Changing From Commercial To Homemade Cat Food
If your cat has been on commercial cat food for most of its life, his digestive enzymes and digestive system has most likely acclimated to this unnatural diet. Slowly transition over to raw food, 1 teaspoon at a time, over the course of a month.
You will want to follow the advice of your veterinary professional, but for many this will look like:
Day 1-5: Mix 1 teaspoon of raw food into whatever your cat normally eats.
Day 5-10: Increase the raw food by double.
Day 10-15: Feed your cat half raw, half what they were eating before.
Day 15 on: You may be able to switch to all raw food as your cat has had time for their digestive system to catch up. If your cat is fussy, continue the slow transition.
Should I Let My Kitten Roam The House At Night
Ideally, the right time to let your kitten roam the house at night is when it’s already been litter trained and fully accustomed to its surroundings. … Kittens are such a joy to have around, but as with any other young animal, they need to be protected and guided until they get the hang of things.
Her Primary Kitten Food
Your kitten should be eating a good quality kitten food or a food labeled for all feline life stages. Even as you introduce her to other foods, this should be her primary food as too many changes can cause digestive upsets. Feel free to change flavors of food but remain within the same brand to maintain some consistency.
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How To Switch From Kitten Food To Cat Food
Transitioning from kitten food to adult cat food must be done gradually. A cats digestive system is home to lots of bacteria and yeast that aid in the digestion of food, fight off potential pathogens, make vitamins and other nutrients, and bolster the immune system. These microbes must be kept happy!
When the diet is abruptly changed, gastrointestinal microbes may not have time to adjust, which can lead to signs of digestive upset including vomiting and diarrhea. Further, when suddenly faced with a new food many cats will refuse to eat.
Slowly transition your kitten to an adult diet over seven to 10 days as follows:
- Days 1 and 2, add ¼ of the new diet to ¾ of the old diet
- Days 3 and 4, add ½ of the new diet to ½ of the old diet
- Days 5 and 6, add ¾ of the new diet to ¼ of the old diet
- Day 7 to 10, complete transitioning to adult cat food
How Long Should A Kitten Eat Kitten Food
A kitten should eat a diet made for them until they are six months old.
After this, you can start to transition your pet over to adult cat food by gradually mixing in more of the new food each day.
When you do switch, make sure that the cat food is designed for kittens and it might be a good idea to speak with your local pharmacist as well.
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Newborn Kitten Age: 0
During this stage, most kittens rely on their mothers milk as their only source of nutrition. If their mother is present, you wont need to feed kittens at alltheyll know how to feed themselves! That said, if youve rescued an orphaned kitten, youll need to bottle feed him. Kittens require a kitten milk replacer, which replicates the nutrition found in mother cats milk. Do not feed a kitten cows milkit doesnt have the right nutritional balance to nourish a newborn kitten.
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Introducing Adult Cat Food
Kittens grow and develop every day. They require a food that meets the high-energy demands of their bodies. As your kitten becomes an adult cat, you may need to adjust her diet.
How do you know when to switch to adult cat food? Sometimes its hard to know when to stop feeding kitten food, but generally, you should begin slowly transitioning your kitten to adult food when she is one year old, or when your veterinarian recommends doing so. Spread out the transition process over a 7 to 10-day period, gradually increasing the amount of her new food each day.
This blog article was originally posted by Purina.
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How Can I Help My Kitten Enjoy Physical Contact
Depending on his personality and early experiences as a kitten, your cat may either enjoy or dislike certain types of handling. In order for the cat to learn to accept and enjoy physical contact from people, it is critical that the human hand only be associated with positive experiences and that physical punishment is not used.
Begin with those types of handling that the cat enjoys like scratching him behind the ears. Speak to him in a kind voice while petting him. For reluctant cats, you may consider giving a treat during the petting sessions. This technique can be applied to other types of handling and can help the cat become accustomed to, and perhaps eventually enjoy, petting, grooming, teeth brushing, nail trimming, and even bathing.
What Makes A Food Suitable For Kittens
Kittens are constantly growing and require a diet that is formulated to meet their nutritional needs and supports proper growth and development. This includes appropriate amounts of vitamins and minerals, amino acids, protein, fat, and more. Other nutritional elements significant to a kittens diet include antioxidants to support a strong immune system, higher protein and calorie content for energy, and DHA, an omega fatty acid, for healthy vision and brain development.
