Having read what some other members are feeding their cats - I'm a little concerned that my pair aren't getting enough food.

I have 2 moggy kittens - Oslo who is 12 weeks, and Odin who is 14 weeks.

They had been eating 4 pouches of whiskas junior plus some go-cat dry food down all day (I rarely see them eating it during the day - but notice some of it gets eaten overnight).

Since Saturday when I got my order of Bozita in they have been getting 2 pouches of whiskers and 1/2 a tetra pack of Bozita chucks in sauce (I only ordered the minimal amount of Bozita I could to see if they liked it so have to alternate half & half atm) again with dry overnight. Although the past few days I've been out of whiskas (I'm so upset about that not) so they have been on 1 pack of Bozita a day (unfortunately they have to go back to a whiskas/bozita diet until I get to do another order via my petshop - I think they order in from that supplier once per month).

Please note that the above is what is fed both kittens combined, not each - they share bowls so I've given up trying to figure out how much each is eating.

Now as I know kittens should be free feeding, I have been giving them about 1/4 of their daily amount above 4 times a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner & supper) and each time they will eat what they want and leave some to come back and graze on later. I'm home all day and their bowls are in the room I spend most of my time in, so if I notice one (or both) finish the last of whats in the bowls, or start to eat the dry food, that's normally when they get fed again, rather than exactly 12pm, 4pm etc etc. The only time the wet food bowls are ever empty for is first thing in the morning - and they have no problems coming and telling me they are hungry (Odin walks on me, while Oslo headbutts me in the face til I wake up), and so I get up and feed them.

When I weighed them a couple of weeks ago Oslo (10 weeks) was 1300ish grams and Odin (12 weeks) was 1800ish grams which seems a healthy weight at that time.

I have to admit I haven't weighed them the past couple of weeks as the scales I have are just too fiddly (must buy a set of digital scales) - though I will get them weighed properly when they go to their first vets visit tomorrow for shots (Odin's are now 2 weeks late but we decided to wait til Oslo was due his and get them both done at once) but they certainly don't appear to be losing weight or condition.

It's not like they wouldn't be given more food if they actually seemed to want it (the other day right before we got the Bozita we went through 6 pouches of whiskas plus 1 of Applaws (it was treat day ) but that seems to have been a one off, and could have been because we were out of dry food that day. I do realise that with the Bozita in the mix they are actually eating more actual food for the same amount (since the whiskas contains a lot of useless fillers), so I'm happy about that at least.

I don't know - maybe I'm worrying for nothing, and that's all they need but like all of us, I only want what's best for my furbabies.

notsure.

One tetrapack between them is very little, only 185g each per day. My two eat about 400g a day but I don't feed any dry. Are they finishing the bozita or leaving it and going back? They do seem fine weightwise and you may find they eat more as they get bigger. If feeding high quality food they may eat less as it will fill them up quicker due to no fillers, less jelly etc.

Is it the pate you are feeding or the jelly? Pate one is better IMO.

You can order bozita etc from zooplus instead of doing it through your pet shop, have you thought about doing that? I'd have thought it would be much easier. Just noticed you're in Norway, not sure if zooplus deliver there.

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I will admit that reading what your two are eating is part of what made me start to wonder.

They are not finishing the Bozita - they eat some (sometimes a lot sometimes a little) and walk away, coming back later to finish it - as I type there is a little under half of what they got fed an hour or so ago still in their bowls, but Odin has come back for a snack, and Oslo probably won't be far away. Apart from the day Odin came home, I don't think I've ever seen them empty thier bowls in one sitting - with the exception of when they are given Applaws and then they won't even share a bowl if one even looks the like he is considering touching the other's applaws there is hissing involved.

They definitely seem to like it a lot more than the whiskas - and can't wait to get to their bowls - they just don't seem to want to eat it all at once. From the day we got him Oslo has always been an eat-a-bit come back for more in a while eater - Odin ate everything in sight the first day, but after that he's done the same as Oslo - eat a bit and then graze.

They have the Reindeer chunks in Gravy atm which seems to be mostly meat with the gravy filling the gaps rather than the chunks swimming in gravy like you see in some other brands definitely looks & smells more appetising - I will definitely be getting some of the pate type with the next order.

