I'm aware that you should feed kittens as much as they want to eat but at what stage/age should you think about restricting a little piggy's intake?

We've had Kitty since the beginning of October when she was five months old. She only weighed 2.2kg when we got her (Oscar, her brother, was 2.5kg at the same age) but she really is a total glutton where food is concerned and would eat most of Oscar's food too if we let her! Now, at almost 8 months old, she's looking rather round and has what I can only describe as a chubby middle - when I pick them both up Kitty feels quite a bit heavier than Oscar. She was spayed in November and the weight gain seems marked since then.

They eat Bozita, Hi Life, Top Life and a diddy bit of Origen dry in four wet meals a day and she probably eats in excess of 300g of wet a day plus any dry and freeze dried treats she can get her hands on. Oscar probably eats just under 250g a day and he's a much slower eater - I have to remove his "leftovers" and hide them for him to come back to later or Kitty would eat them as well as hers!

Oscar is definitely more agile than Kitty, he can jump onto the high kitchen worktops and Kitty can't manage that though she does run and play and climb with Oscar. Am I setting her up for a fat adulthood by giving her what she wants now?

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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

How much dry food is she getting in addition to the wet? I know you say - how ever much she can get her hands or rather paws on but do you leave dry out to free feed?

Are you feeding the Bozita in Jelly or the pate ones?

Without actually seeing the cat it is always hard to say whether there is a weight issue but I guess there must be; at least from your point of view. So, it might be worthwhile plonking on the scales to see how much she weighs now and perhaps reducing her food a little and/or move them to an even better diet.

Out of interest - why can't she jump the work surface? Is it a confidence issue or is it her weight?

is the spayed cat on kitten food or adult food? I only mention it when these 2 got spayed in December last year, they were both still kittens but vet told us to start feeding them adult food, as kitten food is very high in fat content as being spayed they are not as mobile so they have not put extra weight on as they have been on adult food since being spayed.

I have managed to weigh them (in a fashion, wasn't easy on the scales I've got) and I feel a bit better. Oscar is approx 3.4kg and Kitty is approx 3.6kg. They are almost 8 months old - I think Kitty is a smaller cat and that's why she feels rounder and more chunky than Oscar. She's put 1.4kg on in the (exactly) 3 months we've had her which seems about right.

Oscar has only put on 900g in the same 3 months, I'm now wondering how I can encourage him to eat a bit more

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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

Not much dried food most days (a small handful between them in a throw/catch game or two) though I leave a little bit out in a treat ball when I go to work (3 or 4 days a week) so a bit more those days (and I suspect Kitty eats most of it tbh, given Oscar's eating habits). I never leave it out for free feeding.

I give them both kinds of Bozita for variety though I know the pate ones are better and I try to give more of those.

I don't know, she's just never done it. She looks like she wants to when I'm preparing food up there but she doesn't seem able to. Perhaps her previous owners taught her not to, I don't know. I never managed to teach Oscar that

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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

I was actually thinking the same for mine!
Mine are 5-6 months but will eat anything and everything, my older two get fed twice a day morning and evening but is it too soon to do that with the kittens or do you just give them what they want, mine re all of decent weight not overweight or underweight

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I'm interested in this as well - I'm switching kittens from Applaws dry (they were just switched to that from Whiskas kitten with gravy) to hopefully a rotation between Bozita, Animonda Carney and Smilla tins (400g tins). Is it OK to give them half a tin each in the morning, half in the evening and put some dry in a treat ball during the day? They are both 5 month old moggies

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Basil & Sybil

Well the only advice i can give you is to switch food slowly bit by bit some kitties get nasty runs from switching instantly lol but on the other note just as clueless as you
With my older cats we fed them what they wanted till they were older but these two are on the podgy size, one is severly overweight and has estrictions on food don't want the kittens to go down the same road

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Thanks raggie doll Yeah, will try and do it as gradually as possible - don't want to risk any dodgy tums! They were fed whatever the rescue shelter had in stock (they depended heavily on donations) so hopefully are used to changes in diet. Fingers crossed!

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Basil & Sybil

lol yeah rescues don't have money for posh food lol 3 of mine are rescues and one has major food issues so she will eat anything she gets her hands on for the fear of not being fed bless her even garlic bread crisps lol

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