How much and at what frequency should I feed my new kitty? She is 6 wks old, I don't want to feed her too much but I don't want her to go hungry! ~Thanks
2006-10-02 06:40:46 · 13 answers · asked by Rhonda M 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
Two or three times a day. Let her eat as much as she wants to at a sitting and then remove the food. Be sure she always has water available. If she's hungry, she'll let you know by howling and crying.
2006-10-02 06:44:18 · answer #1 · answered by Fetch 11 Humane Society 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At 6 weeks, she should be eating wet food, and just learning how to drink water. I'd put out a bowl of dry food out for her and leave it out all the time, and feed her canned wet food 4 times a day. Just put out the whole can, and take away what she doesn't eat after 15-30 minutes. You can store what she doesn't eat in the fridge, and feed it to her at the next sitting (just be sure to let it come up to room temperature before feeding). After a week or two of eating soft food, you can mix some of the hard food into the soft food, and feed her that, so she gets the idea of hard food. After a week or so of that, she should be OK with eating hard food.
My 6 week old kitten wasn't quite weaned yet, so we had to pretty much feed the kitten according to what I described above. If your kitten is fully weaned, eating hard food, and drinking water just fine, all you need to do is leave out a bowl of hard food out all the time, along with a bowl of water. Cats generally won't overeat, and they will stop when they are full.
Good luck with your new kitty!
2006-10-02 06:45:51 · answer #2 · answered by rita_alabama 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read the label on the food, it will tell you how much to feed it. My cat is 7 pounds, so I feed her 1/2 cup a day of the premium cat food.
If you want a really healthy kitty, feed it premium food with no by-products and fillers in it, found at pet stores. It will make your vet bills lower in the long run.
Feed kitty a bit of canned food mixed with a bit of water and heat in microwave a few seconds, and give kitty some dry food too.
http://www.nutroproducts.com/completecare.asp
2006-10-02 08:03:08 · answer #3 · answered by hello 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A six-week old kitten should have canned cat food. Meat is more satisfying for kittens and it is, after all, what the mother weans them to.
I have never heard of a kitten overeating. They grow very fast and need calories and protein for optimum growth. She can most likely put away a 6 oz. can of good quality food and you can get some equally nutritious dried food to keep around for her to "snack" on. The meat will be better for her at AM and PM feedings to keep her from getting hungry during the night.
I will suggest you get her Eagle Pack or Solid Gold Katzenflocken. Both foods are excellent and have a high protein content - good for her now and for all her life.
There are other good foods for you to consider and both these companies have websites (eaglepack.com and solidgoldhealth.com) where you can put in your zip code and find the retailer nearest you.
2006-10-02 06:51:24 · answer #4 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kitties are nibblers. They won't overeat the way dogs do. You should always leave a bowl of fresh water and a bowl of food containing the amount your kitty should eat in a day. Enjoy your new friend. Cats are great!
2006-10-02 06:52:27 · answer #5 · answered by Jabberwock 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When I got my kitty I just put her kitten food out and let her eat when she wanted to . I never had problems with her eating to much or not enough. When you leave the food out for them they know they will never go hungry and just gobble their food when you put it out for them that is why I have never restricted my pets on their food and none of them are overweight.
Put a little bowl out and show her where her food is and she will eat. You might have to take her to her little bowl once inwhile so she will learn where it is
2006-10-02 06:44:09 · answer #6 · answered by dindy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
kittens need to be fed more than adult cats because they are so young....just as you would a 6 week old baby. Feed them every time their plate is empty....just make sure not to switch brands too much because their stomachs are sensitive.
2006-10-02 06:51:52 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
about a cup of food should do it for a day. cats are pretty good about eating, they stop when they're full and eat when they're hungry. DO NOT under any circumstances give your cat milk. they are lactose. she'll get diarea if you do. water and kitten food should be enough.
good luck to you
2006-10-02 06:56:18 · answer #8 · answered by . 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the back of the bag, there are directions for feeding, I recommend following that.
2006-10-02 06:50:32 · answer #9 · answered by Sam 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We usually start the week off by killing a water buffalo and leaving it in the middle of the living room. The cats gather around and gnarl on it for a week or longer -- by that point the flies get to be a problem and we usually switch them to dry cat food.
I think a water buffalo is too big for your average kitten, so you may want to try something smaller ... perhaps a goat?
Oh, wait, is this a lion kitten or a tiger kitten?
2006-10-02 06:50:11 · answer #10 · answered by Harvie Ruth 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