Kittens are essentially baby carnivores with specialized needs. Kittens naturally wean off their mother’s milk at around 8-12 weeks of age. When young cats are old enough (around 8 weeks old) they start to eat food on their own whilst simultaneously decreasing the amount of milk they suckle from their mother. Basic kitten feeding guide The following information is general advice, but as each kitten is an individual, seek veterinary advice, particularly if your kitten has any special dietary needs or has a reaction to a standard diet. The basis of your kitten’s diet should be a high quality balanced premium commercial kitten food that is appropriate for their life stage and health status. It is best to start feeding wet kitten food and introducing dry kitten food as your kitten grows . Never feed puppy or dog food to your kitten as it will be deficient in taurine, an essential protein that cats can only obtain through food. Natural Food: You can also offer some natural foods to provide variety. Natural foods include fresh human-grade raw meat such as diced up raw lamb meat or pieces of raw chicken meat. You should check with your vet first that raw meaty bones are suitable for your particular kitten (e.g. some kittens with misshapen jaws may have difficulty chewing on raw bones). Raw food offered to kittens should always be fresh. Avoid feeding too much raw meat until the kitten is 20 weeks of age (unless the meat is on the bone e.g. raw chicken wing.) This is important to help avoid certain nutritional deficiencies during growth. We recommend you choose only human-grade raw meat and raw meaty bones because some raw meat products marketed as pet food (pet meat/pet mince/pet rolls and bone products) contain preservatives to keep them looking fresh, but these can be detrimental to the kitten’s health. There have been many pet food safety incidents linked to sulphite preservative-induced thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency, which can be fatal. You should avoid sausages, sausage meat and cooked manufactured meats as they can also contain sulphite preservatives. Provide some moist foods in the diet regularly e.g. wet can food. Kittens should be offered food at least 4 times per day. Take care not to overfeed or underfeed your kitten. Your vet will be able to weigh your kitten, assess your kitten’s body condition score and provide advice. Please ensure clean fresh drinking water is available at all times but do not provide milk as this can cause gastrointestinal upsets.
