How to Switch a Small Kitten From Canned Food to Dry Food

Once you have weaned your kitten off of formula or mother's milk and onto a wet food diet, you can slowly transition it to a dry food diet. Unlike wet, canned foods, you can safely leave out dry food during the day for your kitten to nibble on, since the food does not spoil. To avoid causing your kitten any gastrointestinal upset, transition it to a high-quality dry food specifically balanced for kittens, over a period of one to two weeks.

Things You'll Need

  • Canned kitten food
  • Dry kitten food
  • Shallow cat dishes
  • Water dish
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Instructions

    • 1

      Give your kitten its normal portion of canned cat food during its meal times and mix a few pieces of the dry kitten food into the food. Make the food appetizing to attract your kitten to it by warming the mixture in the microwave for 3 seconds, which increases the aroma of the food to your kitten. Continue to do this for 1 to 2 days.

    • 2

      Feed your kitten a mixture of 75 percent of its normal wet food with 25 percent of the dry kitten food. If your kitten will not eat the mixture, as some kittens do not like mixed flavors, place the portion of dry food in a separate, shallow dish than the wet food. After feeding, take the wet food away, if feeding it in a separate dish, and leave out the dry food for the kitten to nibble on. Continue the 75/25 percent mixture for 3 to 4 days.

    • 3

      Mix up equal portions of the wet and dry foods and feed it to your kitten in a shallow bowl, as kittens do not like bowls that touch their whiskers. If your cat will not eat the mixture, separate the two portions in separate dishes, leaving only the dry food after the cat eats the wet food. Continue to feed the 50/50 percent portions of the foods to your kitten for 3 to 4 days.

    • 4

      Reduce the amount of wet food you give your cat to 25 percent of its diet, giving it 75 percent dry food. Feed the portions separately to get your kitten used to the idea that the dry food will be available separate from the wet food and to prevent spoilage of a mix of the two, if left out. Feed these amounts for 3 to 4 days.

    • 5

      Transition to the dry food completely, feeding two to three meals per day, following the manufacturer's guidelines for the daily portion. You can also free-feed this amount to allow your cat to nibble on its food during the day. Provide ample amounts of fresh water for your kitten, in a shallow bowl, at all times during the day, as dry food has a much lower percentage of water content than wet food does.