Need to know how to stimulate my kitten's appetite

[JoanneDM]

I keep struggling with getting my kitten, now 8 months old, to eat more. She only weighs 5.5 lbs. Although she is happy and likes to run in the hallway of my apartment building, she is very lean. It would be more reassuring if she could have some fat reserve on her body for those instances where she may feel under the weather and not feel like eating while recuperating.

I managed to get her to eat more this past week, and she ate 180 grams a couple of days ago by hand feeding her, and she did put on weight. But yesterday, she only ate 35 grams in the morning and did not want to eat anything the rest of the day. Now it's 12 noon, and she still does not want to eat the food I left for her on the floor--trying to get her to eat on her own without hand feeding her. It's been more than 24 hours since she last ate and I'm really concern about her not wanting to eat anything ...

I cannot continue to hand feed her and I cannot keep putting raw food out and then end up having to throw it away. I really need to know what I can do to get my kitten to eat when I put food out ... any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I was told that Gail Pope may have guidance to provide. @Gail Pope , would this be possible by any chance?

@Dr. Jeff ; @Dr. Jean Hofve ; @Dr. Christina ; @Dr. Leisl ; @drdtr ; @Dressage007 ; @Drmarinavet ; @drsharrock09 ; @drsharrock09 ; @DrTamara ; @dr_ judy herman

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Joanne. I am sorry that your kitty is not eating as well as you'd like. Good news tho that she is happy and has a high BEAM aside from her appetite.

Are you working with a vet homeopath?

Depending on the full context, low appetite is often an energetic dis-ease that a homeopath could help with.

Please Read Before Proceeding – The Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy

theavh.org

 

[Dr. Christina]

Gail Pope - [email protected]

 

[JoanneDM]

Hi Joanne. I am sorry that your kitty is not eating as well as you'd like. Good news tho that she is happy and has a high BEAM aside from her appetite.

Are you working with a vet homeopath?

Depending on the full context, low appetite is often an energetic dis-ease that a homeopath could help with.

Please Read Before Proceeding – The Academy of Veterinary Homeopathy

theavh.org

Thank you so much for the link. I would really appreciate if any of you,
@Dr. Jeff ; @Dr. Jean Hofve ; @Dr. Christina ; @Dr. Leisl ; @drdtr ; @Dressage007 ; @Drmarinavet ; @drsharrock09 ; @drsharrock09 ; @DrTamara ; @dr_ judy herman

would know of homeopathic veterinarians with expertise in improving low appetite in kittens, for me to reach out to ....

 

[JoanneDM]

Gail Pope - [email protected]

I can reach out to her as well

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

I know this has been a struggle. Have you tried feeding her other things besides the raw recently? Maybe add a topper? Is there something she likes better? I've had good luck with sprinkling Wysong DentaTreat on food.

How many calories per gram are in the food you're using? (This info is required to be on the label.) Then we can figure out what she should actually be consuming.

 

[JoanneDM]

I know this has been a struggle. Have you tried feeding her other things besides the raw recently? Maybe add a topper? Is there something she likes better? I've had good luck with sprinkling Wysong DentaTreat on food.

How many calories per gram are in the food you're using? (This info is required to be on the label.) Then we can figure out what she should actually be consuming.

Raw turkey, with bone and organ meats, with some herbs, etc., for a complete and balanced meal: 1,118 (kcal/kg) ... at minimum she eats 100 g per day--this is what she ended up eating today: hand-fed (mid-afternoon) and plopping food in front of her a bit at a time (late evening). Yesterday was very unusual with only 35 g of food eaten.

So her minimum daily food intake is about 112 kcal, plus treats, incl. 8 g of lickable treats [half a tube per day, so 2.3 kcal] and freeze dried chicken heart [10 kcal], and at times, air-dried duck/fermented grass treat [4 kcal] at beginning of mealtime ... and freeze dried duck liver [6 kcal] and air-dried blue mussel [?] in-between meals for good source of iron [duck liver] and source of manganese [blue mussel] ... for a minimum of 134 kcal per day...but can be as high as 194 kcal per day ... on average 164 kcal per day ...

She measures 16 inches from base of tail to nose tip.

