Cat questions
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive March 2005:
Cat questions
As some of you may remember, I took in a stray kitten last October and posted asking about how long it would take for her to get along with my other cat. Now, I have another question (actually, three  )
When I took the kitten in, the Vet estimated she was about 6 months old, so that would make her almost a year now. What age do cats reach their adult height and weight? She still seems really small to me and I'm not sure if it's just the way she is going to be or if her growth was stunted living on the streets early in her life.
She also seems constantly hungry, which brings me to my next question: Will she ever stop begging for food? I can only assume that she went hungry outside and her instinct is to eat whenever she can, but every time someone goes in the kitchen, she meows and wants to be fed. I"m trying to keepnher on a schedule, but since she meows at everybody, she gets fed a lot. LOL
Finally, will she ever stop wanting to go out? I kind of already know the answer to this one,  She has gotten out already, and tries to run when someone opens the door, but thankfully she doesn't go far and always comes back. My fear is that one day she may not come back for whatever reason and so I don't want her outside, ever!
Our Gwen is over 15, and has always been tiny. Some cats, like marmalade tabbies are usually big, and some breeds are small. She's a Russian Blue, and the females in that breed are small.
Do you only feed her wet food? Dry food is better for her. It helps with tarter control. Cats like to nibble. Keep a bowl of dry food out all the time, and she should nibble on it when she needs a snack.
When you get her spayed, she should try to get out less, and become more of a homebody. Gwen still sneaks out. She does it when she wants attention, because we try to catch her, and put her back inside. If we ignore her, she's at the door in five minutes to come in.
My cat is 16 and only weighs 6lbs. She is tiny. We try not to give her treats (like table scraps) as this seems to increase the begging - same goes with the dog. They only get treats in their bowls occasionally.
Have you had your cat in for a check-up, worms could make her hungry?
We leave dry food out for our cat at all times as she does not over indulge, however, this does not work for all cats. If your cat would finish a whole bowl of food each time you leave it out, she won't be small for long. It depends on the cat. I only fed her dry food for many years as it is much better for them. However, now that she is older she gets 1 tablespoon twice a day of wet - keeps her regular.
My guess is that most dogs and cats reach their adult height and weight between 1-1/2 to 2 years.
As she has had a taste for the great outdoors she just might always want to go out, that may not go away. We built a large run for our cat in the backyard so she can spend sometime outside everyday in the summer - she hates being locked up though.
I've already had her spayed, but that didn't have any affect on her as far as trying to get out.
I do give her wet cat food once a day, the rest of the time it's dry food. I started with the pouches to try and win her over, I guess, and it was the only thing in the beginning that would entice her to come in when she ran outside. I probably spoiled her. Her coloring and markings are almost exactly like a cat I had years ago and I jokingly refer to her as my old cat reincarnated.
Thanks for the input.
I have 3 tortise shell calicos, the biggest probably only weighs about 6 or 7 pounds. The vet said that they never get very big. The male is another matter, he is a moose. She should reach her full weight at about 2. She may be like my miss mudd, we refer to her as the pissy missy. She meows all the time, more for attention and to complain than to be fed, but if you get near the bowls you would think she was dying. She is just a very vocal cat. Having indoor outdoor cats myself I wouldnt worry about her getting lost, we have moved 3 times w/ miss mudd, and twice with the 2 young girls and they always know were we are and has never wandered too far off. I would only caution you if you dont think your cat will be safe, like you live in a heavy traffic area or something.
I think it takes about two years for a cat to reach their full size but some (esp. females) stay fairly small.
One thing about the food, I would try an expensive brand (we use Hill's Prescriptive from the vet). It costs quite a bit but you'll often find your cat really cuts down the eating as the food satifies them better than much of the stuff which has so much useless filler. So it's more, but she'll eat less so it sort of evens out.
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