How Do I Start Weaning My Kitten
While there is a time range for weaning, you still have to keep in mind that the sudden removal of your kitten from its mother can affect the kitten’s health, social life, and other vital life skills they could have gained from their mother. And this could eventually mean more training commitments for you, and litter-training a kitten, for example, isn’t the most straightforward task there is. Unless avoidable, you want your kittens with their mother for as long as possible, even during the weaning process. That being said, as the kittens reach their 4th or 5th week of life, you can begin the weaning by placing them in separate areas for a couple of hours at a time. Done repeatedly, this step helps to reduce their dependence on their mother’s milk and presence. When separated, provide them with food, water, litter box, and toys. As they grow more independent, you can increase the hours.
How To Properly Wean Kittens
The best way to switch cat food isnt to just go to the store and buy them a new brand of cat food. Do that, and youre going to put your cat into dietary distress because it will not only often give them diarrhea, but it will be harder for them to digest the food. Therefore, you should try to incorporate buying your new brand of cat food and start off by mixing the two foods together over about a ten-day period .
The way to do this is by mixing the food appropriately to help ease their tummies into being able to handle the adult cat food. For the first couple days, youll want to use about a 20% new food to 80% old food formula, and you can increase in about 5-10% intervals of the new food until you eventually end up feeding your cat nothing but the new food. This will make it a lot easier on your feline friend to digest the food, and it will greatly help your litter box, so it isnt as awful either!
When Do Kittens Start Eating Solid Food Best Helpful Guide
When do kittens start eating solid food is a very common question. Whether your cat has given birth or youre bottle feeding kittens, this is important.
In this post youll discover everything you need to know about weaning kittens onto solids. Youll learn how to wean bottle fed kittens, as well as the best age for introducing solid food.
Plus, well look at the best type of food for your kitten, as well as how much water she needs. Also, a few common myths you may have heard of, and lots more.
Its believed there are over 96 million pet cats in the USA, and over 5 million female kitties in the UK. So you can imagine how important it is to neuter cats before they reproduce!
However, that topic is for another time as we focus on weaning kittens. So without further ado lets take a look at the weaning stage.
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Fresh And Salt Water Fish
Your kitten will be happy if you share your cooked fish with her. A tiny bit of trout, catfish, salmon or tuna will each be appreciated although, really, any cooked fish is fine. Again, give her just a tiny bit is plenty even if shes begging for more. You can also try Honest Kitchens Mmmixers, a tasty meal topper made with salmon and pollock.
When To Start Introducing Cat Food
Kittens start eating solid foods from around 4-8 weeks of age while theyre weaning. This means that you can start incorporating softened kitten food or soft cat food into their diets with regular dry kitten food for the increased calories and nutrients. If you see that your cat starts to drastically gain weight from their kitten food, you may want to switch to an adult formula to balance their nutrients better.
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How To Mix Gruel
Small batch : ½ can of wet kitten food mixed with ¼ can of formula .
Large batch: Whisk 8 cans wet kitten food with 4 cans of fresh, warm formula . At this age, kittens like their food a little lumpy so they can chew.
Note: Substitute the warm water for formula in gruel for kittens 5 weeks and older.
Helpful tips when using gruel:
- When introducing kittens to gruel, put gruel in a flat dish and place kittens near the dish. If they do not start to eat on their own after a few minutes, use tongue depressor or spoon to scoop gruel into kittens mouth. You may have to open their mouth and put a little in. You can also put a little gruel on their nose and see if they will lick it off. Sometimes the kittens need to adjust to the new taste.
- Once kitten starts to eat gruel off the spoon or tongue depressor , slowly start to lower it towards the dish of gruel. The kittens should easily transition from the spoon or depressor to the dish .
- During the weaning process, kittens still need to be bottle-fed three times per day to ensure they are receiving proper nutrients.
How Much And How Often Should I Feed Orphaned Kittens
Orphaned kittens should be fed on a strict schedule, preferably every 2-4 hours. Kittens up to two weeks old can generally consume their daily intake in 4-5 meals per day. Small breed kittens should be limited to 10-15mL per feeding during the first week of life in order to prevent diarrhea.
