About Dear Tabbi Expertise My expertise is in helping people understand their cat (or cats) and their behavior. Questions are welcome even if you don't have a cat....just a question about them. Hopefully my experience, suggestions, and comments will be of help to you...and your cat (or cats). Looking through my past responses to questions will give you additional information and/or answers too.
Domestic Cats = cats (no matter what breed) who are tame or not wild, or abandoned cats who were pets that became wild, but can be tamed again.
Ferals = cats who are born with one or more parents who were wild stray cats. They usually have had no interactions with people. They have an inbred distrust of humans and are difficult to socialize. They are skittish, hide, and are afraid of people. They take a lot of time and patience to work with them. A lot of kittens from shelters had a feral parent.
Experience Since I was a child, over 45 years, I have been owned by a LOT of cats and kittens of almost every temperament, behavior, and personality. I have had experience with neurotic, disabled (including blind), stray, and 'problem child' cats and kittens. (A few normal cats too!) Plus all the things a lifetime of owning cats and research has taught me. I also have experience in feral cat behavior (which is different from domestic cats), and some experience with feral colonies that includes colony feeding and feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/release).
Education/Credentials ***********
Awards and Honors * One of the top 50 Experts Of 2008 *
Question Our little foundling is estimated to be @8 mos. old at this point. She was a
bit of a talker when we first brought her home from discovering her as a stray
in a burned out building. Now, however, she is about to drive us both batty.
She cries and cries and cries and cries. Particularly in the morning leading up
to her regularly scheduled 7:00am breakfast and evening leading up to her
7:00pm supper.
Now she gets the prescribed amount of dry cat food in the morning and a
small can of cat food in the evening. She weighed 7.5 lbs (up 1.5 from when
we found her) the last time she was at the vet for a follow up to her kitty
hysterectomy. We started calling her Jumbo Beef. Her ribs are neither
prominent, nor unlocatable, which seems to be the standard when not
actively putting her on a scale. This seemed to indicate we were feeding her
enough.
However, her crying is only getting progressively worse, louder, more
abrasive and attempts to keep her calm while one of us is dishing up dinner
(holding, petting, making soothing noises at her) that have worked in the
past, seem to only make her cry more. To the point of making ugly scary
kitten-gone-mad noises.
Ignoring her has also been tried extensively, and is less effective each time it
is employed.
Help!
Answer Kim,
The poor kitty is probably very hungry! And she is crying like that to tell you so. She is a growing kitten and needs a lot of food and nutrition while she is growing. I would suggest getting her Kitten Chow (such as Iams) if you are not giving that to her now. She needs the extra protein and nutrients that is in kitten chow for the first year. I would feed her free-choice (leaving a bowl of dry food out all the time). That way she can nibble when she is hungry, then give her a can of food either in the morning or at night, or a 1/2 a can each time. I have always fed all my cats free choice and I have never had an overweight cat, as long as they get exercise either inside or out. A kitten burns a lot of calories and energy and they need to replace it.
A second kitten about her age and temperament would help too. She needs a kitty friend to play kitty games with that humans can't do, and for company and companionship when she is alone.
Try feeding her more. A kitty with a full tummy is a happy kitty!
