What is the appropriate food for kittens? When your kitten is born, their mother’s milk is the best kitten food.
It provides complete nourishment for your kitten. However, as your kitten grows, it should be weaned off their mother’s milk and introduced to specially crafted food for kittens. This helps your kitten to switch to solid food and obtain the nutrition it requires as it grows.
Kittens have specific requirements and greater nutritional needs than adult cats. Your kitten grows rapidly and is very active! So, nourishing your kitten with food for kittens that meet these needs is very important. Kittens are carnivores and require meat to obtain all the nutrients it needs. Their teeth, tongue and digestive system are designed for eating meat. Besides having the right nutrients, kitten food needs to be easy to digest too. Kitten food is formulated with all the nutrients your kitten needs, in smaller amounts for their tiny stomachs.
Protein is very important for kittens. They use it for many different processes as they grow. Proteins are made up of smaller building blocks called amino acids. Kittens need essential amino acids such as taurine, arginine, methionine, and cysteine. These essential amino acids help to promote the development of a healthy brain, good vision, and soft healthy fur. Essential amino acids cannot be made by your kitten’s body. So, it is very important to provide these essential amino acids through their diet.
Essential fatty acids are needed to keep your kitten’s skin, fur, immune system, and metabolism healthy. Essential fatty acids also provide a lot of energy for your active kitten to grow and play. It also makes their food tastier!
Vitamins are necessary in your kitten’s diet for a wide range of metabolic activities and growth. There are many different vitamins, and each one has its own special role. For example, vitamin A is important for good vision, vitamin D is needed for bone growth, and vitamin K helps in blood clotting if your kitten gets injured (hopefully not!).
Minerals are important in your kitten’s diet. It helps your kitten’s body to function normally and healthily. The most important minerals for your kitten include calcium, phosphorous, and magnesium. This helps in healthy bone growth, nerve function and muscle metabolism. Kitten food has all these minerals in the right amounts for your growing kitten.
Kittens use carbohydrates either as an energy source, or as a source of dietary fibre. Fibre helps to support good digestion. Kitten food is formulated carefully to suit your kitten’s unique nutritional needs.
Whiskas® kitten food is a perfectly balanced and delicious everyday diet for your little kitten. Give your kitten the best kitten food with Whiskas® kitten food for a happy and healthy life.
As kittens grow, their feeding patterns and nutritional needs change as well. This kitten feeding chart can be used as a guide on how to feed your kitten with Whiskas® kitten food as it goes through the different stages of growth.
Weight gain is good sign that the diet is providing the essential nutrients your kitten needs. It is recommended to weigh kittens at the same time every day. This helps you to keep track of their weight gain and to prevent over-feeding them (even if it’s hard to resist!).
As soon as kittens are weaned, they should be on kitten food and water. Wet food can be beneficial for their kidneys and bladders, while dry food helps to keep their teeth in good condition. The important thing is to provide a good mix of both wet and dry food in the right amounts! Some tips to keep your kitten’s weight in check include weighing out their food portions, encouraging play time and exercise, and dividing their daily meals into smaller, more frequent meals. This kitten weight chart shows the approximate weight range of kittens according to their age:
| Age | Weight |
| 1 – 2 months old | 0.35 – 0.6 kg |
| 2 – 3 months old | 0.8 – 1.2 kg |
| 3 – 4 months old | 1.4 – 2.1 kg |
| 4 – 6 months old | 1.8 – 2.8 kg |
| 6 – 9 months old | 2.4 – 3.9 kg |
| 9 – 12 months old | 3.5 – 5.0 kg |
Mother’s milk is the best kitten food (below 2 months) as it contains DHA which helps in the early stages of development. The colostrum is also very high in protein and helps to strengthen a kitten’s immune system.
Kittens need a complete diet with the right balance of proteins, essential fatty acids, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Whiskas® offers a wide range of kitten food with all the nutrition they need.
Many kittens have a preference for certain textures and flavours. Try to feed your kitten a mixture of wet and dry kitten food. You can also try the wide variety of Whiskas® kitten food to find your kitten’s favourite food.
