New to the forum and new to maine coon bellies

[Catlover]

Hi everyone
I am an experienced moggie owner but have never owned a Maine Coon before and took my new boy home on wednesday last week. He's an absolutely gorgeous 2 year old neutered male silver tabby and incredibly friendly and playful (He's making a great old mess with a toilet roll at the moment!). He does however feel a little thin to me (spine and ribs really easily felt). I took him to the vet and she agreed that he felt a little thin but she said he was of a normal weight (4.5kg). But I'm not sure if she meant normal for a regular sized cat and she didn't seem to know or believe that Maine coons can develop until they are 4. If people could give me an idea of what weight they think he should be that would be fantastic (I'll try to measure his length and update this post).

I would like some advice on how best to get him to a decent weight for his size. He came from a family with a lot of dogs and children and I don't think he got much peace to eat his food so I am hoping that he will naturally just fatten up. He had some runny stools when he first arrived but they are now firming up so I am putting that down to the stress of the move. The vet gave him a prebiotic to put on his food and I am sticking to giving him mainly dry food at the mo. He arrived with a bag of what I assume is whiskas dry food (fish shaped pieces) but he didn't seem to like it much and seemed to be addicted to whiskas pouches.

I've switched him to Royal canin maine coon which I am feeding ad libitum plus one whiskas pouch per day. I am also giving him a little kitten milk every day. Does this sound ok until he has gained a bit of condition? I've wormed him with some of the drops you put on the neck however I am not convinced that all of it went on his skin- would I expect to see worms in his stools if he has worms? Any other advice gratefully received.

Another question, which is slightly off topic for this thread is- should he have curly belly hair?! He apparently never got groomed at his last house and he really doesn't seem to like the brush but I will persevere- should his belly hair look as smooth as his other hair?

Thanks, and sorry for the length of this post!
Alison

[Antonia]

Hi Alison, welcome to the forum!
Your new MC guy sounds like a lot of fun. What's his name?
His weight does seem quite low for a neutered male his age. Our Monty is not yet one year old and weighs a little over 6 kg (but he could do with some slimming down, I must admit).
The Whiskas pouches are very popular over here as well, but you might want to switch to a wet food that is somewhat 'richer'... the so-called 'premium' foods like Hills, Royal Canin, Cosma, Bozita, etc.

Please take a good look at his belly fur... could be he has mats that will have to be removed by a professional groomer. It is very important that you check this, because the mats can cause skin irritation.

Looking forward to see pics of your furry fellow!

[Catlover]

Thanks for such a fast reply Antonia. His name is Sylvester. I will certainly look at those wet food options- he goes mad for the wet food although he seems to like the RC dry food quite well.

He's let me stroke his belly and it doesn't seem to be matted- there were a couple of small knots which I managed to tease out with my fingers whilst he was sleeping but apart from that it feels ok, just a bit wavy and curly! He has a very nice silky coat on top, he just looks like a bit of a scruffbag when he roles over. Any tips on introducing a cat to grooming gently? I've started with a mitt which he seems to like....until he sees it, and then he freaks out!

[FreyjaRoMaine]

Welcome, Alison and Sylvester!

I'm no expert on the weight front (Candes has started working on a thread that shows weights at different ages that might be useful) but Freyja is 6 months Freyja (girl) weighed 3.8kg, and she's fairly light for a MC her age.

In terms of food, Antonia's right, the premium cat foods offer better quality (when I say quality, I mean high meat content) and we moved Freyja onto Applaws and Cat Deli (with the occasional Reindeer Bozita) - all of which goes down really well. I've had to move her back on to Whiskas though as I noticed a real change in her stools on the richer foods, and had to 'mop' her up to some extent almost every time she passed solids; she doesn't have the same problem with the Whiskas and as I'd rather avoid the wrestling, hissing and indignant looks, Whiskas it is!

Looking forward to seeing pic's of Sylvester in good time.

[Howlinbob]

Hi there, what an exciting time for you, Sylvester is a wonderful name. I had a pure white longhaired moggy called Sylvester a few years ago, he was stunning and a big soft brush to boot, one of the sweetest-natured creatures ever.

I agree that 4.5kgs for a 2-year-old MC does sound rather on the light side. I know I've got a couple of porkers, but mine are over 5kgs now at nearly 8 months, and I know some are bigger. Is Sylvester a pedigree MC, or a suspected MC? Either way, I'm sure with lots of love and security he'll fill out.
Would love to see some pictures when you get a chance!

[Catlover]

Thanks for all your advice! I will try and get some pics of sylvie up tomorrow- I tried to upload 3 today but they were still not uploaded after about 30 mins.
Yes sounds like he is a bit on the light side- he is pure bred but I'm not sure how big his parents got to be. He had some tuna today which he seemed to love. He seems to have a good appetite so I hope he will fill out soon.

[Catlover]

I've added some photos of Sylvester to the gallery now. It isn't very obvious from the photos that he is thin but the one of him stretched out kind of shows how gangly he is!

[Wendy1969]

Hi and Welcome! One of my boys is only 4.5kgs and he's three but he is a bit of a 'runt' and I mean that in the nicest possible way - as I love him to bits! My other two are: 3.5yrs - 8.5kgs & 22 months - 7.5kgs. Little Chester has never been much of an eater, and I've tried every food thats been invented for cats! At the moment he eats Felix (fishy varieties) and the other two are on Bozita. I free feed with RC Maine Coon. Give him lots of TLC and I'm sure he will thrive. He still has two years growing to do. He's fallen on his feet finding a home with you. Keep up the good work!

[FreyjaRoMaine]

He's a lovely looking cat, Alison - love his wispy ears and his eyes, they look quite green in the photo's. Clearly enjoying his new home judging by the photo's!

[Howlinbob]

Lovely pics, thanks for posting! He looks very happy already, I'm sure he'll get on brilliantly. Lucky chap! xx