My kitten won't stop eating should I let her eat or stop her?
How long have you had her? When I got my last kitten from the shelter she was half starved, so she ate all the time. After a few weeks when she knew she would always have food, she started to eat normally. There are 2 ways of thinking when it comes to feeding cats 1 -Feed it a set amount 2-3 times a day 2- Leave food out all the time, they learn they don't have to gorge themselves because they'll always have food around. This is what I've always done and have never had a problem with my cat's weight. (though there are cats who will over eat) She's pretty young, try giving her kitten formula or at least mix it in her food. Let her have all the formula she wants, then put out food. Have her checked by a vet, she could have worms or a parasite
Can cats eat dog food?
It won't hurt them enless you give them a lot. If you give them a lot it will give them bad stomach aches. So only give them a little bit until you can get cat food. You are doing a good thing feeding them, so they won't starve. Below is a list of things that are bad for cats and then a website with more. Good Luck! Alcoholic beverages Apples and Apricots (stems, seeds and leaves) Avocados Baby food containing onion Baking Powder and Baking Soda Bones from fish, poultry or other meats Cherries Chocolate, Coffee, Tea and other caffeine Citrus oil extracts Dog food in large amounts Eggplant (greens) Elderberry Fatty foods Grapes and Raisins Liver in large amounts Macadamia Nuts Milk and other dairy products (many cats are lactose intolerant) Mushrooms Nutmeg Onions and Garlic Peaches and Plums (stems, seeds and leaves) Potato Rhubarb (leaves) Raw eggs Raw fish Salt in large quantities Sugary foods Tobacco Tomato (greens) Yeast dough http://www.bo-kitty.com/Hazards.html
What happens if my cat eats dog food?
If it happens just once in a while it is no problem. Cats are obligate carnivores meaning they only eat meat. They also need Taurine in their diet. Food specific to cats is what they need. Dogs are omnivores meaning they can have vegetables in their diet and not suffer from it the way cats would. This is something the pet food industry just doesn’t seem to get. I am amazed at all the cat foods on the market that contain grains and vegetables…ingredients cats don’t need.I only feed canned high protein cat food to my cats and have high protein dry food for them to nibble on during the day. Before I switched to these foods, my cats were throwing up all the time. I learned too late that it is because the cheap cat foods in the grocery store had an excess of grains which they had a hard time digesting and also caused my oldest cat to get diabetes. Once I switched, he lost weight, went into remission, and they all stopped throwing up.Also, although high protein cat foods cost more, it also provides them more condensed nutrients they need so they eat less of it. The cost is mostly balanced out and the benefit of their improved health makes it worthwhile.
Why do some cats eat dog food rather than cat food?
Many cats enjoy sampling dishes from the menu of a different species. :-) Some cats like dog food, some like human food.My cat Sulu likes to eat small pieces of dog treat sticks. I bought them by accident once. I meant to buy cat treat sticks from Lidl. But the shop didn’t have them in stock, and had filled the space with (very similar looking) dog treat sticks. I bought a pack, wondered casually why they were flatter and broader than usual, and gave them to Sulu, a piece at a time. He was crazy about them.I realised only afterwards that those were the treat sticks for dogs. Sulu had no adverse reaction to them.If something tastes (and smells!) good to cats, they want more of it. Sometimes, these choices are surprising - like the cat that’s passionate about pickled black olives, or my Sulu who adores baked beans in tomato sauce.Occasionally, a cat will also eat dog food if it’s either friends with the dog (the two buddies are sharing a meal), or if they are rivals (each asserting their dominance by eating the other’s food).Dog food is actually similar to cat food. Cats won’t come to harm eating the occasional meal of dog food.However, it’s not suitable as the main diet. Cats and dogs have different nutritional needs (e.g. cats need more protein).Some humans, who keep both cats and dogs, feed them both the same food. This saves them time and bother. But it doesn’t provide ideal nutrition.Some humans who can’t afford cat food buy dog food instead, because that’s usually cheaper. However, this is not a long term solution, because it doesn’t give the cat the nutrition it needs. (Unless the cat is also hunting, and regularly eats mice which provide its nutritional needs.) If money is tight, it’s better to buy a cheap brand of cat food, than to rely on dog food.In the comment, you ask if this behaviour should be encouraged. Do you mean the cat’s behaviour, or the human’s? :-)If you mean the cat’s behaviour, I suggest that it should be tolerated rather than encouraged. Allow the cat to eat dog food sometimes if it wants, but make sure it gets real cat food (either mice or commercial cat food) as the main part of its diet.And if you mean the human’s behaviour? Humans should not be encouraged to feed their cats dog food all the time.
My new kitten won't eat, drink, or use the litter box.?
I can help you here - we got a new kitten recently. Don't worry this is perfectly normal. My kitten didn't hide, but he didn't eat, drink or use his litter tray for the first day or so. Different kittens adjust to new lives at different times - particularly if your kitten is very young, under 12 weeks of age. The GCCF recommends not to take a kitten away from its mother before this age because it can have serious problems adjusting. Just make sure that your kitten knows that it's food there - bring her over to her food bowl as soon as you fill it up, make sure she sniffs it. If the food is a different brand to what she's used to she might not take to it - it's a good idea to ask the breeder what food she's used to and buy some of that. The same goes for litter - my new kitten didn't understand what his new litter box was for at first because we used a different brand of litter to what he was used to. He soon got used to it though. When your kitten does start eating (which won't take long- if she's hungry, she'll eat) put her in the litter box after each meal, take her little paws and make scratching motions in the box so that she gets an idea of what it's for. If she's been litter trained by her previous owner already she'll soon catch on again. One more thing, don't worry if she doesn't drink much. If you're feeding her wet food, she'll get all the moisture she needs from that, and probably won't drink. My old cat is toothless due to gum disease so he can only eat wet food and not biscuits, and he hasn't drank a drop of water since he stopped eating biscuits. It's perfectly normal. If she only has dry food and isn't drinking, though, one way to check if she's dehydrated is to pinch the skin on the scruff of her neck (not too tightly!) and let go. If the skin falls and goes back to it's normal shape, she's fine. If the shape of the pinch stays there, she's dehydrated. If this happens take her to the vet, but I'm sure she'll be okay after a day or so of love and reassurance that everything is okay. If she runs and hides, give her her own space until she comes out and wants attention. She'll soon get used to you. Good luck and enjoy your kitten - they grow up so fast!
A kitten that eats like its starving, growls while its eating & forces each meow till its breath runs out?
My friend was given a 4 week old kitten from a woman who couldn’t keep it anymore. The kitten is now 8 weeks old. Last night while I was visiting, I noticed that every time anyone walked into the kitchen where her bowl is, she'd meow each meow long and loud till her breath ran out, she'd jump at them and grab their legs acting like she’s starving. This has been going on since she's been introduced to solid foods. Because the kitten was so young when my friend got her the vet suggested my friend feed her goat milk gradually mixing in solids until the kitten got used to solid food. In the morning she gets wet food and when she’s finished she cries for more. My friend feeds her the recommended amount of dry food for her size and age suggested on the bag but the kitten seems famished all the time. She is a slender long legged kitten so I suggested that maybe she’s growing so fast she might need more than the average kitten. My friend gave her a little more (she'd been fed 2 hours before) and she scarfed it down and growled, the whole time, this is not a mean growl it’s like she’s totally enjoying her meal, It was almost like she was in a frenzy. Is this a normal way for a kitten under her circumstances to act? What should my friend do to make sure her kitten stays healthy and does not seem starved all the time?