Feeding kittens human food can have detrimental effects as kittens have very different dietary requirements compared to humans. Kittens require about 40 essential nutrients to deliver complete nutrition, whether the food is dry, wet, or semi-moist.
Since kittens are carnivores, animal meat is one of the safest human foods to give them as they rely on nutrients found in animal products. There are 11 essential amino acids for kittens that must be supplied in their diet:
These essential amino acids, along with other essential nutrients, are best supplied by animal meat and organs (liver, heart, and kidney). Fish, meat, and poultry are the best choices as they provide all the protein and essential nutrients your kitten needs. It can be minced, ground, or blended so your kitten can eat it easily. However, it is not recommended to feed your kitten too much fish such as tuna and salmon. These fish contain high levels of mercury and can cause mercury poisoning (dizziness, loss of balance and coordination). Make sure everything is cooked thoroughly to destroy any bacteria or parasites before feeding your kitten.
Besides meat, kittens also eat plants occasionally for roughage or fibre. The recommended vegetables for your kitten are carrots, broccoli, and spinach that have been steamed or boiled. These vegetables are also a source for vitamins and minerals. Similarly, make sure that all vegetables are washed and cleaned thoroughly before cooking. Avoid feeding your kitten raw vegetables as it cannot be digested and can cause digestion problems.
As kittens grow, they require different types of food and different ways of feeding to support its growth and development. When kittens are born, they obtain all the nutrition they need from their mother’s milk, which is the best baby cat food. It is important to ensure that your kittens and the mother cat are safe and away from any disturbances. This allows them to feed peacefully. Keep your kittens warm and place them in a comfortable position on their stomach as they feed. After 4 weeks, they should be weaned off and introduced to food for kittens.
Once your kitten reaches 4 weeks old, it may start showing an interest in solid food! You can start to gradually wean off your kitten and introduce them to a bit of solid kitten food. Dry kitten food can be mixed with water so that it is soft enough for kittens to eat easily. Wet kitten food can also be used. Place the food in a shallow dish or bowl to get them used to good eating habits. It is essential to learn how to feed a kitten properly with the right food to help them grow happily and healthily.
Homemade kitten food that is prepared using natural and fresh ingredients is a great way to introduce your kitten to different tastes and textures. This helps in their growth and development. Since kittens are carnivores, they can eat most kinds of meat like chicken, beef, and fish that have been minced or ground and then cooked.
Kittens require 4 times more protein than humans. In order to fulfil this need, homemade kitten food needs to contain at least 70 g of protein per 1000 kcal of metabolisable energy (ME). This is equal to roughly 220 g of chicken meat, or 320 g of fish. The meat should be cooked, either by steaming or boiling it. However, if you don’t know how to make kitten food, or don’t have the time to - don’t worry! Whiskas® kitten food is the best kitten food that covers all of your kitten’s nutritional needs in a wide range of delicious flavours.
Besides baby cat food, kittens can try small bites of solid food to familiarise themselves with it. At 2 months old, they should be weaned off mother’s milk and switch from baby cat food to wet kitten food.
Although you may have good intentions, some human foods are not recommended for cats. Human foods are high in calories, and lack the essential nutrients that cats need. Some of the food that we eat can be very harmful to cats. This includes onions and garlic, milk and dairy products, alcohol, grapes and raisins, caffeine, chocolate, raw eggs and meats, and fat trimmings and bones.
It is important to keep your kitten hydrated, especially if you are feeding them dry food. Kittens do not need milk once they have been weaned off. Instead of milk, it is best to give them clean and fresh water to drink. Ensure that your kitten has fresh water to drink wherever and whenever they need it. Generally, you should start giving them water to drink once you have started giving them a little solid food. Give them fresh, clean water in a shallow bowl. It is best to place it in places where they like to relax. You should not place it in the same place as where they eat.
Kittens should be fed frequently in small amounts throughout the day. For kittens over 2 months old, kitten food can be given 4 to 5 times a day. From 6 to 12 months old, the number of meals can be reduced to 2 to 4 times a day.
