better quality food?

He's asking me for food while there's some out right now lol

I've thought that but I'm wondering if using darker parts of the chicken and giving a bowl of good quality biscuits a day will provide that

Cooking destroys taurine. The taurine is essential to them, humans make it but cats don’t and it’s really important he’s on a complete food at this age.

I've given them tuna and chicken and they won't eat the Felix now. I've read that boiling doesn't destroy taurine but it's water soluble so should be cooked in shallow water

Kittens really ought to be eating a complete age-appropriate food, they shouldn't be having their meals supplemented by boiled chicken or tuna.

It's not surprising they won't eat the Felix now you've given them fresh chicken, but they need a proper complete food to grow and to get the nutrients they require.

Is the younger one a ginger by any chance?

They all seem to have the ability to grow in all directions.

He's black @sashh

Ah well, so much for that theory.

Kittens also need a good amount of fats in their diet, hence nutrient-dense kitten foods have more fat than adult food. I'm talking about kibble here. Forget the supermarket or cheap brands, feed a really good quality brand and your kitten will feel fuller for longer. They will poo less and it won't smell as much. Poor quality food has a heap of fillers and also less desirable quality of meat used in manufacture.

To be honest, a kitten that is old enough to eat dry food doesn't need to be fed wet food. It's kind of like McDonald's to them, unless it's a super high quality food. Even then, they don't need it if they are fed a good quality dry. Having said that, I still feed my guys a small amount of wet food once a day at dinner time. They don't "need" it, but they like it.

I have two kittens who have just turned one and I also have an older cat (had two older cats until last week 🥺). I have always 'free fed' dry food, i.e. it's always available. I have only had one cat (current old cat) who is unable to self-regulate and is therefore fat. However, the vet said he's healthy despite his weight, so I'm not concerned. The kittens have fed themselves from 8 and 11 weeks of age, when I first got them - they are rescues born three weeks apart and raised in the same foster home so they behave like brothers.

The elder kitten is absolutely obsessed with any kind of food - cat or human food. I've never seen anything like it in all my years of owning cats (and I've had quite a few). Every time there is food around, he gets exactly the same look on his face as he does when he's hunting 'prey' outside (like a lizard or something). He will then stalk the food, as though I can't see him. It's truly bizarre! I've had plenty of cats try to beg for human food, but never one try to actively hunt it!

It's just who he is as a kitten/young cat. Not something I've seen before, but cats never stop surprising me. He's just a very active social kitten and he's grown into a delightful young cat - who still tries to hunt everything food related. Your kitten will be fine. ☺️

Definitely try a higher protein wet food, Felix is unlikely to satiate a hungry kitten. Scrumbles is good, even the hi life big boxes you can get 32 pouches for around £20 on Amazon and whilst not amazing nutritionally much better than Felix , we've also used zooplus and brands like feringa or animondy.

What biscuits is he having? Again look for something grain free with a higher protein content, we use scrumbles or feringa for very hungry 1 year old cat. When we took him in to the vet for his one year check up they commented that he is a large cat but not overweight, he's long and tall and has very shiny fur

@MyOtherCarisAVauxhallZafira I've been buying Concept for Life biscuits, they seem meatier than the whiskas ones they tried.
@SmokeyToo That's so funny your kitten stalks food. When my older one was a baby he would bound up and mew if I opened a packet of wotsits or quavers. I have been thinking of increasing their dry food intake, they have a portion a day at the moment. I wonder if I can do fresh meat which they seem to love and make the diet a higher ratio of dry food to make sure they're getting everything they need. I've kitten formula and give them that here and there as well

@SmokeyToo I'm sorry about your cat.

Thank you so much - he had cancer, unfortunately. I miss my boy!

You can absolutely feed fresh meat to cats, so long as they're getting their essential minerals (taurine in particular) from their dry food. As for portion control on dry food for your kitten, I wouldn't portion control at all. Kittens need to eat aaaall the time and your other cat's weight shouldn't be affected by self-regulation, if you go the free feeding route. But feeding some additional meat to supplement their dry diet would, I'm sure, be welcomed by them both. It's good for their teeth, too.

@SmokeyToo I'll do as you suggest and leave dry food out for them to help themselves. Thank you. Yes I've read the wet food diet can be bad for their teeth

No worries! I hope it settles him a bit. If it doesn't, he's just worked out that you're the giver of yummy things and he's got you wrapped around his little paw! 🤣 (My three totally have me sussed and I am merely their slave. A position I am happy to honour!)