Just like puppies, kittens have specific and increased nutritional needs to grow up healthy. To ensure your kitten gets enough energy and nutrients during the rapid growth of the first few months, the right kitten diet is essential. Read on to find out how to feed your kitten properly and what to keep in mind when it comes to food type and portion size.
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The right diet for kittens should consist of high-quality, protein-rich food that is specially tailored to their growth needs in order to support healthy development.
As soon as the mother cat’s milk production gradually decreases, that is around the third or fourth week of life, you should start supplementary feeding your kitten and begin to gently get your kitten used to kitten food. By the third month at the latest , kittens will feed exclusively on food designed for baby cats.
To get kittens used to solid food, you can begin offering small portions of wet kitten food from around the third or fourth week of life. If the wet food is not accepted, you can initially mix in a little kitten milk replacer to increase acceptance. However, the proportion of milk replacer in the kitten food should be reduced quickly so that the kitten does not consume too much energy from the food.
The full transition to wet kitten food usually takes place between the eighth and tenth week of life.
From the sixth to the eighth week of life, kittens can eat dry food – so you can gradually begin introducing it during this period. It is recommended to always offer dry food in combination with wet food to ensure a balanced diet.
The first few weeks are a formative phase for a kitten’s eating habits. For this reason, it should be introduced to different feeding methods, such as wet and dry food as well as home-cooked cat food ,so that it does not become used to just one type of feeding.
If a change of food becomes necessary later on for health reasons, it is usually much easier to carry out.
You can find an even wider selection of high-quality wet kitten food and dry kitten food as well as kitten accessories in the online shop at zooplus.
When choosing a good kitten food, the same criteria apply as when selecting high-quality cat food for adult cats. For example, high-quality proteins should be listed first among the ingredients, animal by-products should be clearly specified wherever possible and ideally it should contain no cereals.
Growing cats have an increased need for certain nutrients. In particular, high-quality proteins as suppliers of essential amino acids, calcium for building a strong musculoskeletal system, and vitamins A and D are vital for healthy development.
High-quality proteins also ensure that the food has a high energy density. Compared to an adult cat, kittens have around twice the energy requirement per kilogram of body weight. However, as kittens have very small stomachs, it is important that each portion of food provides plenty of energy.
No, your kitten should not eat “normal” cat food, because food for adult cats is not suitable for feeding growing kittens and young cats. Feeding adult cat food can lead to a deficiency of important nutrients, which may result in severe growth disorders, increased susceptibility to infections and other illnesses. The severity of symptoms depends on the extent of the deficiency.
How often should I feed my kitten? At first, kittens need a lot of energy to keep up with their rapid growth. Therefore, from the sixth week onwards they should always have access to food and fresh water. As a rule, kittens are good at regulating their daily intake and tend to eat frequent small amounts.
To prevent excessive food and calorie intake, the total daily amount can also be divided into frequent small portions. It is important to gradually adjust the food quantity and feeding frequency in line with the kitten’s increasing age and physical development.
When can kittens eat wet food? When can they eat dry food, and how much and how often should I feed my kitten? The following table provides answers and feeding recommendations for your kitten:
| Age | Food quantity | Feeding frequency | Wet food | Dry food |
| Kittens from four weeks | supplement with very small portions | offer frequent small amounts | + | |
| Kittens from six weeks | supplement with small portions | frequently throughout the day or free access | + | + |
| Kittens from twelve weeks | small portions | frequently throughout the day or free access | + total 130–300 g per day | + total 30–50 g per day |
| Kittens from four months | daily food amount according to manufacturer’s instructions | + divided into at least 5 portions | + freely available | |
| Kittens from six months | daily food amount according to manufacturer’s instructions | + three portions per day | + freely available | |
| Cats from twelve months | daily food amount according to manufacturer’s instructions | at least two to three portions per day | transition to adult food | transition to adult food |
Reading tip: How to determine the right amount of food for your cat
During this period, you should adapt feeding to your kitten’s anatomy. The digestive tract is not yet fully developed, but appetite is high. Therefore, offer many smaller meals regularly throughout the day or provide free access to food.
A cat’s natural eating behaviour involves consuming up to 20 small meals spread over the entire day – including at night. It is therefore beneficial to provide some food shortly before bedtime so your kitten can eat during the night.
From the fourth month onwards, the kitten’s diet can gradually be adapted to a cat’s natural eating behaviour . Domestic cats prefer to eat numerous small meals throughout the day.
As crepuscular and nocturnal animals, they also eat at night. The key is to make food available as often as possible without overfeeding them. Five main meals should be provided as a minimum, including one late in the evening.
If you provide dry food for snacking in between, make sure that your kitten’s daily energy requirement is not exceeded at this age. As dry food is significantly higher in calories than wet food, the daily amount of dry food offered must be deducted proportionally from the wet food ration.
From this age, with mixed feeding, wet food divided into two to three main meals can be given. These should be offered at least once in the morning and once in the evening.
To meet the need for many small meals throughout the day, dry food can be offered as a snack. As before, however, you must keep an eye on the total daily energy intake from the kitten food.
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At every stage of a cat’s life, it is important that sufficient clean drinking water is available at all times. Although a cat will already take in some fluids through wet food, water must still be offered. Kittens can and should drink water from the very beginning – so it should always be available.
Your cat isn’t drinking? At first, some kittens need a little encouragement to drink enough water:
A balanced diet contributes to a cat’s healthy development. Commercial kitten food is suitable for the growth phase of young cats. Ideally, provide a mix of different types and forms of food to prevent strict and selective feeding habits.
From around six weeks of age, kittens can also be introduced to suitable dry kitten food. Whatever feeding method you choose, constant access to clean drinking water is essential.
By the way: You can find links to the products shown in the video in the YouTube video description.
The zooplus editorial team consists of a dedicated team of experts with many years of experience in the field of animal husbandry: Luisa with her White Swiss Shepherd Elyos, Laura, Julio, and Florian. Together with a large network of animal experts, we work to make the zooplus magazine a trusted source of information for all animal owners and lovers. Our goal is to provide exciting animal knowledge and relevant information on the proper care of pets.
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