Your young kitten needs the proper food to grow and develop into a healthy
cat. Sometimes pet owners can find the number of cat food choices overwhelming.
What are a kitten's basic nutritional needs? How often should a kitten eat?
Canned or dry? What's the difference between kitten food and adult cat food?
Nutritional Needs
A young kitten has very specific nutritional needs. In general, cats need only
four main nutrients: meat-based protein, taurine (an amino acid), water, and
various vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Kittens, however, need higher
amounts of all these ingredients to grow properly and have the energy needed for
just being a kitten!
For the first five weeks of its life, a kitten should be nursing from its
mother. At week five, kittens can start to be weaned, although they will
continue to nurse until they are eight or ten weeks old, satisfying their need
for suckling. Often, pet owners will feed the mother a nutrient-packed kitten
food while she is pregnant and for the first few weeks after birth. At week
five, you can start the kitten on the same canned kitten food that the mother
has been eating; she should take to it readily. Be sure that the first
ingredient listed is a specific meat source such as chicken, beef, or lamb.
Kittens should continue to eat kitten food for the first year of life. At six
weeks of age, kittens should be receiving at least four small meals spaced
throughout the day. At twelve weeks you can increase the amount of food in each
meal and gradually move toward three meals a day. At six months, meals can be
spaced out to two times daily. At one year of age, most kittens are considered
fully grown and can be switched over to adult food, fed twice daily. Because
cats are capable of stopping themselves from eating when they have reached their
nutritional requirements, you can also leave out a bowl of dry kibble throughout
the day.
Types of Food
The biggest food debate among cat owners is always whether to use wet, canned
food or dry kibble. The answer is: both. Canned food has water, which your
kitten may not get enough of on a regular basis. Dry food, however, is more
convenient for a busy pet owner since it can be left out and cats can eat
whenever they are hungry.
For kittens, their diet should consist mostly of canned food, which is more
nutritious. Keep track of whether your kittens diet is on track by regular
weightings and also by paying attention to his hunger levels. Kittens should
gain weight regularly, but you want to avoid bad eating habits early on such as
overeating.
So you are feeding your kitten a steady diet of premium canned kitten food that
is high in the nutrients she needs to grow. However, what about when she wants
to try people food?
Kittens should not be fed table scraps for several reasons. Firstly, it
interferes with their carefully balanced diet and also encourages bad habits.
Even worse, certain foods are harmful or toxic to felines. Foods that should
never be given to a kitten or a full-grown cat, even as part of a recipe,
include: milk; green tomatoes and raw potatoes; onions, garlic, and similar root
vegetables; grapes and raisins; and chocolate.
Adult Cat Food
As your kitten grows and starts to look like a full-grown cat, many cat owners
wonder: can I feed my kitten adult cat food? What is the difference?
Kittens, as mentioned earlier, have higher nutritional needs than adult cats. If
you feed a kitten adult cat food before he is finished growing, he will not get
the nutrients he needs. Because cats will continue eating until their
nutritional needs are met, he will be forced to consume more cat food, which
means more preservatives and filler. This could put your kitten at risk for
obesity or medical conditions. Use proper feeding as preventative care; keep
your kitten on kitten food until one year of age, and be sure to consult with
your veterinarian when it's time to make the switch to adult cat food.
All of your nutritional questions and more can be answered by reading articles
like this, books, and speaking with your vet. After you've mastered feeding your
kitten, don't forget that your cat's nutritional needs change as he grows. A
six-week-old kitten needs different food from a six-month-old kitten, which
should be fed differently from a six-year-old, mature cat. Throughout your cat's
life, continue to pay attention to your vet's recommendations and read cat food
labels to meet your cat's dietary needs and keep her happy and healthy.