Questions about my 3 very diffrent kittys

Question

ok i got 3 cats last month from the shelter.

Molly - 11months old , she is HUGE ( tall and lean not fat ) and very beautiful

Darjeeling - 12 weeks , adorable little baby

Orange - 3 y/o ( guessing ) very shy

Orange- has a HUGE appetite the vet said it would settle down but we have had him for a month now and its not going down ( and his belly is a bit round) so we have been watching what we feed him , he doesn't have any worms. yesterday as a test me an my dad tried to satisfy his appetite just to see how much actually wanted ( we had been monitoring his food very closely ) and he ate 3 pouches of whiskas, nearly half a roast chicken , a slice of ham , a whisked egg and 3 large cuts of roast lamb , at this point i just stopped feeding him but he still wanted more ! does anyone know what could be causing this huge appetite? also he has very greasy fur , we have been grooming him everyday since we got him and washed him a couple of times in kitten shampoo and his fur has improved a lot but still not as good as it should be. does any know what could be causing this?

molly- shes wonderful but still a kitten on the inside just a very big cat on the outside and shes hard to handle and plays too rough, does anyone have any tips on dealing with her? Also she is an extremely picky eater and will only eat dry food , i mix in a bit of what ever was the most recent roast is because my grandma said it was good for them to have a moist diet- is this nutritional enough for her without wet food?

Darjeeling- all round joy , just curious but has your kitten ever jumped in you bath to play? he keeps doing and its very funny , he seems to enjoy it.

thanks everyone i know its a lot. X

Answer 1

I would avoid feeding Orange too much human food.  He sounds like he just likes to eat.  I suspect that someone got oil or grease on him before he got into the shelter.  Try washing him more often.  Could he have gotten into some oil before being put into the shelter?  That shyness might be him being scared that someone will put him in oil again.

You might try feeding Molly her dry food plus water in a separate space from the others.  She will probably outgrow the rough playing soon.

Could Darjeeling be from one of those cat breeds that like water?  He sounds cute.

Well, have fun with your new 4-legged bundles of joy.

Answer 2

Please have the orange cat with the insatiable appetite tested for hyperthyroidism and diabetes! Both have side effects like that, including the greasy skin.

Answer 3

Many animals who have had to starve will eat as much as they can when they do get food.  Perhaps after a long time he'll finally relax enough to realize food is always going to be available and he'll not have to pig out so constantly.  He may just have an eating disorder and you may need to limit how much food is available to him (always have a little he can munch on but just not a whole lot since he doesn't seem to have that automatic shutoff like other cats do).  For a long time my cats would eat only dry kibble (high grade though) but now that they are getting more senior, they will "ask" for canned food or for bits of human meats they smell cooking--never a whole lot, just a little bit.  I did have a cat who LOVED seafood and I do too so we'd have loving little fights over who gets to eat the last shrimp or whatever (he usually won--try doing "rock, paper, scissors" with a cat).

Your big girl--you're just going to have to monitor her until the baby cats grow up enough to defend themselves.  If she gets too rough, get something that make a loud disagreeable noise and use it to break up the wrestling.  Eventually, they all seem to work out a means of living together more or less harmoniously with only a minimum of mutual harrassment.

And, yes, I had a cat who loved water--one reason I adopted him.  He was always jumping into the tub or traying to get in when you were showering.  My current female likes to get into the tub when you're showering but she stays in the spot where the spray doesn't reach (she thinks she's being real brave and daring).  She loves to walk around in the tub after you turned off the spray too, getting her feet all wet and she doesn't care if you splash water on her.  "Turkish van" cats supposedly even like to swim.

You've only had your cats for month so give them time.  Molly may just be a light eater--as long as she's healthy, that's fine.  Orange may settle down (probably take a long time though) and cut back on his need to eat everything.  Enjoy your fuzzies.  

Answer 4

Do you know the story behind Orange? Perhaps he was a stray who didn't always have a stable meal, so he feels the need to eat everything he can, while it's available to him. Common in cats that had to fend for themselves for a while.

My foster cat isn't a fan of canned food, but I finally found a flavor/brand that she will gobble down. It may take a while, but you may find something that Molly will eat willingly. Otherwise, as long as she's drinking water, she'll be OK with a mainly dry kibble diet.

Darjeeling - I have no clue how to even pronounce that name! Kittens do LOVE tubs to play in. When I foster kittens, I actually toss some rattle balls into the tub, and they just go nuts chasing them around, with all the extra noise they can make. :)

Answer 5

Ok, Orange first....if it was a stray prior to going to the shelter, he probably got used to having to eat a lot for when he couldn't get enough food.  Human children will do this also when they are not given enough food on a daily basis - they will gorge themselves, and sometimes secret away food for later).  Please don't ever see how much food he really will eat - you are the responsible human owner and you need to limit the food intake to whatever the vet says is appropriate.  Leave dry food out for all the cats (cats eat up to 14 small meals a day) and fresh water.  Once he settles in, and realizes the food is there and he doesn't need to store up, he'll more than likely settle down - but limit how much you feed him unless you want an overweight unhealthy kitty.

Molly now - Make sure you tell her when her behavior is inappropriate.  Say NO! in a firm, but not yelling voice and stop playing with her and walk away.  If you continue to play when she is being inappropriate, then you are rewarding bad behavior.  Give her praise when she is being a good kitty....don't get her in the habit of getting treats everytime she is good, you will be bugged to death for treats (I know this for a fact *L*)  Dry food is fine - this is an owners/vet choice completely.  Some sources will say you have to feed a cat wet food, this is untrue.  I have been feeding my cats an all dry food diet and they are healthy and happy.  I weaned my shelter cats off of wet food, and they are fine.  If your vet says it's ok - then listen to him/her.

If you would like to give her a little "wet" treat, give her a little tuna (in water NOT oil) - by little, I mean 1/2 - 1 TEASPOON every few days.  

Darjeeling - how adorable.  There are some cats that love water - embrace her water-loving self and close the bathroom door when showering *L*. ... tho, make sure you don't have any water over an inch sitting in the house she can drown in (except the water dish).  Mine loves to play in the water dish and try to take the water out, or sits on the edge of the tub and flicks at the water.

Good luck with all three!!!!