What's a healthy weight for a 6-month-old kitten?

Thu, 2010-04-22 10:33 — jbhertel

I adopted two kittens from the local shelter in January. They were not litter-mates, but were born 3 days apart and brought into the shelter around the same time and were sharing a cage at the shelter. They are now 6 months old. They were both the same size and weight when we adopted them. 3 months later the female is 7 pounds, and the male is only 4.8 pounds. He's so tiny compared to her! In just the past month, she gained a pound and a half while he only gained .2 ounces.

It's been over 15 years since I had kittens, so I have no idea what's a normal, healthy weight for kittens. They both had URIs when I brought them home, and it took the male longer and more vet visits to get over it. At his first vet visit, we were told he had a heart murmur, but at the last vet visit, which was about 2 months ago, they didn't hear the murmur. He seems to have a normal appetite. He's definitely not as active as the female when it comes to playing...he prefers to be on a lap getting some love, but he does still play sometimes. So, I guess I'm just wondering if his lack of growth is a reason to take him to the vet to get checked out. What do you think? Am I being overly concerned here?

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Sun, 2011-03-13 03:48 — Teracey Evans

Kitten weight

Been awhile since I had kittens as well, but my most recent pair were a male/female pair like yours. at 6 months the female was at about 10 lbs, but the male was barely four. At first I was worried as well, but now, about a year later, they are almost equal in size. It seems male kittens are a little slower growing at this stage than females, but I could be wrong

Tue, 2011-06-07 00:32 — Catnonymouse (not verified)

size can just depend

There are also hereditary size differences involved. A full grown female Tonkinese is between six and seven pounds, a petite cat that is very muscular. Maine Coon cats are gigantic and can weigh twenty pounds at a healthy weight. If you don't know the size of the parents, you may not be able to predict the final weight, but at age six months the bone structure of the cat should be evident.

Sat, 2012-09-08 15:51 — Connie & The Crew (not verified)

you don't want to worry about

you don't want to worry about about the number so much as you want to worry about the feel of the kitten. If you can feel every single bone, then they are too skinny. If you can't feel any bones at all they are too heavy.