can i give kittens dried food?

Question

i addopted a cat from someone who could no longer look after her she is only a year old, i have had her for 1 week, she has allready had kittens about 4 months ago and is having more i dont know how far along she is but estimating from her size i would say about 5 wks, what i need to know is when they need to start having food cat i put them straight on to dried kitten food or does it have to be meat.

i totally agree with you hummersathomes she has done her bit, my other cat is 7 i had her spayrd when she was 3 months old, thanks for your answer, also thanks to all for the advice i already feed them dried just wanted to know the best for the kittens.

Answer 1

Make both kinds of food available to the kittens.

The kittens might be able to nibble dry food at that young age, but they probably won't be able to eat enough to get all their caloric and nutritional needs until they get a little older and their teeth and jaws get stronger. Go ahead and let them explore the dry food, but feed canned food as well. You can also mix kitten formula in with either the canned or dry to give the kits an extra immune boost from colostrum until they are done with their shots, and to help soften and flavor the dry food and make it easier to eat. One formula is KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer), available at most big pet stores.

Even when they get a little older, say around 5 months old or so, they start cutting their larger permanent teeth (the bigger teeth, such as the canines/fangs, premolars and molars). Teething hurts, and their mouth will be sore again, and so they might want to eat canned food then, too. Still, make the dry food available as they will need to chew on things in order to help the new teeth set in well.

Next step-- have Mama spayed, so she won't keep having kittens.

Answer 2

Start feeding the kittens the canned meat. Do that for a couple of weeks because there teeth aren't strong enough to eat the dried food. You could probally soak the dried food in some milk and get a little faster start.

Answer 3

ok you have some half truths here wet food - if it says CHICKEN MEAL or LAMB MEAL or specifies what kind of dead animal it uses you know there are not cats and dogs - however it can be animals that were euthanized (eg a lamb that was euthanized because of a broken leg) the only way you can be sure is if it says HUMAN GRADE MEAT..... the Mystery ingredient you are wanting to avoid is "MEAT MEAL" or "MEAT BY-PRODUCTS" the word "meat" can mean any animal that they rendered that day, although most pet foods do not use rendered cat or dog - you cannot be too careful - this can be in DRY or CANNED (wet) cats CAN digest corn BUT its low digestabilty and since cats are TRUE carnivours it is not a good protein source for cats... corn IS NOT the main ingredient in all dry foods BUT it is the main ingredient in all crappy foods liek those sold in grocery store or wal marts - if you go to a pet food supply store and read the ingredient lists on the better foods you will be impressed - yes they cost more BUT because of higher digestability your cat will eat less -poop less and have fewer food related health problems later in life table food does not have the proper balance of minerals needed by cats that the premium level food do have....(if any table food - chicken and rice are best) milk is a no-no and so is fish - cats are lactose intollerant AND calcium contributes to urinary tract problems kittens can benefit from SMALL amounts of canned a day, at 6 months you can feed canned once or twice a day but NEVER as much as the can suggests - each feeding should only be 1 teaspoon of canned - you can help improve urinary tract health by adding 2 teaspoons of water to this to increase water intake for your kitty feeding too much canned will ruin their teeth - they need some dry to scrape their teeth clean and should have access to dry food round the clock (cats tummies digest better if they eat small amounts several times a day)

Answer 4

First get your cat and the other kittens spayed and neutered. Next their little jaws will not be able to bite the hard food. You can start them off with bread soaked in warm milk. Then when they get a little older you can gradually add the dry food to warm milk or water and let it soak up the liquid to make it soft for them.

Answer 5

I got a kitten from a farm a few weeks ago he's 11 weeks now he eats dried food and it's fine. so to answer your question yes it's okay to give them dried food. but keep them on milk until about 7 to 8 weeks.

Answer 6

At about 4 weeks of age, start them on canned kitten food. They can start having dry kitten food at about 6-7 weeks of age. They usually like it better if you start by mixing the dry food with the canned. Don't give kittens cow's milk or cream -- it isn't good for them.

Answer 7

kitten food is the highest in nutrients you can get kitten food for weaning ,my cat had kittens few months ago i was also advised kitten food is the best for nursing and pregnant cats letting them eat as much as they can .

the answer above says no but there is definately dry food for weaning yes you can add some water to soften but the teeth are strong and able to cope.
i can't remember the brand but it was like iams and it was for weaning kittens a good pet store near you should have it available.

Answer 8

When my cat had kittens, after they opened their eyes, and started trying to climb out of the box, I put a bowl of food beside the box. They started eating it when they were ready for it. I was always told that you had to wait until they were at least 5 wekks old to try them on hard food, but I just put it down there for them and let them start eating it when they could.

Answer 9

Wet it down with warm chicken broth until it's mushy & mash it good. You can also give them baby rice cereal with warmed watered down milk & a dab of wet cat food. Gradually decrease the rice cereal & milk until it's all wet food. That way their bodies will get used to wet food. Then you can add dry food as they develop better teeth. Don't start doing this until they're about 5-6 wks old.

Answer 10

you should start weaning the kittens at around 4 wks by introducing mashed kitten food when kittens are around 6 to 9 wks you can try soaking hills or iams kitten food but not high st supermarket stuff then slowly introduce iams kitten or hills kitten dried less bacteria,waste then tinned meat which is 90% water