Commercial milk replacers are labeled to help you calculate the total volume to be fed per day. To calculate the amount for each feeding:
- dilute the total daily volume of milk replacer to a final volume of about 180mL/kg of kitten body weight, and
- divide that total into the desired number of meals per day.
It is recommended that you warm kitten milk replacer to approximately 100°F before feeding, but be careful not to overheat it. Cold formula, overly rapid feeding rates, and overfeeding can lead to regurgitation, aspiration, bloating, and diarrhea.
If the orphaned kitten develops diarrhea, reduce the formula volume. It is better to slightly underfeed than to overfeed neonatal orphaned kittens. Kitten milk replacer should be the sole source of nutrition until 3-4 weeks of age at which time the weaning process may begin.
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When Bottle Feeding Kittens Becomes Necessary
At times, a kittens diet needs to be supplemented with or switched to a milk substitute designed specifically for cats. With especially large litters, you may want to give the smaller or less assertive kittens time alone with the queen so they have easier access to the best food availablemoms milk. Bottle feed the kittens who are growing the fastest at this time so they dont go hungry. Feral kittens under the age of four weeks who no longer have access to a nursing mom will also need to be bottle fed.
Do not feed newborn kittens cow or goat milk or human or dog formula only a milk replacer made specifically for kittens will provide appropriate nutrition. Talk to your veterinarian if you are concerned that a kitten is failing to nurse, grow, or develop as expected.
What Type Of Food Does My Kitten Need Wet Or Dry
Its important that very young kittens have at least some canned food to eat as part of their diet. Very small kittens have very small teeth and cant chew dry food well. Without some canned food, they wont get enough nutrition to grow properly. If you are feeding your kitten both dry and canned foods, then twice a day canned feedings are sufficient. If theyre only eating canned food, they should be fed four times daily.
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When Is A Kitten Ready To Eat Only Solid Food
Matejka said kittens should not be eating only solid kitten food until they are around eight to 10 weeks old.
Once kittens are eight weeks old, they’re able to digest and absorb the nutrients they need from a kitten diet alone and no longer require their mother’s milk. They should be fed primarily a kitten-specific diet until they’re done growing.
Most cats are fully grown between the age of 10 and 12 months and it’s safe to transition to an adult diet once they are this age, the veterinarian said.
Harrison said: “It is important to keep up the feeding protocol during the first 12 months since kittens continue to develop throughout their first year.”
When Is The Best Time To Wean A Kitten
There is no scientific study that identifies the best time for weaning kittens, as its the mother herself who begins this process naturally.
The mother cat starts to stop her kittens from feeding any time they feel like it from four weeks of age onwards. This is the beginning of the weaning process, which ushers in important digestive and behavioural changes in the kittens.
Between the sixth and seventh weeks, the process is generally complete, and the kittens can begin to eat solid food, as long as its one thats specially adapted to their needs.
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How To Introduce Your Kitten To Solid Food
As previously mentioned, 4 weeks is the best time to start weaning a kitten. This applies to both kittens nursed by their mother, and those youve bottle fed.
Just like with human babies, introducing solid foods can be a messy process! In fact, youll probably find your kitten plays with her food as if its a toy.
Starting with a mushy mix of kitten food and water is a good way of getting young kittens used to feeding on solids.
NEVER be tempted to mix cows milk with food as many cats are lacto intolerant. Doing so could give your poor kitty diarrhea.
As kittens first teeth begin to appear they drink less of their mothers milk. You should also notice weaning has completely finished by the time your kittens are 8-10 weeks old.
Feeding Kittens Wet Versus Dry Food
Wet and dry cat food are commonly available in kitten formulations, and there are pros and cons to feeding each. To decide which option best suits your kittens needs, talk with your veterinarian and get their recommendation. Here are some pros and cons of each:
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Wet cat food is higher in moisture, so it can be beneficial in keeping kittens hydrated, flushing out the urinary tract, and helping kidneys stay healthy. However, wet food tends to stick to the teeth more, which can be associated with dental disease and painful cavity-type problems for cats.
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Dry cat food is easier to feed in mutli-cat homes and can help scrape tartar from the teeth. However, some cats can overeat with dry food and gain excessive weight, which can be associated with arthritis, heart problems, blood pressure problems, respiratory problems, or diabetes mellitusjust to name a few.