When choosing a food for your kitten, look for the following on the label:
- Complete and balanced
- All Life Stages
These statements indicate that the diet is suitable for kittens according to AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.
When feeding your kitten, be sure to check feeding guidelines on the bag and consult with your veterinarian to make sure your kitten is getting enough food. Kittens can benefit from eating 3-4 smaller meals per day.
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How To Transition From Kitten To Adult Cat Food
To avoid intestinal upsets, make the change from a kitten formula to an adult diet over a period of four days with the following method:
- Day One: Fill your cats dish with 75% kitten food and 25% adult food.
- Day Two: Mix adult and kitten food in a 50/50 ratio.
- Day Three: Feed your cat a mixture that’s 75% adult food and 25% kitten food.
- Day Four: Switch to 100% adult formula.
Because cats generally eat only what they need, free-choice feeding is fine for most cats. Indoor cats that dont get much exercise, however, may overeat if fed free-choice. For them, portion-controlled feeding twice a day is a better routine.To determine how much food to give your cat, check the recommendations of the pet food manufacturer on the label. Use the guidelines, monitor your cats weight and body condition during the transition, and adjust feeding portions if necessary. If your cat is gaining or losing weight and shouldnt be, slightly adjust their daily intake and weigh them again the following week.
How Do I Switch From One Kitten Food To Another
Cats are often considered the epitome of the picky eater. But it doesnt have to be that way. Get your kitten started off on the right paw.
Continued
Its easier to switch foods if a kitten has been exposed early on to different textures and flavors, Larsen says. If exposed to the same food over and over, cats tend to get a fixed preference for a particular flavor and texture.
If youre trying to make a switch to a new kitten food, try mixing the new food and old foods in the same bowl. Over time, offer smaller and smaller amounts of the old food along with the new food.
Remember that making rapid changes in food can cause stomach upset or hunger strikes. So you may need to make the transition to a new food over four to seven days.
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Start At The Right Age
Kittens’ bodies are very sensitive to premature weaning, so be careful about starting them too young. A kitten 0-5 weeks old should be nursing or bottle feeding. Around 5 weeks of age, the kitten’s premolars will begin to emerge, indicating that she is likely ready to start trying out some meaty foods. However, some kittens may need a bit more time on the bottle due to health issues, or differences in weight or size. Use your best judgement and follow the kitten’s lead to determine the appropriate age to wean. If you see any changes in the kitten’s health or energy during this process, immediately step back to bottle feeding.
How To Introduce New Food
Your fluffball has a palate as discerning as a Michelin star grader! Theyll figure out exactly whats going on if you dont do this gradually.
If youve introduced your kitten to different flavors and textures earlier in their life, this transition will go a lot smoother. Should you find yourself reading this article well before your kitten has matured, start offering them a wider variety of food. A combination of moist and dry food is always a good start.
A slow and methodical introduction to adult cat food is also advised to minimize intestinal upset. Because your kitten has been used to one type of diet, any rapid changes will affect their internal bacteria, sometimes causing runny tummies and vomiting. Sorry kitty.
The best way to transition to adult food is to space the process out over a week. Use this as a general guideline for success:
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Days 1 & 2: Combine 25% adult food with 75% kitten food
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Days 3 & 4: Combine 50% adult food with 50% kitten food
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Days 5 & 6: Combine 75% adult food with 25% kitten food
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Day 7: Serve 100% adult food
P.S. You can also use this transition method to safely introduce your cat to new textures and flavors of food.
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How Much Food Should A 8 Month Kitten Eat
AgeApproximate Weight Amount to Feed-10 months 7.5 8.5 pounds60-65 calories per pound of bodyweight per day11 months 8 9 pounds60-65 calories per pound of bodyweight per day12 months 8 9.5 pounds60-65 calories per pound of bodyweight per day
Before Beginning The Weaning Process
When its at all possible, kittens should be exposed to some mothers milk, especially within the first 12 to 24 hours of life. The first milk, or colostrum, contains antibodies that the kitten can only absorb during this time.
If a queen has an extremely large litter of kittens and cannot produce enough milk, each kitten should still get some of her milk. Some milk is better than no milk, says Dr. Jules Benson, vice president of veterinary services at Petplan. If she cannot produce any milk due to mastitis or other issues, another nursing mother may accept the kittens if they are close to the size of her own.
If no nursing cat is available, you can feed a kitten milk replacement formula with a nursing bottle or syringe. In an emergency, Benson recommends mixing a cup of whole milk, an egg yolk, a drop of liquid multivitamin, and three Tums in a blender but this is strictly for temporary use, to get some nutrition into the kittens, and you should switch to formula as soon as possible.
