Are you the proud owner of a brand new kitten? Many first-time kitten owners aren’t quite sure about the best way to keep their new pet healthy, but it’s actually pretty simple once you know the facts!
At birth, a healthy kitten weighs about 3-4 ounces, but that weight may double within the first nine days of their life and will continue to increase to about 30 times its birth weight by the time it turns one year old! If you’ve ever watched your kitten in motion, you know that it has an almost endless supply of energy that is spent climbing, jumping, running, and play-fighting. All this motion requires your kitten to eat a heft amount of calories in order to continue playing and learning.
Kittens spend the first few weeks of their lives feeding on their mother’s milk, which is rich in proteins and low in carbohydrates and fat. It is best to allow newborn kittens to exclusively feed on their mother’s milk for their first 4-6 weeks. Even if you plan to hand-rear your kittens, it’s important to allow them to nurse straight from their mother as long as possible.
When you are ready to wean your new furry friend, allow your kitten to gradually adjust to its new food at around the age of four weeks. To start, give your kittens a mixture of cat food (kitten or growth formula) combined with water or cat milk replacement. If you are going to use dry kibbles, mix one part cat food and three parts water. If you’re opting for wet or soft canned food, mix one part cat food with two parts water. By the time your kitten reaches ten weeks, they should only be eating cat food.
After they are completely weaned, kitten or growth formulas will provide your pet with the protein and calories that they need to maintain a balanced diet. Kittens usually eat a few small meals a day because their tummies are too small to eat two or three big meals! So, it’s best to let your new pet free-feed throughout the day and let them nibble whenever their stomach tells them to eat.
If your kitten is eating their kibble, there is really no need to supplement their food with vitamins or any other additive. They should be getting all the nutrients they need from their food, so be sure to check in with your veterinarian about the quality of your pet food! Remember, healthy eating habits in infancy mean healthy eating habits in adulthood, so be sure to train your kittens while they’re young!
