After bringing a kitten home, have you ever wondered what is the best way to feed your new pet at home? If yes then our this article “How To Feed A Kitten (A Complete Guide)” is for you.
Let’s begin…
Careless owners find a simple solution: meat, milk, leftover homemade food, little junk food, and the problem is considered closed. But is the prosaic approach correct? Veterinarians warn that many foods used in kittens’ diets are often dangerous! Cheap food widely known from stores causes irreparable damage to the health of cats, retards development and growth. Become the owner of a fluffy kitten that meows? Excited about nutritional issues? We are going to show you how to properly feed a kitten.
Homemade meals or store-bought kitten food?
It is a thankless task to discuss the best food for the growing body. There will be a lot of home food supporters, as well as naysayers. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of both ways of eating, for example, cooking at home is cheaper than buying specialty foods, but will the owner dare to cook daily? Those who advocate homemade food are stopped by the price of quality food. What to feed small cats and cats, each owner decides, according to his own ideas and wealth.
Maybe some expert advice will help you find the right solution:
Consider your financial options: It makes sense to switch to home cooking if good, specialty meals are expensive.
Buying cheap food just harms a small pet; The composition of ready meals advertised on TV is distinguished by the abundance of vegetables, meat and bone meal, the addition of flavors, so attractive to cats. An unhealthy composition will respond to problems of health, well-being.
Kitten food will be an ideal solution if the owner is working a lot, is late, gets tired and does not have the strength to cook a delicious dinner for the baby; pulled out a bag – and you’re done.
Natural foods are undoubtedly healthier than purchased cat food. When choosing a way to eat homemade food, remember: you will need to prepare a variety of dishes to meet your pet’s daily micronutrient requirements. Make up for the deficiency with vitamin supplements. This entails some financial costs, but ready-made pies, granules are balanced, the composition contains the substances necessary for growth, harmonious development.
A diet based on meat and grains is ideal for a growing body. Physiologically, the intestines of animals are adapted to process hard protein foods, therefore soft foods (pies) become a common cause of constipation and diarrhea.
How to feed a small cat at home?
When choosing food, remember: cats are carnivores, therefore, the lion’s share of the daily table is necessarily protein food (50% of the total). It is imperative to take into account the breed, some predators need more food. Their menu contains 60 to 80% meat.
How To Feed A Kitten with hand
In general, the menu for furry animals is similar to that of an adult, but there are limits. How to feed little kittens so as not to harm their well-being? The following products fully meet the “benefit + safety” formula:
1) Meat
Choose low-fat varieties (better absorbed by the growing body): beef, chicken, turkey, veal, game. Pork, lamb, goose and duck are strictly prohibited – their fat content is harmful to fools. The by-products are an exception: heart, liver, lungs, ventricles, kidneys, but they are considered an addition to main dishes.
2) Vegetables
The choice is excellent, only beware of legumes, eggplants, tomatoes. Pets will appreciate well-cooked vegetables.
3) Cereals
Oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, barley porridge will bring benefits. Millet and pearl barley are not recommended due to the high carbohydrate content.
4) Eggs
Quail is especially good, boiled (sometimes raw). When choosing chicken eggs, separate the yolk – it’s good for kittens. Offer eggs to small animals several times a week.
5) Fish
Surprisingly, fish is not as healthy as it is generally believed. Adult cats are advised to feed fish several times a month, and it is best not to feed the dish to pups two to three months old. The adult kitten will like fish, well cooked, without bones.
6) Fermented dairy products
Fermented baked milk, whey, yogurt, buttermilk, whey (the leader of useful products), sour cream (fat content less than 10%) have a positive effect on the intestines. The sugar content of the products is not allowed.
7) Vitamin supplements
Use brewer’s yeast, heavily crushed eggshells as additional minerals. Continue reading to find more about How To Feed A Kitten (A Complete Guide).
Food for a kitten should be tasty
A good compromise is the right decision of a caring owner. Feeding an animal with only meat and offal is not the best solution. Experts recommend offering the heart, liver and lungs to the animal several times a week, replacing the meat dish. Good nutrition means variety, foods must be mixed (for example, oatmeal with meat, vegetables and egg yolk).
