I just wanted to check to see if you think our kittens are gaining weight at a reasonable rate?

They were just 890g and 880g respectively when we got them at 13w 4d old which a lot of people on this forum said was quite significantly underweight for almost 14 weeks old. At the time, they were being fed 100g Felix Kitten each per day which didn't seem much but that's what the breeder had been giving them.

I have been weighing them every day since just over 14 weeks of age while changing their food over to something they actually liked (as they were leaving a lot of the Felix) and I wanted you to look at this to check whether you think this weight gain is okay, or too fast/slow... I am really not sure.

They are now eating 100g Lily's Kitchen each for breakfast, 100g Grau each for dinner and then "some" raw Darling's mince before bedtime - depending on how hungry they are (it varies). We tend to put out 50g each then see if they want more. Very occasionally they will have a snack in between meals too, e.g. they will share a pouch of something - the other day it was a Macs pouch or maybe a sardine between them as a treat. This is only if they start mewing for food before bedtime though.

The impression I got from this forum is that kittens can eat as much as they like. So hopefully I'm not overfeeding them - if that's even possible with kittens.

Anyway, here is a "chart" of their weight increase.

Orange = Monty
Grey = Dinah

14w 2d
950g and 930g

14w 3d
1kg and 960g

14w 4d
1.1kg and 970g

14w 5d
1.1kg and 1kg

14w 6d
1.2kg and 1.1kg

15w
1.2kg and 1.1kg

15w 1d
1.3kg and 1.2kg

15w 2d
1.3kg and 1.2kg

15w 3d
1.4kg and 1.3kg

15w 4d
1.5kg and 1.3kg

Does this speed of weight gain look okay? Where I was worried about them being underweight, now I'm worried they are gaining weight too quickly. Can kittens "get fat"? They are VERY active and playful kittens - not lazy at all - so do I need to worry?

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Bonnie and the gang xxx

Honestly to me that looks really good! Looks like the new food is having a really good affect! I dont think Kittens can get too fat to be honest, if they can we need to have serious words with Mush! They probably just had a bit of catching up to do!

P.S. Did you get my parcel ok?

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It hasn't arrived yet GM otherwise I would've sent you a PM!

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Bonnie and the gang xxx

Hmm, I DON'T think SP should take that long. I'll text the boyf and ask him to go into the PO on his lunch break, he should still have his receipt in his wallet...

I hope theres not a well fed postal workers cat out there...

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I would just think they caught up to where they're supposed to be! It is possible for kittens to go through a growth-spurt if they weren't fed right before - mine did when I swapped him off Whiskas onto Bozita/Carny/Hi-Life/NM and he's not a fat cat and he only eats when he's hungry.

Well done you for feeding them right. They're absolutely gorgeous.

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My lifelong ambition is to be a crazy cat lady. The only obstacle is my OH.

Who will go and who gets to stay? Stay tuned...

Are you using digital kitchen scales hun? Only some days it looks as if there is no gain?

They are good gains though! Some days it looks like a 50g gain which is something you would expect to see in a kitten that has been in starvation mode! But they were terribly under weight the poor things

I would seriously think about doing something about this. I think I saw you mention you paid a lot of money for these two ... you'd think for that kind of money you would at least be assured of a healthy kitten of a good weight Which should be the case for all breeds/moggies mind, but wow.

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Thanks everyone. We're really pleased with their progress.

Aurelia - Yep we are using digital kitchen scales but as they were gaining weight so rapidly I didn't bother recording the actual grams after the first few days! Today Dinah's gone up to 1.4kg and Monty is teetering on the edge at almost 1.6kg so their rapid weight gain is continuing.

There was definitely gain every day.

Yes we did pay a lot (£500 per kitten) and I must admit I was shocked at their weights when we did weigh them. Having said that our own vet didn't seem terribly concerned and the breeder's vet said their weights were fine so who knows... I personally don't think their weights were anywhere near fine but hopefully they are now.

To illustrate just how much they have changed in the two weeks they've been home, here is a pic of them the day after they got home, compared with pics of them taken this evening! I am shocked at how gaunt they both look in the first pic.


They look sooo skinny...


This is them today. Chunky monkeys!


Our babies!

I love them so much. It's so rewarding seeing them gain weight and look healthier. I'm so glad you all think these weight gains are okay.

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Bonnie and the gang xxx

Wow that's quite a transformation They simply are adorable ... but hun, those first pictures

The breeder should know that under 1.2kg is too light, she/he shouldn't need to even check with a vet Have you contacted the breeder to let them know how concerning their weight was?

I'm glad they have you now I'm sure they will continue to thrive in your care

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Well I don't know much about kittens weights but the photos speak for themselves. You had some tiny weeny kittens and now you have a robust, strapping young lad and a beautiful girl. They don't look fat at all, just healthy, active and amazingly gorgeous! Well done for all the hard work you've put in, because it certainly shows

Hmm now I'm wondering why my 16 week old kittens are between 1.8kg and 2.1kg I'm pretty sure your kittens weights sound more reasonable!

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