Kitten Nutritional Needs
Important Nutritional Needs
Choosing Foods
Feeding Don’ts
When to Switch to Adult Food
The most rapid growth occurs during your kitten’s first 9-12 months. Even though your kitten may appear full-grown at about 6 months of age, she’s still growing and maturing on the inside. In fact, kittens can have up to 4 times the energy needs and nutrient requirements of an adult cat on a kg per kg basis.
Feeding Your Kitten
Kittens’ smaller mouths, teeth and stomachs limit the amount of food that they can digest during a single meal. It may be best to divide their daily amount to be fed into three or four meals. Because a kitten requires a diet specifically formulated for growth, every bite must be packed with highly digestible protein and other nutrients. Remember to always have fresh water available.
Important Nutritional Needs
Kittens are strict carnivores and need the nutrients found in animal protein sources. Proteins provide amino acids necessary for tissue growth and development. Sufficient amounts of taurine help cats maintain healthy eyes, heart and reproductive organs.
Choosing Foods
Cats have a higher minimum requirement for protein in their food than dogs (26-30% vs. 18-22%). Besides protein, there are other important nutrients vital to your kitten’s diet:
- taurine, an amino acid, is essential to cats for maintaining healthy eye and heart function, reproduction and foetal growth and development. Taurine is found naturally in animal protein sources such as chicken and fish.
- essential vitamins and minerals to help support the immune system and help your kitten stay healthy during this critical stage of growth
- a fibre source, such as beet pulp, that will help maintain your kitten’s digestive system health for less litter box waste and odor.
Feeding Don’ts
Avoid feeding human foods and table scraps to your kitten. Here are some common human foods and their side effects.
Cow’s milk- a cat’s system can’t completely digest it; it can lead to digestive upset and diarrhoea
Chocolate - can be toxic to animals
Onion powder- contains oxidising agents that can damage a cat’s red blood cells and cause anaemia
Raw eggs- contain a protein that blocks the body’s use of one of the B vitamins; may cause dermatitis, hair loss and neurological dysfunction
Tuna - low in calcium and too high in phosphorus; if fed exclusively itmay lead to rubber jaw, a form of osteoporosis
When to Switch to Adult Food
Your kitten enters adolescence around 6 months and may seem to have reached her adult size, yet she is still growing and needs the special nutrition found in kitten food. However, as the rate of growth begins to decline, she is able to eat fewer, larger meals each day. Around 12 months, you may switch to adult cat food. You can help ease the transition by gradually introducing the adult food. Try mixing 25% of the new food with 75% of her kitten food, then change the proportions over the next four days until she’s eating 100% adult food. While you may be tempted to change your kitten’s food for variety, it is not necessary. If you wish to supplement her diet, serve a nutrient-dense canned food for a nutritious change of taste.
