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How much should I feed my rescued stray kitten?
I rescued a stray fuzzball awhile ago. She can't be more than 3-4 months old at this point (still has kitten fuzz, still squeaky). I've been feeding her about 6oz wet food per day, but she constantly forages for more food.
When I found her, she was effectively starving, very bony, but had been surviving. I get the sense that if I were to let her free-feed, she would overeat because she's used to NOT having food... still adapting to actually having regular meals. She's gained weight and seems healthy (we have a vet appointment coming up).
Should I be feeding her more?
Related to the feeding, I have an older cat (8 years), also female. If I don't, like, lock the older cat's food up with her, the kitten eats HER food too (prescribed metabolic weight loss food), and my sweet lady does nothing to stop her. She'll hiss from a distance and growl sometimes, but... does this mean kitten needs more food? Should I LET her eat the other cat's food in hopes that the other cat will actually DO something about it at some point? I mean... my older girl isn't starving by any means, but I don't want her to get sick.
So... more food for the kitten? Let the kitten eat the other cat's food? Halp.
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No don't let the younger kitten eat the older cats food. They need different food and especially as the other one has been prescribed.
With the kitten obviously ask the vet for advice. But in the mean time I'd feed her something plain. So alot of wet cat food by well known brands have additives in that make some kitten go really hyper. When my cat was a young kitten (6 mnths) the vet said to just feed him biscuits that were nutritious.
I think the vet will also want to check out the kitten thoroughly to. And because you can't be to sure where the kitten has come from it makes all the more sense to try and keep him distant from your cat.
Although your cat may not seem to mind in my experience they get quite jealous if there is a new kid on the block! Perhaps keep your cats feeding area where it is , and make a point of feeding the kitten but say in the garage or porch so your current cat doesn't feel threatened.
That's what I'd do, but obviously I'm not a vet so make sure you have a good conversation with the vet when you see them
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I am guessing that the kitten is eating merely because it's body doesnt know when its next meal is coming and may still give off the hunger signal even if she doesnt need it and the amount you feed is sufficient.
I had one cat that needed the food that helped for older cats with tendency for urninary tract problems, so I could take chance of the other cats eating up her food. Best thing is to feed them in separate places. We also had 2 small dogs at one point and the younger was a rescue dog who had been overfed by previos owner. So she'd try to eat the other dogs food as well. Again, you just have to put one in a separate room and keep checking to see if they've finished and if not, save the rest of the food and put it with cat in separate place again later to see if the cat is hungrier later Your vet should be able to tell you what amoutn to give the kitten. In time, once its been getting food regularly daily, the habit to eat anything in sight and keep eating and foraging the kitchen for extra should stop.
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