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What To Feed Kittens 6 To 10 Weeks Of Age Weaning Comes To An End
Mom cats usually start to drastically limit their kittens access to milk at around 6 weeks of age. When they are 8 to 10 weeks old, most kittens are fully weaned and eating only solid food and drinking water. Bottle-fed kittens can be transitioned a little quickerfull weaning by 6-8 weeks is reasonable.
So, what should you feed your kitten toward the end of weaning? Canned kitten food is still the best optionbut if you want to switch to or add dry kitten food, start by soaking it in some warm water. Food and water should always be available to young kittens to fuel their rapid growth and development.
Whenever possible, kittens should remain with their mother and littermates until they are at least 8 weeks old. These first two months are vital from both a nutritional and a behavioral standpoint.
Healthy Kitten Growth Rate
A general rule of thumb in kittens is that they typically gain about 1 pound per month.
Often, a kittens weight is about 1 pound at 1 month , 2 pounds at 2 months , and so on until about 4-5 months.
Kittens do most of their growing within the first year and then stabilize from there. Many of the growth plates of the bones in the kitten skeleton close by about one year old.
At this time, after much of the growth is finished, your vet will typically switch your kitten to an adult diet.
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Spay Or Neuter And Adoption
Eight-week-old healthy kittens are fully weaned and should soon be ready to be spayed or neutered and to find their new forever homes. It is much easier to find homes for eight-week old kittens than it is if you wait longer, so start setting a plan early on. Sharing photos of the kittens with friends and family as they grow, and telling everyone you know that youll be looking for homes for the kittens is a great way to find homes. For more advice on finding homes for the kittens, see this guide on finding homes for homeless pets.
It is also important to ensure that all the kittens are spayed or neutered, so they dont accidentally add to the thousands of unplanned litters of kittens that enter shelters each year. Find a low-cost spay/neuter clinic near you.
While caring for orphaned kittens is a lot of work, its also a lot of fun. The most rewarding part is watching your charges grow up and go into new homes. And the best part is that you can feel good knowing that you helped keep kittens the most at-risk animals to enter shelters safe and sound.
Carefully Introduce Kitten Food
When your kitten is about 4-5 weeks old, youll want to begin the weaning process by carefully introducing your kitty to their food. You can do this by mixing their kitten food with their formula so that they still recognize the taste. You can do this by spreading this kitten food and formula mixture around their mouth and letting them lick it off. You want them to get adjusted to the food on their own terms. Once they get comfortable with the taste of the kitten food, then theyll be more inclined to eat it on their own.
After youve introduced them to their food, then you can put the food in a bowl and have them eat it themselves that way. Make sure you keep a close eye on them during this process and dont force them to eat it at a certain pace. Let them get used to eating the food on their own.
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First A Transitional Time
A mother cat will start her litter on the weaning process when they’re about a month old. The kittens will begin to show an interest in cat food around that time. Slowly, they can be given tastes of kitten food that is soaked in water until it’s quite soft. Solid food can be gradually increased as the kittens nurse less often over the next few weeks. When a kitten is about eight weeks old, the weaning process will probably be complete, and he’ll be eating 100 percent kitten food.
What Is The Meaning Of Weaning
The Oxford English Dictionary defines weaning as to accustom to food other than its mothers milk. There is a second definition, which when talking about baby animals, is often conflated with the first: accustom to managing without something which they have become dependent on. In this context, removing the kitten permanently from the mother. This confusion is unfortunate as it suggests that kittens should be removed from their mothers when they start eating solid food. In fact, a kitten should remain with the mother at least a month after they have started eating solid food to ensure adequate socialization.
Early weaning, as in early separation from the mother, can result in behavioural problems. It can be a challenge in hand-reared kittens. However, here we discuss weaning in strictly the sense of introducing a kitten to solid food.
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What To Feed Kittens 10+ Weeks Of Age A Kittens Diet After Weaning
Most kittens need to continue eating foods designed specifically for growth until they are around 10 months of age. Only feed your kitten commercial diets that meet the standards put forward by the Association of American Feed Control Officials . Look for a statement on the products label that says something along the lines of:
- Kitten Food A is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for growth and reproduction.
- Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Kitten Food B provides complete and balanced nutrition for growth and reproduction.
Try these vet-recommended wet kitten foods:
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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