My cat had one kitten three weeks ago and of course is still nursing.but I was wondering when I should start introducing cat food into the kittens diet?
Answers:
The above answer is exactly correct, they need dry food as it cleans the teeth much better %26 does not cause diarrhea so bad. I personally never feed wet food %26 I usually start at about 4 weeks with dry %26 warm water just enough to make it moist a bit, they want %26 need to use those teeth.
At about 4-5 weeks. Plus you'll notice mama cat isn't nursing as much, because sharp little teeth are coming in.
Dry food is best and you can soak it in a bit of water before giving it to kitten so kitten doesn't choke. At 5-6 weeks you can leave dry dood out for kitten all the time %26 give a tiny amount 2 times a day.
Remember that a kitten's tummy is smaller than a walnut.
Wet food's ok - but only a teaspoon.
Kittens eat very fast and too much canned food will cause really stinky diarreah.
about 6-7 weeks old!
soften it withe water or milk and them offer it to your kitten.
You don't have to. The kitten will just start eating the mom's food. Usually it will happen at 6 weeks. But it can be longer or shorter depending on how good of a mother your cat is...
Well if it is still nursing you should wait until it is not. But after wards its safe to feed it hard food or any food that you will like.
when it is 6 weeks but i always started with gravy then slowly to the can food then the harder stuff
Kittens should not be fed cat food until they are one year old. That being said, you can start offering kitten food at about 4 weeks.
Offer very small amounts of canned or dry moistened with KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) in a shallow dish (a pie plate works well). KMR is available almost everywhere that has a pet department. If you can't get that, use warm water. Do not use any kind of milk or baby formula, kittens cannot digest it. Place it in the room where the kitten lives. Replace the food several times a day, so it doesn't spoil or dry up. Also offer a shallow dish of water so mama cat can teach her baby to drink that.
You should also by now have provided the kitten with a litter box. The box for a baby kitten should be a cardboard box cut down to about 2 or 3 inches high, with about 陆"-1" of litter in it. A little kitten cannot easily get in and out of a regular size litter box. Put this in the same room with the kitten, but not too near it's food or bed. Cats won't potty near where they sleep and eat. Mama cat can teach her baby to eat the food and use the box, but if you want to help, place the kitten in the box and gently scratch in the litter with it's little front paws. It will get the idea really quickly. Leave it in the box to explore, and so it can find it's own way out. Then it will know where the box is and how to access it.
Expect mama cat to eat some of the food, and use the box you've provided for the kitten. Cats teach their young mostly by example. What the kitten sees mama cat do, it will then do.
Hope this helps answer your questions. As soon as this kitten is weaned and independent of it's mother, please take her to be spayed. The kitten should be seen by then for it's first shots and worming, too.
Make sure the kitten is spayed between 4 and 6 months old. The earlier your vet will do it, the better. Cats can develop undesirable habits if they aren't altered, not the least of which is prolific breeding!
Just think a minute. An average litter is 4 kittens. If each of those and the mother has 2 litters per year, that's 40 offspring in one year! Now, if each of those has an average litter twice a year, that's 320 kittens by the end of the second year! Need I continue? You can see how fast they reproduce. Is it any wonder that pet over population is such a severe problem? Please do you part and help nip it in the bud. Get you pets fixed so that the homes that are available can go to pets that are already sitting in shelters waiting for someone to rescue them. Thank you!
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