I'm Isobel (forum wouldn't let me take that name, so called myself after my new kitten, Douglas). Do feel free to call me Douglas, that is totally cool.

I posted this in the introductions thread - think it was the wrong place! Not really a health issue either - cat chat seems right - sorry if I'm muddling the boards.

Douglas (the kitten) was born on the 8th of November, his mother is a maine coon and dad was... well who knows (Naughty mum!). We got him at just seven weeks old. (This was down to the mother having to be spayed as this was her second unplanned litter and her owners were worried she'd get pregnant again once the kittens were weened. I know he is very young to be home already).

Anyway, he is the most affectionate kitten I've ever met, only hid occasionally for the first couple of hours, now happily greets anyone who comes in the house, purrs like a drill, plays with his toys constantly, uses litter tray like a pro and eats both biscuits and wet food. (n.b We haven't been over feeding him).



What's the problem? Well, not really a problem. He's just a bit... big? well, I'm not sure, never having had a cat this young. He is 1100g (just under 2 1/2 pounds) already - we weighed him earlier this evening. Does that seem normal for a kitten of just 7 weeks?

Anyone got any experience of this? He can jump up on a chair already (with a couple of attempts) and if he is sat upright he is as tall as a kitchen roll (a bit taller if you include his ears). He has a really long tail which he chases. He doesn't feel or look fat, if anything he feels slightly on the skinny side.



Also, don't worry, I'm not complaining. I'm kinda hoping he will be a big cat. When I found out his mother was Maine Coon I thought the chances were he might grow up to be (not that if he were normal sized I'd love him any less). I'm 100% sure he isn't full MC, as he has quite short fur. Also, he is def only 51 days old - I first visited him when he was just 8 days old - hadn't even opened his eyes!

Any advice/experience most welcome.

if he is half coonie then maybe you should read up about the breed.
you will find they can be one of the biggest breeds about, so i wouldnt worry about his size.
if he is 1100 gramms at 7 weeks old then he will be BIG. my wegie troy was only a little bit heavier than that at 13 weeks and they are a big breed too. so dont worry he is going to be big

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Average weight for a kitten of seven weeks will be around 800g so at 1.1kg he's doing well. He's still a tiny thing though cos he's only a youngster - don't expect him to get as big as a Maine Coon though - he is 1/2 moggy. My sister in law has two 1/2 Maine Coon (I've met them now and they do have a Coony look) they are 6 months compared to my Codas 7 months and 1/2 the weight and nowhere near as big and yet she has convinced herself they will be huge - no they won't. It's quite possible that he will not be huge, just a large cat. But he is pretty and lovely - enjoy him for what he is.

(general idea on weight is whatever there age is in weeks x 100 - so 9 weeks would be 9 x100 - and then plus 100g. so a 9 week old should be about 1kgish - plus r minus a 100g.)

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please look at my website - www.finesthourcats.webs.com - for gorgeous GCCF registered RagaMuffins and Selkirk Rex

Hi and welcome to the forum.What a pity that Douglas has had to miss out on the most important weeks of his "social development" with his mum and siblings,7 weeks is very young to be away from them as you are aware.He is a beautiful kitten and I agree from his size and weight he should be a big lad.It is very difficult to "over feed" a kitten as they will normally only eat what they need,so i would let him have as much as he wants.I think you are in for some fun times ,he sounds like he has life sussed.Looking forward to watching him grow so please stick around.

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Thanks both!

I do hope he will be big, but I suppose this might be an early growth spurt, I did as suggested and MC apparently carry on growing up till 4 or even 5 years! Wow.

Here is a pic of him at just two days old with his mum -



(he is second from the left)

She was quite big too!

I totally agree - as did the people taking care of his mum. This was her second unwanted litter - they gave the last litter away when the kittens were 11-12 weeks old and when they took her to the vet they found out she was pregnant again. They tried but failed to isolate her (they have two another (neutered) males who are outside cats) and she was very sneaky about being let out).

Both my partner and I work from home so he is getting a lot of attention. I play with him a lot and when he gets too rough I make a yowl noise and walk away. I hope this will go some way to teach him to be gentle.

If anyone has any tips on looking after a kitten this young, I am all ears.

x

2 points to make

1) he is going to be a big boy that's all
2) he'll eat you out of house and home and that's just fine. Give him as much as he wants

He's lovely

Me too!

He's adorable

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Debs

Lives with a wonderful husband, 2 adorable rescue kitties Harry and Sabrina, and a flock of pampered pet chickens.