What Can Kittens Eat?

Kittens have specific nutritional and caloric needs and, therefore, require special kitten food. It is not sufficient to moisten regular adult cat food for them. In addition, kittens' digestive systems are delicate. Owners must be careful not to switch foods abruptly or feed kittens people food.

  1. Types

    • Types of food appropriate for kittens range from kitten milk to dry food, depending on the kitten's age. Newborn kittens require milk until they are at least 3 to 4 weeks old. This milk can be the mother cat's milk or commercially prepared cat milk substitute, which you feed using kitten-sized bottles (or sterile eyedroppers). At around 3 weeks of age, you can start kittens on a commercially prepared weaning food or canned, wet kitten food. Kittens will be cutting teeth but will not be able to handle dry food yet. You can start 4-week-old kittens on moistened dry kitten food. Kitten food is essential because it is specially formulated with the extra calories and protein kittens need. Kittens grow very fast and require a lot of calories and nutrition to develop normally.
      Gradually start the kitten on dry food. You should still feed a kitten his regular moistened food but leave a bowl of dry kitten food (and water) out for him. Older kittens should remain on dry kitten food, supplemented with canned kitten food, until they are a year old.

    Features

    • A kitten still on milk needs 7 to 10 cc total of milk formula per day, for every ounce he weighs. Therefore, if your kitten weighs 6 oz., he will need about 50 to 60 cc of kitten milk per day (fed at intervals throughout the day--not all at once). This may vary slightly depending on the brand of formula you use--the exact amounts to feed per weight will be in the instructions on the container.

    Effects

    • A well-nourished, healthy kitten has clear eyes, a soft, healthy coat, pink gums and good muscle tone. Furthermore, kittens should be playful, and grow steadily in size and weight. If a kitten does not appear to be gaining weight, you should take her to a veterinarian for a checkup.

    Warning

    • If your kitten develops diarrhea, you may be overfeeding her. Try cutting back slightly on the amount of food to see if that helps. If it does not help, she may need probiotics or she may have something else wrong with her and will need to visit a veterinarian.
      Kittens that suddenly stop gaining weight or have difficulty eating may have a serious illness.
      A kitten's digestive system is very sensitive. Whenever you switch foods, do so gradually to give the kitten's digestion time to adjust. In addition, avoid feeding people food or cow milk to kittens. Foods we eat may be too rich for kittens, and cow milk will upset a kitten's digestion.

    Considerations

    • When bottle feeding newborn kittens, feed only small amounts at a time and do not place the kittens on their back to feed them--they can inhale milk into their lungs too easily this way.
      Do not feed cold kitten milk to kittens--it will chill them. Warm it to room temperature first.