She knows how to ask to go out in the hallway of my apartment building floor. She loves to run up and down this hallway and I throw her a cap for her to chase after. But she doesn't know to ask to be fed...

Two days ago, she did not eat much and more than 24 hours later, she still showed no interest in the food I left for her on the floor....it is as though she feeds off of her fat reserve ... because after vigorous physical activity, I bring her back in the apartment and she feels not hungry ... the food is there but she doesn't go near it ... I have to first give her a couple of treats (mainly the chicken heart and at times the duck/fermented grass treat) to get her to be thinking of eating and then I either hand-feed her or plop food a bit at a time in front of her on the floor so she would get the idea to eat ... I have to bring the food to her since she just passes by the food on the floor and just walks away when I know she should be hungry ... even when I take the food away, and wait a bit, and put fresh food out on the floor ... So when she walks away, and settles down, and I know lots of time has gone by since her last meal such that she should be hungry by now, I bring the food to her and sure enough, she eats it then.

I had a session with a gifted animal communicator who told me that she prefers consistency. I was switching the protein source from meal to meal and she did not like that...she actually wants to be served the same food day in and day out.... I tried toppers before, but she doesn't like anything added or mixed into her food. But I could try the DentaTreat, and sprinkle it only on half of her food and see if she would eat that too...

Any other advice/tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[Dr. Jeff]

homeopathic veterinarians with expertise in improving low appetite in kittens

Most of us.

Have you tried feeding any canned or cooked foods?

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Raw food shouldn't be left out for more than 30 minutes, max. If she hasn't eaten it, put it away and try again in a few hours or at the next mealtime. Raw meat contains bacteria that, at room temperature, multiply every 20 minutes, making it dangerous to consume if it's been sitting for too long.

She is eating plenty of food for her weight. Like I said, a TEN pound cat needs 180-200 Cal per day and she is half that. Many people on a keto diet (comparable in macronutrients to homemade raw) are not that hungry. It isn't unusual to eat only one or two meals per day because their nutritional needs are being met.

 

[JoanneDM]

Most of us.

Have you tried feeding any canned or cooked foods?

Apparently, she told this gifted animal communicator she prefers raw food and she didn't understand why I had switched her meals to canned food, even the Fancy Feast (McDonald-like junk food that is very palatable). When she is in an eating mood, she always eats the raw food with gusto...

 

[JoanneDM]

Raw food shouldn't be left out for more than 30 minutes, max. If she hasn't eaten it, put it away and try again in a few hours or at the next mealtime. Raw meat contains bacteria that, at room temperature, multiply every 20 minutes, making it dangerous to consume if it's been sitting for too long.

She is eating plenty of food for her weight. Like I said, a TEN pound cat needs 180-200 Cal per day and she is half that. Many people on a keto diet (comparable in macronutrients to homemade raw) are not that hungry. It isn't unusual to eat only one or two meals per day because their nutritional needs are being met.

It seems that her body doesn't like to hold on to fat. I noticed that she would have days when she doesn't eat much, and then followed by days when she eats more and puts on weight. But then she doesn't hold on to the gained pounds because she would eat less again. Several times a day, she begs to go out in the hallway to run, but I restrict this to no more than 3 times a day ... she keeps burning her fat.

At 8 months of age, weighing only 5.5 lbs, how much calories should she be getting per day? I would really appreciate having a number in mind ... should I get her to eat enough for maintenance, where her weight is stable, or should I continue to try to get her to build up her fat supply?

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Kittens don't generally put on fat, that doesn't happen until after spaying or >1 - 2 years of age. Mostly I recommend feed them as much as they will eat. Unless you feed a lot of carbs she will not get fat. And that's fine. She will eventually develop a little fat pad on her belly but do not try to *make* her be overweight, that's not good for her. When cats are much older I like them to have a little to spare but it would not be natural at her age.

Calorie needs depend on age, genetics, activity level, etc. But why don't you post a couple of pictures so we can see how she's developing, and I can try to make a better guess. But if she's eating 130-150 Calories that's plenty at this point. At 8 months she already has most of her adult size. She's going to be a petite cat, let her be who she is!