This article is about feeding a weaned kitten, one who is at least 6 weeks old and has been taken from its mother. Ideally, kittens should be no younger than 8 weeks before being taken from their mother, and those under 5 weeks will still require KMR, kitten milk replacement formula.

What Kitten Food was it Eating?

Find out what kitten food the kitten was eating before you got it. A sudden food change can cause a kitten to have an upset stomach, become constipated, or get diarrhea. Try to get the same kind of food the kitten was eating and switch foods slowly if you are planning to make a change in diet.

Feeding Dry Kitten Food

Kittens should have dry kitten food available to them at all times. This should be fed out of a stainless steel, or ceramic bowl. Plastic bowls can give kittens acne, and should not be used in general. Do not add water to the dry food, this will make it rot.

Dry food is important as it helps keep a kittens teeth clean, however the quality of the food is important. There are more low quality kitten foods on the market than there are good. As a cat food guideline you need to remember that cats are carnivores they need meat. Meat should always be the number one ingredient in a kitten's food, not corn, and not “by-products”.

Feeding Canned Kitten Food

Feeding canned food to kittens is a good idea. Canned kitten food should be fed on a small plate and not mixed with the dry food, however if you wish to add a bit of water you can, as this will help your kitten's urinary tract system.

Your kitten will only need a small helping of canned food per serving, about a teaspoon each time. You can feed this 4 times a day when the kitten is young and decrease as time goes by. By the time the cat is a year old 1 or 2 feedings of canned food are all it needs, while some people then elect not to feed canned food at all, it does help keep their urinary tract healthy (particularly if you add water to make a soup). Never leave uneaten canned food out for more than 20 minutes, it will grow bacteria.

It is better to feed the pate type of canned food (mush), not chunks in gravy. Gravy is a carbohydrate and not something your kitten needs.

© litter of feral kittens.

Other Tips about Feeding a Kitten

Weaned kittens to not need milk, in fact most are lactose intolerant and will get cramps or diarrhea from milk. Even the milk treat sold for cats is not worth buying, it does not contain any nutrition and is simply a gimmick.  Goat's milk is slightly safer for cats than cow's milk but even it should be avoided.

Tuna is bad for cats even though it is often in their food. It is high in mercury and should not be fed to them. Fish canned for human consumption can contain onions, which are very bad for cats, so fish prepared for people should not be given to cats either.

Kittens should be fed kitten food at least until they are a year old, however if they are indoors only, and are starting to get fat you can switch them to adult food around the time they are 10 months of age, doing so gradually.