06-29-2010, 08:01 AM
Hi Everyone!
[CAUTION: long post, full of questions ahead]
My kitten is still settling in great. I decided to name her Emma. I have questions about how much I should be feeding and the timing and method of feedings. Hopefully those of you with lots of Raggie kitten experience can give me some guidance.
Background: As per the breeder's recommendation, I am free feeding dry food (Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul), and feeding wet food 2x per day (mixture of EVO Cat & Kitten and Pet Authority Adult formula). The reason for the mixing is that before I got her, the breeder told me that she would be eating the EVO so I purchased an entire case of the stuff. The breeder had been in the process of switching all of her cats from Pet Authority to the EVO, however when I got there, she told me that unfortunately when she had worked all the way to 100% EVO, her adult cats decided they did not like it and stopped eating it. Thus, she was then switching slowly back to the Pet Authority. I would like my kitten to eventually be entirely on the EVO since it is a high quality food and I already own a big case of it. LOL. But for now we are mixing the two. She weighed 3 lbs. when she went to be altered on the 22nd of June, but lost a bit of weight after her alter, although the vet said she is still at a healthy weight.
Quantity: How much total canned food do you think she should be eating each day? Right now I have been doing a spoonful of each wet food at each meal (so approx. 1.5-2 tablespoons per meal, 3-4 tablespoons per day). The first two days, she was not eating all of that. This morning however, for the first time she gobbled it all down and seemed to want more. Keep in mind that she does have dry kibble available to her all day long. She nibbles at that throughout the day but does not consume a substantial quantity. I put about 1/4 cup dry food in her dish in the mornings and she MAYBE eats a quarter of that in a 24 hour period.
So my questions are:
1. How much should a 12 week old kitten be eating on a daily or per meal basis?
2. It seems like she should be eating a greater quantity of dry food, is that true? If so, how should I encourage her to do so? Should I decrease the amount of wet food she gets?
3. When I put the wet food out, how long should I leave it out for? When she first got here, I was leaving it out for a long time so that she could come back to it and eat more when she wanted (which she did). The main reason I did this was because I didn't know what her appetite was like and didn't want her to go hungry because she was to nervous to eat it all in one sitting. Now that she is eating a little more robustly though, how long should it be left out? Furthermore, how long is it SAFE to be left out? (Before the wet food goes bad).
4. How much dry food should I be putting out a one time? Is it normal to end up throwing out a bunch of it at the end of the day that your kitten doesn't eat?
5. How long should I leave out a bowl of dry food? I have been throwing out the uneaten dry food and putting out fresh food (and water) each morning, and leaving it out all throughout the night. So it ends up sitting out for about 24 hours, but 8 of those hours are spent sleeping (She does sleep very solidly throughout the night). Is this to long to leave it out? Would leaving it out longer be advisable?
6. For the wet food still in the can, how long is it safe to sit in the refrigerator after opening? Since I am just taking a little bit from each of two cans, it is taking a very long time to get to the bottom of the cans. I have been using the same two cans since Friday and I think I still have a few meals left in them. Is this safe? Should I throw out unused food after a point and open new cans?
Sorry for the LONG post. I would really appreciate all the advice you can give.
P.S. For those of you saintly enough to read all the way to the bottom, a funny story: This morning while brushing my teeth I heard a meow and a commotion behind me and then a streak of gray fleeing the bathroom. I turned around to see the toilet water rippling. I guess the little booger's curiosity got the best of her and she jumped in to see what it was all about, but didn't like what she found. She then got her first bath (just washing her legs mostly, the water was very shallow). I think little Emma learned a valuable lesson today.
[CAUTION: long post, full of questions ahead]
My kitten is still settling in great. I decided to name her Emma. I have questions about how much I should be feeding and the timing and method of feedings. Hopefully those of you with lots of Raggie kitten experience can give me some guidance.
Background: As per the breeder's recommendation, I am free feeding dry food (Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul), and feeding wet food 2x per day (mixture of EVO Cat & Kitten and Pet Authority Adult formula). The reason for the mixing is that before I got her, the breeder told me that she would be eating the EVO so I purchased an entire case of the stuff. The breeder had been in the process of switching all of her cats from Pet Authority to the EVO, however when I got there, she told me that unfortunately when she had worked all the way to 100% EVO, her adult cats decided they did not like it and stopped eating it. Thus, she was then switching slowly back to the Pet Authority. I would like my kitten to eventually be entirely on the EVO since it is a high quality food and I already own a big case of it. LOL. But for now we are mixing the two. She weighed 3 lbs. when she went to be altered on the 22nd of June, but lost a bit of weight after her alter, although the vet said she is still at a healthy weight.
Quantity: How much total canned food do you think she should be eating each day? Right now I have been doing a spoonful of each wet food at each meal (so approx. 1.5-2 tablespoons per meal, 3-4 tablespoons per day). The first two days, she was not eating all of that. This morning however, for the first time she gobbled it all down and seemed to want more. Keep in mind that she does have dry kibble available to her all day long. She nibbles at that throughout the day but does not consume a substantial quantity. I put about 1/4 cup dry food in her dish in the mornings and she MAYBE eats a quarter of that in a 24 hour period.
So my questions are:
1. How much should a 12 week old kitten be eating on a daily or per meal basis?
2. It seems like she should be eating a greater quantity of dry food, is that true? If so, how should I encourage her to do so? Should I decrease the amount of wet food she gets?
3. When I put the wet food out, how long should I leave it out for? When she first got here, I was leaving it out for a long time so that she could come back to it and eat more when she wanted (which she did). The main reason I did this was because I didn't know what her appetite was like and didn't want her to go hungry because she was to nervous to eat it all in one sitting. Now that she is eating a little more robustly though, how long should it be left out? Furthermore, how long is it SAFE to be left out? (Before the wet food goes bad).
4. How much dry food should I be putting out a one time? Is it normal to end up throwing out a bunch of it at the end of the day that your kitten doesn't eat?
5. How long should I leave out a bowl of dry food? I have been throwing out the uneaten dry food and putting out fresh food (and water) each morning, and leaving it out all throughout the night. So it ends up sitting out for about 24 hours, but 8 of those hours are spent sleeping (She does sleep very solidly throughout the night). Is this to long to leave it out? Would leaving it out longer be advisable?
6. For the wet food still in the can, how long is it safe to sit in the refrigerator after opening? Since I am just taking a little bit from each of two cans, it is taking a very long time to get to the bottom of the cans. I have been using the same two cans since Friday and I think I still have a few meals left in them. Is this safe? Should I throw out unused food after a point and open new cans?
Sorry for the LONG post. I would really appreciate all the advice you can give.
P.S. For those of you saintly enough to read all the way to the bottom, a funny story: This morning while brushing my teeth I heard a meow and a commotion behind me and then a streak of gray fleeing the bathroom. I turned around to see the toilet water rippling. I guess the little booger's curiosity got the best of her and she jumped in to see what it was all about, but didn't like what she found. She then got her first bath (just washing her legs mostly, the water was very shallow). I think little Emma learned a valuable lesson today.
This happened when he got caught under the foot rest (someone lowered it and didn't know he was under there) of a glider chair at the BREEDER'S HOUSE. Just ouch thinking about this happening to him.