how long should I moisten my kitten's food?

Question

I mix her food with a lil warm water to soften it so its easier to eat.
how long should I keep this up??

Answer 1

I second what Old Cat Lady said.

In addition, it's best not to moisten hard food as it can activate the bacteria that's present. Or something like that.....I hate giving vague answers but I've heard it's not good to do this even if I don't recall exactly why.

If the kitten eats it all up right away, it's not really a problem, but anything left uneaten should then be taken up and thrown away.

I guess to literally answer your question you don't need to do it at all. Canned (or raw meat) food is best, but since cats don't technically chew their food, it shouldn't matter that it's hard. Many cats swallow it whole; others just crack it a bit with a fang. And most dry kitten food has small bits anyway.

Answer 2

Unless your going to keep up with dental bills there is no need to moisten your kittens food unless vet reccommended or she is missing teeth. Wet food sticks to teeth and unless brushed daily and will cause tooth decay at an earlier age.

Hard food is fine and most kittens can be started on it as early as 6 weeks in many cases. I've never had problems weaning kittens off milk. They have always done it themselves by eating moms food when they were ready. Wet food was given only as a treat very occasionally.

Answer 3

It is best for kittens to eat moist food (canned) in the first place. Dry food does NOT clean the teeth or really have any benefit other than risking dehydration from the lack of moisture in a cat's food.

Answer 4

When kittens are 8 weeks they can easily eat non-moistened dry. They usually can before that too, depending on their size and the kibble size.