[wags]

I have a kitty question!
My daughter is away @ college right now and a kitty adopted her! She said the kitty came wandering up to her as she was coming back from classes and it jumped on her. It had a flea collar on so of course she assumed it was someone's. Well she lives in this duplex type home out there where she has someone below her. She had asked them to help her find the owner of the cat. They put up flyers and my daughter took the kitty to the vet to have it checked and see if anyone came forward to claim the kitty. Its a beautiful cat she has sent photos. Now what I am wondering is what in the world do you feed a kitten? I have no clue. The last cat I had ran away from my parents home when I was 6. I am way past 6 way past 6 ok that is that haha! Anyway I don't know what she has been feeding this cat but would like to know what she should until gee the owners come forward which seems to be not happening. She also contacted the police just all she could think of. I am though saddened because of course I don't think in our 4 dog home with the guinea pig she will be able to keep the kitty. I have a few kids with allergies as well which is really now starting to bother me since it is so cute and my daughter has become so attached as I have with just the pics! But I just cant keep it. But I would like to know until she relentlessly gives it to the shelter, also she is asking the downstairs people if they would want it since they already do have a cat. Well I am keeping my fingers crossed for the downstairs people. Well long story sorry for that (I did cut it shorter than it was haha) but what should she feed a kitten and I cant even tell you the age (she has no idea) but its a little kitten she does know this and I can tell from the pics! I also have no idea what she has feed it. I asked and got no response so that is fine too. Thanks for anyone's help !

 

[DaneMama]

Maybe post pictures so I can get an idea of how old it is?

Also, if you weigh a kitten that can pretty much tell you the age because kittens gain 1 pound per month until they hit about 7-8 months of age. So if the kitten weighs 3 pounds it is probably 3 months old or so.

As far as food goes, tell her to feed it raw meat, bones and organs. She can find small fish for sale at certain super markets. Canned fish is also a good idea.

 

[Unosmom]

raw or canned is best, if she can afford better quality canned like wellness, then its a good choice, I feed my ( well my parents, but I look after them half the time), Trader Joes brand cat food, its affordable with decent ingridients, and I mix in taste of the wild kibble, since one of the cats is super picky and wont touch canned.

 

[wags]

You have both been so very helpful. Thank you so much! I have no idea about cats ~kittens what so ever! Dog I can talk about cats no idea! So your responses are what I am telling her the minute I get off this computer! She's out in gee corn field no mans land haha! I believe though there are of course supermarkets as for mom and pop pet shops I will ask her. Getting her settled the only store we went to were like a drug store and a huge walmart. I really have no idea what other places are out there though! And I don't recommend walmart food at all! She is on a tight budget gee college life, but she did take her to the vet and paid so food wise I just want her to get the best she can! Your suggestions I will pass along and again thank you!
Oh and also I never know about the weight and knowing the age. That is great I will have to ask her if she knows the age! and give her that info. so then she can tell. Her pictures come on the cell phone and its big head shots and a darker picture of the kitty which you can make it out but very poorly. She told me it looks like a kitten she has seen on cats 101 like a good breed this is why she is so concerned looking for the owner. If this is what she thinks hmmm ocelot ( see i am really not even sure at all) maybe I have to ask I don't want to say and then be wrong, but she thinks not an alley kitten at all. Thanks again appreciate this!

 

[rannmiller]

Yeah, I agree that she should go with raw or canned food for the kitten, that's the best thing in the world for kitties!

 

[wags]

again thanks for the kitty help! My daughter took the kitty in it appx. 5 months old and right now she has left kitty with her neighbors where she lives when she is at college~ (the optimum word here is left not given left) . They are taking care of kitty while she's on her break.
Now she graduates from college this spring. She intends to ask her neighbors if they would want to keep kitty. But she has said if they don't she will not relinquish kitty to a shelter. Hmmmm now that would mean since she is in no financial way able to live on her own YET, that kitty would be coming here in the spring if in fact her neighbors will not keep kitty they do already have 2 other cats!
Now has anyone here had experience in acclimating a =itty into a doggy home! As you all know I have 2 labs (the love hunting down bunnies never have done anything with them but love the chase) and the beagle and the kitty~pei! I have heard that it can take a year to acclimate them to the cat! I just am at a point here where yes I would not mind the kitty here but I want to be fair to the dogs! I am well sort of at a point that I am like ok what the heck to do now if kitty comes here! I just don't think this will work at all! What are some of your suggestions since she will not relinquish kitty at all to a shelter! See I want her to be happy she has said she would give kitty to only people she trusts if she has to but she does like the kitty a lot and from her description seems like an overall nice nice kitty! I need some help and suggestions! Thanks to anyone responding!

 

[Todd]

Yea, like the others have have said, the most natural, healthy diet for a cat is that in which they would eat in the wild, a prey model raw diet, which consists of raw meat, organ meat, and bone. That is the ideal diet for the cat. It is completely safe, and the benefits are evident! If you'd like to learn more about this method of feeding, check out some of the past posts, and feel free to ask us any questions that you'd like. I'm sure I speak for this entire community when I say that'd we be more than glad to help you!

If not raw, just like others have said, use high quality, grainless canned food, which is much more natural for a cat than dry food. Some high quality commercial canned foods are EVO, Wellness Core, Origin, among others!

Hope I was of some help:smile:

 

[rannmiller]

I'd recommend confining the kitty to a safe room in the house all by herself for the first week to get her used to her new surroundings. After that, introduce her to the dogs slowly, one at a time. Just take one dog into the room and keep it nice and calm and don't make a big deal, just let them discover and sniff each other. Chances are the kitty will freak out which will make the dog freak out and chaos will ensue. At that point, just calmly take the dog out of the room and try again the next day. Do that until they are more comfortable with each other, then do the same thing with your other dog. Eventually you'll want to let both of them in there at the same time but not until the kitty is comfortable with both of the dogs on an individual level. After that, just try leaving the door open and giving the kitty a chance to explore the rest of the house with the dogs in it but always with the opportunity to go back into the "safe" room.

 

[wags]

I'm pretty sure kitty will come to live here in the spring after classes or I guess its almost summer! Should prove to be interesting! The kitty is so cute gee The Mommy here is liking the kitty since meeting her finally! HAHA!!!!!:biggrin:

 

[Todd]

If you choose to stick with commercial dog and cat food, it's always best to try something grain-free, considering that grains are not very digestible for dogs, and have little to no nutritional value to them. Here are some of the top, grain-free commercial dog foods I would recommend;

EVO, Origin, Taste Of The Wild, Instinct, Wellness Core, Solid Gold, and Canidae, Timberwolf Organics, among others.

If those foods are a bit expensive for you, here are some other higher quality pet foods with grains, but also hight quality ingredients;

Innova, Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover's Soul, AvoDerm, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, California Natural, and Acana, Merrick, among others.

If you're looking for a pet food more along the price lines of IAMS, here are some of those pet foods, but much higher quality than IAMS;

Premium Edge, Fromm, Nutro, Diamond Naturals, among others.

*The good thing about buying a high quality pet food, is that you may save money in the long run, not only in vet bills, but high quality kibble makes so you can feed your dog less, filling him up, and providing him with just as much/more nutrition.

*Also, try considering feeding your pets canned wet food rather than fry food, because that more closely mimics what they would eat in the wild.

*If you decide to feed commercial foods instead of homemade or raw, still try to give your pet's some fresh meat and raw, meaty bones as often as possible.

Also, a great supplement to use would be fish oil. It has a great source of omega fatty acids which not only make for a healthier coat/skin, but act as a joint lube!