Feeding your kitten

The first six months of your kitten's life is crucial to their development both mentally and physically. A kitten will develop over 75% of their adult body weight by the time they are six months old. Their muscles, organs, bones, teeth and immune system develop incredibly quickly and therefore need food with fantastic nutrients in order to help them develop properly.

Your kitten will have been weaned by your breeder. This will have happened when the kitten was between six to eight weeks old. The kitten will have been slowly weaned off its mothers milk and small, easily digestible solid food will have been introduced.

Your kitten will have a very small stomach when you first bring them home. Their stomach will be the size of a walnut. However they get very hungry so it is advisable to feed small amounts but frequently. To start with your kitten will suffice on four meals a day. This gives your kitten enough fuel to last them the whole day. As your kitten gets older slowly reduce the feeding to three times a day and by the time the kitten is six months old make sure you have reduced their meals to two a day.

Specially formulated kitten food is an ideal platform to begin with as it will provide all the nutrients including plenty of protein to assist in developing healthy tissue growth and organ development. specialised kitten food with also provide your kitten with higher levels of essential minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc and iron to help them build strong bones and teeth. Cats have a unique requirement for taurine, an essential amino acid that promotes a healthy heart and vision. Specialised kitten food will also be slightly smaller than cat food so it will be easier to chew and digest. Kittens and cats need to eat meat. They would end up with serious health problems if they do not eat meat. Cats could go blind, suffer illness and infact a vegetarian diet could lead to death.

There are several different types of kitten food that you can feed depending upon your budget, your kitten's requirements, likes and dislikes and your own personal preference. The first choice you would have to make is whether you would feed wet or dry food.

Dry food:
Dry food can be bought in bulk and in big bags and therefore can save you money in the long term. It is also very good for removing plague from your cat's teeth and there is no fuss. You will just need to weigh out the correct portion and put it in your cat's feed bowl. It is clean, doesn't smell and has a much longer shelf life than wet food.

Wet food:
Some kittens prefer the texture and aroma of wet kitten food. You can now buy individual portion sized pouches from the supermarket which you can just tip into your cat's food bowl. They are very convenient to use especially if you are in a rush. The downside to wet kitten food is that is smells, it has a short shelf life once opened and can be very messy.

Have you ever heard that you should feed kittens and cats milk? Well do not as it is a myth! In fact milk and diary foods can upset your cat's stomach. Make sure that you have plenty of fresh water readily available for your kitten so that they can have a nice refreshing drink at anytime of the day or night.

Moving onto adult cat food:
It is recommended that you do not move your kitten onto adult cat food until they are at least twelve months old. Their bones and internal organs should be fully developed by this age and therefore no longer require proteins and essential nutrients in abundance. Introduce adult cat food gradually to avoid stressing your cat or giving them an upset stomach. Mix in adult and kitten food to begin with and gradually add more adult food and less kitten food until the cat will happily eat a full meal of adult cat food.