Determine The Exact Amount Of Wet Food To Feed Your Cat
If your cat is fed a diet of exclusively wet food, take your cats maintenance energy requirement in kilocalories and divide it by the number of kilocalories found in a tin or pouch of wet food. The answer will give you the number of tins or pouches of wet food to feed per day.
If you are feeding a mix of wet and dry food, subtract the kilocalories found in the dry food from your cats maintenance energy requirement . Divide the answer by the number of kilocalories found in the wet food to obtain the number of tins or pouches of wet food to feed per day.
You may need to make adjustments to this last calculation by increasing or decreasing the total amount of kibble fed per day until you are satisfied with the amount of daily wet food to feed your cat.
Its important to also take into consideration any treats that you may feed your cat as this will reduce the total amount of energy they can obtain from wet and dry food. Treats should not form more than 5% of your cats daily energy intake. Unlike wet and dry food, treats are usually not nutritionally complete, and feeding too many snacks can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Whatever the split, ensure that the total number of kilocalories fed equals your cats maintenance energy requirements.
How Much Wet Food To Feed Your New Kitten
Once kittens are weaned, wet food may be more appropriate than dry food for a while, as their teeth may not be ready for kibble yet, according to WebMD. The ASPCA says you can start feeding kittens kibble as supplemental to their mothers milk as early as five to six weeks old. Both wet food and dry food are appropriate for older kittens and adult cats.
The fact that its wet food is a giveaway, but wet food has more hydration properties than dry food. If you feed your adult cat dry food, youll want to make sure they have plenty of access to a regularly refreshed and refilled water bowl.
As far as how much wet food to feet your new kitten, youll need to read the label on your kitten food. For example, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Kitten Chicken Grain-Free Canned Cat Food advises that you feed your kitten as much as theyll eat in three or four daily feedings until theyre 20 weeks old. After that, ½ can of food per pound of body weight every day is appropriate until 30 weeks. And from 31-52 weeks, about ¼ can of food per pound of body weight. After that, you can start looking at adult foods.
Switching different flavored foods is useful when your pet is still a kitten, so cats dont develop an unshakeable preference for one flavor. WebMd vet suggests swapping foods regularly when your cat is still a kitten, but being careful not to mix the old food and new food. If your cat doesnt like the new food and theyre mixed, they could end up not liking either food.
Other Kitten Weaning Tips
When you are weaning a kitten onto solid food, its important to use a food formulated specifically for kittens. These formulas have the higher levels of calories, protein and calcium that growing kittens need. If you are caring for a mother cat and her litter, its okay for the mom cat to eat the same kitten food while shes nursing.
Weaning kittens must be kept warm. Build a nest by lining a high sided box or pet carrier with towels. Benson also recommends adding a layer of diapers above the towels, cutting the leg holes to make them lie flat. Theyre going to get messy, he says, and this makes clean-up much easier. Place a heating pad or hot water bottle under the towels on one half of the box. This gives the kittens plenty of heat, but also a place to cool off if they are too hot.
Kitten weaning is a natural process they may just need a little help from you. The key: a little patience and a lot of love.
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Why Is My Kittens Poop Runny And Smelly
The cause for foul smelling stools in cats or humans can be very similar. It can be the food eaten, the bacteria in the colon1, and on occasion serious health problems. Additionally diarrhea and the presence of excess gas can cause bad odors. Many feline disorders are accompanied by diarrhea and foul smelling stools.
Your Kitten Has Flown The Nest
Kitten food, right? A complete, high quality wet or dry kitten food will provide your kitten with what they need to live well and develop into the cat they deserve to be. Typically, your breeder will give you some food or recommend a food that theyve been feeding for you to continue to use.
