When Can Kittens Eat Hard Kibble

Begin by feeding your kitten soft or wet canned food.

When can kittens eat hard kibble. Although some cat foods are labeled as appropriate for kittens and cats of all life. When to wean kittens normally the kitten weaning process begins at about four weeks of age. But if you re weaning a kitten that has been orphaned you can start a little earlier between three and four weeks. This will make the kibble easier to chew and swallow for kittens not used to hard food.

By week 5 or 6 you can begin to introduce some dampened kibble. A kitten can start eating hard kibble by the time they are fully weaned usually eight to ten weeks old. When you decide to start serving kibble to the kittens you should first dampen the kibble with a small amount of water or milk substitute. As with most species mother knows best and cats are no different.

Kittens are able to eat kibble. If you do want your kitten to start eating kibble the trick is to transition her slowly. However dry kibble is best used as a supplement to wet food. When can kittens eat hard food.

How do i start the weaning process. Three month old kittens still have pretty small jaws and teeth and sometimes at that size they may have trouble biting down on the kibble and making it small enough to swallow. With mom they ll start to try to eat her food and she ll push them away from her says benson. The process typically takes between four and six weeks with most kittens completely weaned by the time they re eight to ten weeks old.

Older cats tend to develop teeth and gum issues as they age and might require a softer kibble or canned food. The reason for this is that her teeth are very small and don t allow her to easily chew dry food. Mother cats will start the weaning process by nudging baby kittens away at about four weeks of age so feel free to step in and offer the kittens tasty kibble at about the same time. Vets used to recommend lowering the amount of protein senior cats receive but studies.

As they grow used to eating solid food and their teeth continue to develop begin to mix in dry food softened with a bit of water. However if your kitten is very young she may need supplemental canned cat food until she s a little older.