Foods for Kittens That Are Undernourished

It's easy to tell when a poor, little kitten is undernourished. The kitten usually appears to be very thin, with its ribs and backbone sticking out beneath its skin. The kitten's coat looks matted and dull from it not getting the necessarily nutrients from food. The one thing that you can do to save the kitten to help a starving kitten is to feed it.

  1. Kitten Formula

    • If the kitten is under four weeks of age, it is fully dependent on its mother's milk. Sometimes the mother cat can't produce as much milk as needed, resulting in the kitten not getting enough to eat. A commercial kitten milk will work with a bottle. This type of milk is specially made for kittens so that they get the necessary proteins and nutrients.

    Kitten Mush

    • Kitten mush is for kittens that are five to six weeks of age. At this age, the kitten will be ready for semi-solid foods. Kitten mush is made by blending high-quality dry kitten food, hot water and liquid kitten milk. For kittens that are undernourished, this mixture might have to be spoon-fed.

    Dry Kitten Food

    • If the kitten is at least eight weeks of age, a high-quality dry kitten food should be available at all times. A way to tell if the kitten food is high quality is to look at the nutritional information and make sure that the first item listed is meat. Fresh water should be available for the kitten as well when it switches to dry food. The kitten should be fed the dry kitten food until it is one year old.

    Wet Cat Food

    • Wet cat food can also be fed to an undernourished kitten, especially if it struggles with chewing dry cat food. If the kitten is eight weeks of age or older, wet cat food should be available at least five times a day. As kittens are growing, they need to eat more to keep up with their bodies.