We just rescued a kitten that was trapped in my best friend's garage for several days. I took her to the groomers (to be cleaned and given a flea bath, if she had fleas, which she did not) and she was also at the vet yesterday. She's very thin, but other than being malnourished and having an upper respiratory infection (which we got meds for), she's very healthy. She was tested for feline leukemia and feline AIDs; both were negative. But she only weighs about 2.14 pounds and the vet said she should weigh about 4 pounds for her approx. age, which can't be more than 12 or 14 weeks. So our Vet said to let her eat as much as she wants because she needs to get some weight on. I got her some kitten chow and she's been eating that and also getting into our other cat's food. But would canned wet food help her gain some weight better? Or will that upset her belly? She is the sweetest little tortoise shell kitten and she's such a loveable little peanut. How wonderful that you've rescued her! It will take her a bit to gain her weight back, but once the URI is over she should start making it up. Your vet's right, she should be about 3-4 pounds for her age (the general "rule" being 1 pound for each month).
What you want to do for her though is feed her the highest quality food you can to make up for her crummy start in life. Nature of course made cats to eat MEAT, not corn. So the issue isn't kitten food/wet food/adult food, it's all about nutrition. Read the label of what you're giving her (and your other cat as well). Find a food that doesn't contain corn, it's a cheap filler that has no nutritional value for cats. Look for a protein content of 30% or better, and the protein should be from an identified protein source (ie. it should say chicken or chicken meal, not "meat meal" or "by products"). Most of the better foods (not the grocery store ones) are fine for feeding to all ages, both kittens and adults, if they are at that protein level.
I now feed my own rescue kittens (I foster) on Innova's EVO, canned and dry. Never have I had healthier, sleeker kittens than by feeding them this, and they love it. Surely worth a try for your little tortie baby. May you be blessed for:
1. rescuing the furbaby
2. taking it to the Vet
3. asking for help
The canned food will not harm her, but the kitten chow is more nutritious. Also, in my experience,some cats who are given cannerd food when young will shun dry food as they get older and "demand" canned food. I know they won't starve themselves, but we "parents" do get nervous. No it should be fine, just stay away from the ones with fish, & only give her a little at a time. With the dry food you leave out & water she should be OK. God bless you for caring. As long as it is made for kittens, it is fine. I would also get some Hi-Cal from the vet. It comes in a tube and will give additional calories and nutrients to your kitty. For the first couple of weeks of settling in your new kitten, you should stick to the same brand of kitten food recommended by the breeder or rescue centre, unless there is an obvious problem. Change is stressful, and a diet change at the same time as coping with a new home, can cause tummy upsets in a youngster. If you want to change your kitten's diet after a couple of weeks, you should do so gradually.
Put a little of the new food in with the current food and mix it all together.
Over the course of seven to ten days, gradually increase the amount of new food added, whilst reducing the amount of the former food until a complete change over has been made.
Moving on to adult food
Even though most cats look fully-grown by six months, they're still kittens on the inside. Their bones are becoming stronger and their bodies filling out. Kittens shouldn't transfer to a commercially produced adult food until they are 12 months old. This should be done gradually, again to avoid stomach upsets.
Fresh water - not milk
Make sure fresh drinking water is always available for your kitten, but don't give cow's milk. Contrary to popular belief, cow's milk isn't good for cats as most cats lose the ability to digest lactose shortly after weaning. Only feed specially formulated 'cat milk' and check that it is suitable for kittens, as some are designed for adult cats only.
Meat-eaters
Unlike dogs, who can live quite happily on a balanced vegetarian diet, cats will go blind, suffer other debilitating conditions and ultimately die if fed on a vegetarian diet. Cats are obligate carnivores - meaning they must eat meat to survive!
Fussy eaters
Kittens are generally straightforward where eating is concerned and most will happily eat whatever they are offered. However, some can develop food fads and even addictions as they get older. A lack of a varied diet throughout can lead to fussy eating, so it's worthwhile getting your cat used to eating many different flavours of food and, occasionally, different types of food early on. If you only feed one type or flavour throughout their life, you can encounter problems if that food is discontinued or if a health complaint dictates a change of diet.
If your cat looks decidedly unimpressed when you put down some food, don't be put off and replace it with something else (especially fresh chicken, prawns, and other 'human' food). Cats are clever and will soon realise that they can dictate what you bring them.
If your cat goes off food for more than 24 hours, or you notice other unusual signs of ill health, consult your vet.
Good Luck with the little Kitty Hi
Canned food is healthier expecially for a kitten. There really are no reasons to feed dry foods.
Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat鈥檚 health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean? Is the first ingrdiant a muscle meat like chicken or meal or other things?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Rea...
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i鈥檚 and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process them. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bp...
Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics...
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.ht...
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.ht... |