The delicious baby food contains no salt or spices. Reheat cold food before feeding and cool hot food, take care of the animal. Equip your pet with a bowl of water, constantly check the filling and freshness.
Raw vegetables are not suitable for small animals. Boil them – you get a delicious, age-appropriate dish, a fluffy little piece.
Have you decided to introduce a new product? Observe the measurement, the first portion is very small, just introducing the kitten to a new taste.
The milk diet is controversial. Fat cow’s milk is known to cause intestinal upset. Experts advise to buy special mixtures in veterinary stores. A good option would be goat milk, it is easier to take the animals.
How often you must feed a kitten?
How many times a day should a kitten be fed at 1, 2.3 months? Answer: often, but little by little, relieving the stomach. The age of the animal plays an important role. Breaks between meals in older animals are increasing. How often should you feed your kitten?
Here is an example:
- 4 to 8 weeks: 6 to 8 times a day.
- 2 months: 5 times a day.
- 3 months: 4 times.
- 4 – 5 months to a year: 3 times. Night streams are cancelled.
- 13-15 months: 2 times.
Some owners when asked “how much to feed a kitten” make the mistake of reducing the number of meals. Being busy at work becomes the reason. Do you have a problem with frequent feedings? Use the “free method”: leave some kefir, soft food, so your pet can satisfy his hunger.
How To Feed A Kitten (A Complete Guide) (Cont.)
Food suitable for kittens according to age
It is important to feed a furry animal according to its age: the menus of a 2-week-old and a 3-month-old baby are very different.
How to feed a 1-month-old kitten?
During the first month of life, the baby eats its own mother’s milk, which provides the body with the necessary nutrients. Starting in week 5 comes a period of trying new things to cover the mischievous growing need for food. Getting used to the “adult food” lapping in a bowl is an important point. The following products will perfectly meet the above objectives:
- Kefir;
- Cooked fermented milk;
- Milk suspensions.
The milk suspension is ideal for the owner who decides on the question: how to feed a kitten at 1 month, left without a mother?
Kittens begin to chew food during this time; for skill development, kitten paste is suitable.
If the owner chose natural food as the main method, then you can stop with liquid porridge, adding minced and mashed meat to the dish.
What can you feed a kitten at 1.5 months?
The food is more and more varied, low-fat boiled meats are added to the menu: chicken, beef; new fermented dairy products (cottage cheese).
What to feed a 2-month-old kitten: homemade dishes or cooked meals?
Tip: increase the amount of solid foods. Add vegetables, mix with meat, pre-cut very thinly (it is not recommended to grind to the state of minced meat). Cereals dilute the meat diet well, digest in a lot of water, are offered in liquid form, this is the main requirement for the care and feeding of a kitten at 2 months. Milk remains the main product (50% of the diet). It is too early to transfer for food.
How and what to feed a kitten correctly for 3-4 months (veterinarian opinion)?
The age has come when fermented dairy products are reduced by a quarter of the entire table, whole milk is completely eliminated (lactose stops being absorbed). We cut the products a little larger, cook porridge less liquid. It is time to add raw vegetables to the kitten’s diet at 3 months: zucchini, cucumber, potatoes.
How to feed a kitten for 5 to 6 months?
From the age of five months, solid food completely replaces liquid food. When preparing vegetable and grain dishes, make the consistency thicker.
Have you decided to switch to dry food? Now is the best time. For the first feed, soak the pellets in water. What is the best food to feed a kitten? Choose quality food: Hills Kitten, Royal Canin, Pro Plan.
We hope that the article has helped to solve the main difficulties in nutrition, caring for a meowing animal.
Tell us in the comments how you like our article, “How To Feed A Kitten (A Complete Guide)”
Here you can study the research article supporting our feeding guide regarding kittens.
For similar posts click here
3 thoughts on “How To Feed A Kitten (A Complete Guide)”