# How to make kitten eat more?



## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

Hi, 
I have a female persian cat called MyJoey, which is 25 weeks old and weighs 2.3kg currently. Her weight dropped from 2.3kg to 2.2kg last week  and only gained back to 2.3kg this week. I think I haven't been feeding her enough. I give her half of the 5.5oz can of Wellness canned food (alternating varieties like the Turkey, Chicken, Turkey & Salmon and CORE Fish) twice a day (mornings and evenings). And there is always Wellness CORE dry food in her bowl all day.

But, she usually doesn't want to finish the whole portion given to her and I have to push the bowl around and try to feed her with a spoon until she finishes all of them (which doesn't happen all the time). I think this isn't normal :roll: because I have seen strays gobbling down everything given to them. And she doesn't finish all her dry food either. She nibbles about 1-2 tablespoons (probably about 20 pieces) of the dry food daily. 

Am I feeding her right? Please advise.

Thank you.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome!  

5 pounds at 25 weeks sounds okay to me. That's about 6 months old. My girls weighed 6 pounds by then, but it depends on body type. She may just be a smaller cat. Believe me, you're giving her plenty of food., and *good *food, too. Has she seen the vet and gotten her shots yet? Has she been dewormed? 

My twins were still gobbling food down at that age, but some cats just aren't that into food. If you're worried, you should take her to the vet for a checkup. I hope it's nothing serious.

Others will hopefully chime in. I don't really know that much about weight/nutrition/calories.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Are you leaving the wet food out for her after she makes her first attempt at it? The thing I found with Murphy is that he'll only eat little bits at a time, but if you leave the food out he'll come back many times and eventually it's gone . . . just in time to get the next half-can.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Mmmm. I dunno. Kittens should be starving when you feed them. Of course, I'm not a fan of feeding dry/leaving food available. Better to feed canned or raw 3-4 X a day. At this point, my Jonah (nearly 5 mos) eats 3 HUGE raw meals a day. You're feeding less than 6 oz of canned food a day -- Jonah eats closer to 10-12 oz a day.

I would be concerned about why the kitten isn't ravenously hungry.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

October said:


> Are you leaving the wet food out for her after she makes her first attempt at it? The thing I found with Murphy is that he'll only eat little bits at a time, but if you leave the food out he'll come back many times and eventually it's gone . . . just in time to get the next half-can.


So true! Sometimes it takes Cinderella hours to eat 1/2 of a 3 oz. can. None of my girls eat very much at one time anymore. (unless it's dry food, then it's Hoover-time!)


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

For a thin cat or one who isn't thriving, you could use Nutrical. (Nutrition..calories) You can buy it at a pet shop.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

But I think it's important to know WHY the kitten is thin or not thriving, don't you? Kittens are normally voracious -- if this kitty isn't, I think perhaps a vet visit is in order to find out why.


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

Thank you to everyone who replied to my queries.  

marie73, she was given Fel-O-Vax IV shots before I got her. And she was tested negative for FIV and FeLV in November when I brought her to the vet for a check up. At 15wks, she was only 1kg (underweight) :| Otherwise, the vet said that she is a healthy kitten. I also put on the Revolution for kittens for her once in early Dec and once in early Jan. She was dewormed in December. How frequent should kittens be dewormed? 

October, I do leave her wet food around for up to 30mins. I realized that she will take short breaks, clean up her fur and then return for a bit more. But usually I am the one bringing her bowl to her to persuade her to eat more. I think I am spoiling her  

hoodmaiden, I have now increased the feeding to thrice daily, since yesterday. Once in the morning (6.40am), once in the evening (7pm) when I get home from work and then once more (10.30pm) before we all go to bed. Keeping my fingers crossed that she will gain more weight soon 

Jeanie, not too sure whether I can find Nutrical here. I live in Singapore.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

OMGosh!!! Your cat is gorgeous! And she looks like a small cat, but very, very healthy. I think you need to leave the food out longer. My girls would starve if I took their bowls up after 30 minutes. They nibble and snack, and the food doesn't go bad. I put wet food down when I leave for work and I'm gone for about 10 hours. It's usually gone in about 4 hours, judging by how they eat on the weekend when I'm home. 

If your cat is an indoors cat, I don't know that further deworming is necessary, but others would know about that more than me.


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

Thanks marie73! 
Myjoey is on-off good/bad appetite. Sometimes she refuses to eat more than a few licks on the food. Sometimes, she will finish half can in one single sitting, or after I followed her around with her bowl to coax her to eat more. Now, I am suspecting that she doesn't like to have same flavor on the same day. So, I will be trying out with half can portions of all different flavors for all three feedings. Hopefully it will work. Keeping my fingers crossed. :wink:


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I feel your pain. Cinderella will scarf down one meal and then be picky for the next four. 