Youll be bottle feeding for three to four weeks. Always warm the bottle in a cup of hot water and taste test it yourself to check the temperature and that it hasnt soured. If youre using a powder formula, store unmixed powder in the freezer.
Feed slowly but frequently: every two to three hours during the day. At night, dont worry about it theyll wake you when theyre hungry. If theyre sleeping, let them sleep, and get some sleep yourself.
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Learn When To Switch From Kitten Food To Cat Food With Purina And Blains Farm & Fleet
As a general rule, cats that are less than one year of age are considered kittens. It is important to feed your pet a kitten formula for up to one year. The exception would be larger breed cats, such as the Maine Coon, which do not reach adult maturity until they are 18 months to two years of age. Learn more about switching from kitten food to cat food with Purina and Blains Farm & Fleet.
Transitioning From Dry To Wet Cat Food
Transitioning a cat from a dry food to a wet food can be especially problematic. The taste and texture of the two types of food are quite different and many cats will find their new food quite strange. There are some tricks you can try to make the transition easier and the food more palatable. Try sprinkling the kibbles on top of the wet food until your cat is used to the smell of the wet food underneath. Then you can try mixing the dry food into the wet food. You can also try grinding some of the dry food into a powder and mixing it into the wet food to add flavor and make the food more palatable.
For cats that need to be transitioned from dry food to wet food quickly due to medical issues, adding a small quantity of Fortiflora, a probiotic, to the wet food can help improve the palatability. Warming the wet food to near body temperature can also help improve the palatability.
Encouraging your cat to engage in interactive play for a short time before each meal can also help increase your cats appetite and make acceptance of a new food easier.
Watch your cats weight carefully during any food transition. If your cat loses weight or refuses to eat during the transition, consult your veterinarian for advice.
Dr. Lorie Huston
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Should I Free Feed My Cat
“If a cat can maintain his weight, free choice feeding is okay,” says Dr. … Even dry food left out for your cat to free feed needs to be fresh, so be sure to provide new food each day. If free feeding doesn’t work, you need to control how much they eat. “Several small meals may make them feel less hungry,” says Dr.
Why Do Kittens Require A Special Diet
It is not proper to feed a kitten any form of food until she is ready to start weaning. When kittens are around a month old, theyre normally ready to be weaned, though its usually up to the mama cat to decide. All a newborn kitten needs are milk from the mother to keep healthy and become strong. Optionally, a formula from a kitten milk replacer can be used instead of milk in the case of an absent queen.
Adult cat food is not necessary nor beneficial at this time.
When pet owners look at all the food options, they may worry which ones their cat is allowed to eat. Kittens, on the other hand, require a completely different diet than adult cats. Young kittens have a lot of energy and need a diet that can keep up with them jumping and playing all day.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, kittens have two to three times the energy of an adult cat. The protein in their diet accounts for up to 30% of their total energy. Overall, this indicates that kitten food will require much more protein than adult cat food.
However, this isnt the only variation in the diet. During their first year of life, kittens are prone to growing larger and at a faster rate.
Growing at this rate will necessitate more nutrition, protein, and vitamins than an adult cat requires. Kittens require a different diet than adult cats because of the way they grow and metabolize their food.
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Introducing Your Kitten To Cat Food
During their life as a kitten, these cute furballs will often feed on small amounts of food at frequent intervals throughout the day. As they get older and mature into fully-grown cats, this tends to change to eating just two meals a day.
However, cats have quite the reputation for being fussy eaters so, for some pet owners, switching them to adult food can be quite the challenge. With that said, if your kitten has been exposed to a variety of textures and flavours from early on, the transition should be a lot easier when the time comes.
Although it may sound like a great idea in theory, mixing the new food with the one they already know and enjoy as a way of transition can be quite risky. If it turns out that they dont like the new one, by mixing them together it may actually put them off the food they once ate and enjoyed. And then what would you do?
Instead, offer both the new food and the old food to your feline in separate bowls. As time goes by, gradually start offering smaller and smaller amounts of the old food alongside the new food. Larsen says that a little bit of hunger will help them make the transition and resign them to at least trying the new food.
If you were to instantly change what they eat, without a gradual introduction, this has the potential to cause your cat to experience stomach upset or even trigger them to go on hunger strikes . That is why its important to slowly transition the food across a four to ten day period.