I bought a food dispenser for my new kitten that allows it to eat as much as it wants. It seems to be getting what seems to me as an abnormally large belly, after just a few days. But I haven't had a kitten before so this might be normal.
Is it normal for a kitten to have a big belly?
I've taken pictures to demonstrate.
Yes and No. It depends what you mean by "big."
Normally a well fed kitten will have what I refer to as "a fat belly," reflecting their stomach being full of food. One of their main jobs at this stage in life is to store food and grow as fast as possible. The more they can gorge themselves the longer they can survive when mom is away hunting.
A skinny kitten is reason for concern, and should be taken to the vet. To judge skinny and fat you really have to have seen a fair amount kittens.
Kai's advice is perfect IMO: It is good to take your new animals to the vet and you can work out when to immunize them and get them fixed etc. If the kitten is active, playful, eating and eliminating and you have no reason to believe something is wrong with it, it is probably healthy.
If you think the kitten's belly is too big or the kitten has other symptoms take it too the vet.
I would recommend not using the feeder anymore. Maybe get a timed feeder so the kitten eats 3 meals a day but isn’t getting too much food. And definitely talk to your vet about anything abnormal! Cute kitten though!!
