What Do Baby Kittens Eat

After the first four weeks of mother s milk a kitten gradually transitions to kitten food and is completely weaned at about eight weeks.

What do baby kittens eat. Until then feeding kittens requires a cat diet high in protein and fat for ideal kitten. Proper feeding is a big part of the health equation. Between the fourth and sixth week gradually transition the weaning kittens to dry food supplementing with formula if needed. A general schedule for kitten weaning might be.

Use canned food or dry kitten food mixed with water. When the orphaned kittens are three to four weeks old begin to offer milk replacer in a shallow bowl then introduce a moist easily chewable diet. All it might take to tempt your kitty into eating is to enhance her kitten food with something unusual. Find cat s milk at your local pet store or veterinary office where it is sold as cat s milk or kitten milk.

Clean fresh water for cats and kittens who have weaned. For the first month of life newborn kittens eat only the milk their mother produces. Kitten growth can vary by breed but it generally takes 10 months to 12 months for kittens to mature. You can make gruel from warmed milk replacer and.

This process may seem cruel but it is a behavior which has biological impulses important for the cat. Cats are obligate carnivores which means they must have meat in their diet in order to survive. A cat will also eat her placenta and afterbirth to provide extra nutrients for milk production. Eating a weak or dead newborn kitten will act for the same purpose.

If the mother cat doesn t produce enough milk for all her kittens or if your newborn kitty is a rescue you may need to obtain cat s milk for her. Their primary ancestors lived on a diet of small rodents and birds. Your cat has a built in instinct much like the hamsters on the video. Young kittens need milk either from their mother or if orphaned rejected a milk supplement if a foster mother can t be found.

Pieces of chicken cut up into fine pieces or some low sodium chicken or beef broth added to her kibble might be enough to get her eating. At first add a lot of water and then reduce the amount of water as the kitten matures. Water makes up 70 of a cat s body and is vital for survival. If her litter is too large she might eat a few kittens.

Mother cats will eat their kittens if she believes they re in danger from predators. Cats require a high protein diet with a variety of different nutrients such as taurine arginine calcium niacin vitamin b3 pyridoxine vitamin b6 and thiamine vitamin b1 to name a few. Ensure your cat has a safe area for her birth and while kittens still require her for survival.