She likes minced food lately. Sometimes texture is the key with cats. None of mine really care for pâté-style food. 

I wish I knew some good wet food that was minced.

P.S. She likes McDonald's Angus burgers.


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

I tried giving her another brand called Nutripe Beef last week. It's minced beef. She did like the taste but was trying really hard to eat it as she couldn't lick it up like the Wellness pate. Whenever she could lick the small bits up, she would put them on the floor and try swallowing them again. After a while she sort of gave up eating.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Just a thought here. Murphy won't eat his wet food at all unless I give him a treat or two first. He has me trained very well. He sits there and stares at the food, I put down a couple treats, he voraciously eats the treats and then starts in on the wet food. I don't know what the deal is -- maybe the treat sparks his appetite? But it's a thought --- treat first, then food nearby to move to.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

OMGosh! Murphy must have appetizers before the main course! I love it!  

Hmmmmmm, now I'm thinking of trying it on my diva.....


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

Hehe.. last night I rewarded her with praises and two pieces of treats after she finished all her food. This morning too. If she doesn't finish the portion, she doesn't get treats. Hope to train her this way. I guessed that previously after she finished all her food, I praised her and then proceeded to wipe her teary eyes and wet chin and she didn't like her eyes being wiped. So now, I gave her treats first and only wipe her face after I washed her bowl. :wink:


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

New problem.. and it is my fault  

In my attempts to feed her more last Friday, (half a can of 5.5oz each time) I sprinkled in some of the powder/small bits from her treats (*freeze dried salmon). For three meals she managed to finish all of her food this way and I gave her another 2-3 pieces of the treats after her meals to praise her good behavior.

Then trouble starts.... After she ate only about half of the food she was given, she would walk to the drawer where her treats are kept and sat there to wait for me. Since she didn't finish her food yet, I told her "No, must finish food first". Then I brought her bowl over to feed her but she would just run and hide. :? 

For the past two days, she would only eat about 1/4 of a can each time and then decide not to eat anymore.  
Sigh... Besides, I find that she might feel frustrated for eating mashed canned food.. she looked so happy to eat those pieces of treats..

Any idea what else can I try? Should I remove her dry food totally and let her starve while I am at work? Actually she doesn't eat all of the dry food I gave her. She eats only about 10-20 pieces of those tiny Wellness CORE dry food.

Btw, she was 2.6kg last Sat.. but she is back now 2.5kg


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

None of my girls would eat half of a 5.5 oz. can at one sitting, that's a lot at one time. 

But I *would *leave that much out if I was going to work. She can nibble on it all day. 

Sounds like she doesn't quite understand the "finish your meal before dessert" thing yet. 

Baby steps. atback


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

Not sure if it is safe to leave the wet food out. It's quite warm & humid in Singapore. I'm afraid that bacteria might breed faster here.. :lol:


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Even during our hottest summer days, when it would get in the 90's in the house, I left the food out when I went to work, and I was usually gone 11 hours a day. I just Googled your year-round weather. Wow! 8O 

The thing I worried about were ants.


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

i find that she will eat more if i hold up the spoon for her to lick.. maybe she doesn't like bending down for a long time.. so i am thinking of getting a raised plate for her..


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

mylsjoey said:


> i find that she will eat more if i hold up the spoon for her to lick.. maybe she doesn't like bending down for a long time.. so i am thinking of getting a raised plate for her..


Huh??? This is a perfectly normal kitten, right?? There is no reason she shouldn't eat up her food perfectly normally w/out you having to hold a spoon for her or raise the bowl. Cats are SUPPOSED to eat on the ground.

IMO you need to see a vet. If the kitten is truly not eating well, something is WRONG!!!


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## mylsjoey (Jan 27, 2010)

hoofmaiden said:


> mylsjoey said:
> 
> 
> > i find that she will eat more if i hold up the spoon for her to lick.. maybe she doesn't like bending down for a long time.. so i am thinking of getting a raised plate for her..
> ...


oh she ate 1.25 can of food yesterday 
(1.25 * 5.05oz = 6.3oz) plus some dry food.

Also ate half can of food this morning. I guess she really does prefer licking from a spoon to eating from her bowl on her own. Is 2.6kg now. 
According to the website http://www.hillspet.co.uk/Adult/Cat/Kit ... 517a9e7069 she seems to be making good progress in the normal weight growth range.

Oh yeah, this is the bowl i want to get for myjoey  http://www.classycatdishes.com/testimonials.html


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