As your kittens immune systems is still developing when you get him or her and will not be fully developed until 16 weeks of age, so unless its something inappropriate, try to stick to what theyve been weaned onto, particularly in those first few days where theyre getting used to their new home. Its a stressful period for any kitty. You can always transition to your chosen kitten food after theyre 16 weeks old. If you really dont like the quality of the food theyre currently on and wish to do it sooner, wait a few days once you kitten has settled in and then gradually introduce the new food in increments over a period of 7-10 days.
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How To Introduce Solid Food To Kittens
This article was co-authored by Deanne Pawlisch, CVT, MA. Deanne Pawlisch is a Certified Veterinary Technician, who does corporate training for veterinary practices and has taught at the NAVTA-approved Veterinary Assistant Program at the Harper College in Illinois and in 2011 was elected to the board of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Foundation. Deanne has been a Board Member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Foundation in San Antonio, Texas since 2011. She holds a BS in Anthropology from Loyola University and an MA in Anthropology from Northern Illinois University.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 97% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 91,877 times.
Kittens live the first 2 weeks of their lives only consuming their mothers milk. By the time kittens are 6 weeks old, they will be ready to wean and starting eating some solid food. The weaning process lasts approximately 2 to 4 weeks, so kittens should be fully weaned by the time they are 8 to 10 weeks old.XResearch source In order to begin introducing kittens to solid food, youll need to wait for the kittens to begin weaning naturally, and then serve small amounts of wet cat food in a room with the kittens for them to begin eating.
Choosing A Type Of Solid Food
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Too Long Eating The Same Food
Just like humans, cats get bored eating the same food for too long. Cats need some change after a long period of time. Usually, a cat gets bored eating the same food for about a year. So if youve been feeding your cat the same food for over a year and he or she stops eating it, you may want to consider changing the brand or variety.
What Are The Benefits Of Wet Cat Food
There are several benefits of giving your cat wet cat food. Some of them are:
- Urinary Health. If your cat suffers from urinary problems, wet food is able to promote more diluted urine. This helps to cure problems and prevent further breakouts. Additionally, wet food is also known to reduce inflammation in and around the bladder, which helps your cat.
- Weight Management. Wet food contains water which does not have any calories in itself. As a result, wet food is known to have a lower energy density in comparison to dry food. A general rule of thumb states that dry foods provide more than 34 kcal/g. Wet foods, on the other hand, offer 0.81.5 kcal/g. Some specially designed wet foods offer a lot lesser in order tohelp with weight loss.
- Dehydration. Many cats are known to suffer from dehydration due to them consuming less water. Wet foods can help bridge this gap and rehydrate your cat. As a result, wet foods are considered more beneficial as compared to dry foods.
- Constipation. If your cat is suffering from hairball issues or just drinks less water overall, the chances are that it suffers from constipation. This can become more problematic in the long run. However, wet cat food helps to curb this problem.
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How Much Wet Food To Offer Your Cat 6 Steps
It can be a daunting task trying to figure out how much wet food to feed your cat. Some wet food feeding guides are vague, others give generalized feeding recommendations, which may not be appropriate for a particularly large or small cat, while some dont give guidelines at all.
All cats are unique and so are their daily feeding requirements. Lets calculate your cats personalized plan using the steps outlined below.
Can Kitten Food Be Beneficial To Adult Cats
After comparing the nutritional profile of kitten food to that of adult cat food, it would seem like an adult cat food has no business eating kitten food. However, there are certain times when kitten food would be beneficial to an adult cat.
When adult cats become seniors , they become susceptible to a number of diseases, some of which cause a decrease in their appetite hence resulting in weight loss.
If your senior cat is losing weight due to a lack of appetite, you should consider giving them kitten food. The benefit of kitten food is that the cat does not have to eat a lot of it for it to meet its daily caloric requirements. As such, you will not have to force-feed the cat.
Additionally, thanks to the fatty nature of kitten food, cats find it extremely tasty. This means that the taste alone will be enough to get your senior cat eating again. The same goes for choosy cats. True to their feline heritage, some cats will not eat food that does not interest them, and this might cause them to lose weight. If that is your cat, consider using kitten food as a temporary solution, as they will not be able to resist it.
