When Do Kittens Need To Start Eating Kitten Food

What type of food does my kitten need wet or dry.

When do kittens need to start eating kitten food. Kittens can begin eating solid food at around four weeks old. Just like human babies for a kitten to develop and grow properly they need different kinds of foods at different stages of their lives. Make the transition easier by mixing it with kitten milk replacer. 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.

They re usually read to eat solid foods exclusively when they re between 6 and 7 weeks old. As the kitten gets accustomed to eating gradually decrease the amount of milk replacer you add while slowly increasing the amount of kitten food. Weaning a kitten is the process of transitioning the kitten from mother s milk to solid food. You can also give kittens canned food or.

For example set out a tablespoon of food per kitten at 8 am 11 am 3 pm 6 pm and 9 pm. A kitten has different nutritional needs than adult cats so it is important to educate my new pet parents on kitten nutrition and when to switch from kitten food to adult cat food. Normally the queen or mother cat will handle kitten weaning on her own. Without some canned food they won t get enough nutrition to grow properly.

It s important that very young kittens have at least some canned food to eat as part of their diet. Very small kittens have very small teeth and can t chew dry food well. But when the queen has trouble producing milk or when a litter of kittens is orphaned we need to intervene. Buy this milk replacer at pet and farm supply stores and some grocery stores.

Gradually reduce the amount of milk. Don t use the cow s milk you drink or you ll likely end up with sick kittens on your hands. If you are feeding your kitten both dry and canned foods then twice a day canned feedings. By five to six weeks he should be eating only lightly moistened food.

Once your kittens are mature then you can reduce the amount of water and only feed the best cat food. By then there is no need for them to nurse with mom. Your four week old kittens can eat dry food but it may be tough at first. It s an important part of the kitten s development and needs to be done at the right time and in the right way.

Coinciding with the beginning of the ingestion of solid foods and on their own the first internal parasite will be given very important to maintain the health of our kitten. We want these little guys growing up to be big strong and healthy. By starting to eat more solids the kitten may become constipated and one way to help is to gently stimulate their gut by giving gentle massages we will leave a small litter tray so they can begin to do their needs there. Plan to give the kittens wet food 4 or 5 times each day.

If they do not like the taste then don t force them and introduce them to anything different. Once your kitten turns between fourth and sixth week ensure that you gradually start the weaning kittens to solid food mixed with fresh water. Now you can start to leave out small amounts of dry food and fresh water at all times. Begin by feeding your kitten soft or wet canned food.

Since kittens will eat solid food periodically during the day you need to serve food multiple times.