Unfortunately I can't order from zooplus so can't try any of the other foods, (none are available here), and am just thankful that my petshop was willing to order in Bozita for me, even if I have to order by the box of 16 tetra packs at a time. I'm also happy that they are relatively well priced compared to zooplus and when I worked it out the other day the Bozita is actually 33% cheaper per kilo than what we are currently paying for the whiskas junior pouches (which combined with me showing him the ingredients in the whiskers meant hubby didn't mind going out of his way to get it - though as the petshop is about 2 minutes away from home & 1 minute from his work it's hardly a hassle). I started with just 1 box of 16 tetra packs to see if tehy liked it before committing to more (and after 1 scare where they only ate a little didn't touch the rest overnight - leaving me wondering what to do with the other 15 packs if really didn't like it) they seem to be loving it. My next order will be consist of 3-4 varieties (am thinking 1 fish, 1 meat, 1 poultry and then an extra one of one of them) to stop them getting bored with the 1 flavor of food since I can't rotate brands. I just went with the reindeer this time as I'd seen a number of people mention that the flavour was popular and as they liked the jelly in the whiskas I thought I'd try them on the gravy.

I wouldn't be worried if they were just eating less compared to the wiskas as like you say that's a rubbish brand filled with fillers and what-not and comparitively speaking they are getting more from the same amount of bozita - but when I compare what they are eating to say your two, who are only 5-6 weeks older than Odin and 2 months older than Oslo it did make me stop and think. Looking at the recommended feeding guidelines from Bozita - they are eating about what it lists - but again being kittens I have no problem giving them more if that's what they want....I'd happily feed them 3 times as much if I thought they would eat it.

With how little of the dry they appear to be eating (the first 400g box lasted a month including what was thrown out or hoovered up), I will be going 99% wet - using some Orijin (if the only norwegian supplier ever gets back to me) or Applaws Dry (the bozita supplier my pet shop uses also sells Applaws dry) for in treat balls or a puzzle feeder which I must look into buying.

notsure

Oops, sorry about that Think I have a pair of gannets though!

How many times a day are you feeding them? It could be that they leave it as they are full but only tend to pick at the rest because it isn't fresh. When they are young it is a good idea to feed them in small meals but more often. So you could maybe try feeding them less, maybe as much as you know they will finish off there and then, and giving more meals throughout the day. I know this isn't always feasible due to work etc, if I am working my two get fed 3 times a day but if I'm at home it's usually 4. I do tend to refill their bowls whenever they are empty though so at the moment I am probably feeding them about 8 times a day if you count every time I put food in their bowl as a meal!

My two were the same, never really emptied their bowls - especially when on felix. The first time they actually emptied their bowls there and then was the first time I gave them Bozita I think. They still don't always empty their bowls now but they do eat most of it.

That's very good of your pet shop to order in for you, great idea to get different flavours also as boredom will set in very quickly for them when on just the same one every day.

Every cat is different, some will eat loads and some not very much. With the dry, definitely try the Orijen if you can as I know it is recommended alot on here. Also look at Acana if you are able too - another one that is recommended on here. My two would probably quite happily eat dry but it's just not what I want them to eat as they really don't drink very much to compensate for it.

As long as their weights keep increasing by roughly 100g per week then you're doing fine. It's when they start losing weight that you need to worry.

Good luck

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Kaz is that 400g each per day?

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Yup, yesterday they ate about 670g each

Gannets

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Notsure - I think what yours are eating sounds fine, they are eating simillar amounts to mine and I think the reason our cats sound like they are eating less than some others on the forum is that they have dry also. Dry food is very energy dense so even small amounts will make them feel like eating less wet. Both of my kittens were dry food weaned and it's taking time getting them off the dry but I'm finding that Oscar, who eats less dry than Kitty, eats more wet. My older cat now has no dry at all and he's eating a lot more wet food.

Yours sound like really good weights for their age so, if they are lively and healthy looking, I really wouldn't be concerned. You could try giving them more if they are completely emptying their bowls but if they are leaving bits I suspect they aren't going hungry on what you are giving them.

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Harry: Ginger & White b. September 2002
Oscar: Black b. 7th May 2011
Kitty: Grey Tabby b. 7th May 2011

Our lovely cat family

Just got back from their first vet visit where both were weighed

Odin at just under 15 weeks weighs 2.2 kg (assuming when I weighed them 2 weeks ago I was close to accurate) he's put on about 400g in 2 weeks) & Oslo at just under 13 weeks weighs 1.5 kg - about 200g increase in 2 weeks.

So guess what they are eating is enough.

I feed them a minimum of 3 times a day usually at least 4 - sometimes more depend when they empty their bowls, and what time they start on breakfast - if they so much as look at their bowl sideways and it's empty or I see them finish what's in it, they get more. They are getting between 1-2 tablespoons each at every meal - about 1/4 of a tetra pack between them - but I may start giving them less more often and just topping it up if they finish it all....Anyways the vet seemed happy with their weights & condition.

notsure