Nonetheless, before getting your senior cat on a kitten food diet, make sure that you have consulted with your vet.
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Raising Kittens From Birth
We are assuming here that your adult cat gave birth and you are doing the work to make sure the babies have the best start possible. For the first week, kittens should be getting their nutrition from their mother, as long as the mom hasnt rejected the kitten or has severe health issues. If the kitten cannot nurse, then you may have to feed them kitten formula which is entirely liquid.
After about a month, kittens can start the transition from nursing and formula to liquid kitten food and by weeks six, start mixing formula or milk with dry and canned food and water. After eight weeks of age, kittens are usually ready for kitten food, either wet or dry or both.
So, the short answer is, kittens usually start nibbling at liquid kitten food at about month one and canned kitten food by week six or so. Canned food is usually better than dry food for the first year of life as it helps to prevent dehydration. If you cannot get canned kitten food, then mix dry kitten food with water to create a soft food with plenty of fluid in it.
What Should I Ask A Vet About Kitten Food
At your kittens first health check with a vet, you can discuss a range of healthcare topics, including nutrition. It can be helpful to take the kitten food packaging along to this appointment, as this will list the ingredients, composition and feeding guidelines for the vet to see.
Hetty is a vet and science writer. She qualified from the University of Cambridge in 2017, and also has a 1 st class degree in Natural Sciences . Hetty has worked in practice performing surgery and treating pets as well as sheep, goats and even alpacas. She is passionate about science education and currently works in a communications role that includes campaign work and writing articles. She loves animals and has volunteered on rhino and whale conservation projects.
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Determine The Number Of Calories In Your Cats Food
First, you will need to determine the amount of energy in a tin or pouch of your chosen wet food. The total amount of energy per tin or pouch is given in kilocalories and can be found on the label on the back of the packaging under the nutritional information.
If your cat is fed a diet of excessively wet food, stop here and continue to step 5.
If you feed a mix of wet food and kibble, you will need to determine the total energy content of the kibble that you feed your cat per day. As with wet food, you will find this information on the label on the back of the packaging under the nutritional information.
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Whats The Best Method For Feeding My Kitten
Young cats need more frequent feeding, Bough says, But as they get older, they can go to twice-a-day feeding.
Larsen agrees that its fine for young kittens to free feed, by making unlimited kitten food available to them all day long, and then to transition to meal eating around four to six months of age. Free-choice feeding has the additional benefit of reducing stomach distention resulting from rapid meal eating. It also helps underweight or slow-growing kittens. Of course, its not the best option for overweight or obese kittens. For these kittens, measured portions offered as meals or until gone is a better choice. Check packages for suggested amounts. Even with the energy needs of kittens, overfeeding can become a big problem.
Especially control intake around the time of spaying and neutering, which increases the risk for obesity, Larsen says. Preventing obesity is preferable to addressing it once its already occurred.
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What Brand Of Kitten Food
One of the most commonly asked questions in veterinary practice is, Which food do you recommend? At Vetrica we recommend Hills Science Plan®, which is a high quality, complete dry food. And with our VYP Bonus Plan, you can earn a free booster vaccination. Hills Science Plan® is specially formulated to reduce the incidence of FLUTD.
How To Get Nutritious Food For Your Kitten
To make sure youre getting food that meets all of your kittens nutritional needs, WebMD says you should be looking for a statement on the packaging that reads Meets the nutritional requirements of kittens established by the American Association of Feed Control Officials . Even better than that would be a sentence indicating the food has gone through trials, which would mean a statement like Complete and balanced nutrition for kittens based on AAFCO feeding trials.
Once youve found the right food for your kitten, youll want to take your early time together as an opportunity to set a feeding routine. Cats appreciate knowing when their food is coming, and it can stave off bad behavior like constantly begging for treats.
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