Why Kitten Food? Because Growing Babies Need It!
Kittens need a lot of food — they need it frequently — and it should be high protein that is top quality. Growing bodies and brains need the best food you can provide. Kittens also need a high fat content in their food, and lots of moisture, all of which is why there is special kitten food. I believe Weruva Kitten is the gold standard because it is made in a human food facility.
Kittens Eat Differently Than Cats
You cannot feed a kitten the same way as an adult cat. A grown cat does fine on two meals a day for a total of 6 to 8 ounces of wet food. A 10-week-old to 4-month-old kitten can eat twice that amount — over the course of 5 to 6 meals in a day. From 5 to 7 months of age, a kitten needs 3 to 4 meals daily; from 8 months to a year, 3 meals can taper down to 2 a day.
How Much Does a Kitten Need to Eat?
Basically a kitten needs about twice as much food as an adult cat. As a rule of thumb,
But it’s not just quantity that matters — it’s the quality of the food that will help a little kitty develop into a healthy adult. One reason I’m impressed by Weruva is because their food has always been made in human food facilities, which means it’s good enough for people to eat.
How Often Should You Feed a Kitten?
Young cats need to eat more frequently because they have tiny stomachs, a fast metabolism that burns up fuel quickly, and they are growing! Be prepared to stock up on cans and pouches for multiple meals a day. If you can’t be around, you could arrange for someone else to come in for feeding duty or you can also try a timed automatic feeder like the one Catit makes, which can keep wet food chilled for a day of six feedings.
Kittens Need a Diet with a Variety of Quality Protein
Introduce your kitten to a range of textures and protein sources in his food. You don’t want him to get obsessed with one product and reject all others. You want your kitten to embrace new aromas and a variety of textures — from shredded to stews to pates — so that he gets his nutrients from different proteins.
Weruva has a Kitten Paw Lickin’ Chicken Variety Pack to get your kitten eating right and growing strong.
Cautionary Note: No Kitty Crack!
There is one piece of advice that is exactly the same for grown cats and kittens: no kitty crack! Please, please do not consider giving dry food to a kitten. The highly processed carbohydrates that make up kibble do not contain the amount of protein — or the quality protein — that kittens need. Feeding kitty crack also sets up a kitten to get “hooked” on dry food, which comes with a cavalcade of health issues [Please refer to my book THE CAT BIBLE: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know to learn more about this topic with facts which will convince you to feed wet food only.]
—Tracie Hotchner
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