If you are just getting new kittens then it is important for you to understand how much to feed a kitten according to their ages. Kitten have different amount of nutrition requirement compared with adult cats to support their activities and growth.
When you know what kind of foods you need to feed on them and how much it is then you can ensure the kittens grow into healthy adults.
Of course the first four weeks of the newborn kittens need their mother’s milk, after that you can start to give them proper wet foods. More information is below.
How much to feed a kitten according to their ages?
How much to a feed a kitten a day is basically depending on the types of foods you are going to feed on them. It is also essential that young kitten eat canned foods as part of their healthy diet so they can get enough nutrition to grow properly.
Kittens have small teeth and thus they cannot chew on dry foods well, this is why you need to give them wet foods as well. If you plan to give the kittens both wet canned foods and dry foods, then it is okay to give the kittens some canned foods twice per day.
However, if you feed them with canned foods only then four times daily should be enough.
Now, how much to feed kittens based on their ages?
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From birth to the first four weeks
For example if you want to know how much to feed a kitten 3 weeks age then you should give them milk. Naturally, their mother will nurse and feeding on their children during this time. Unless the kittens are no longer with their mother or the mother refuse to nurse the kittens, then you can hand feeding them with formula.
You should hand feed the kittens with bottle and select only the best quality cat milk formula which can be bought at pet stores. Do not give them human’s milk because it might harm the kittens.
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From four weeks to eight weeks
How much to feed a kitten 6 weeks ideally? When the little kittens start to reach four to eight weeks of age, then you can start to reduce the liquid feeding slowly. It takes some time to gradually replace the milk with both wet and dry foods.
First, you can mix one part of dry foods with three parts of milk replacement or second, you can mix one part of wet foods with two parts of milk replacement.
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From 2 months to 3 months
You will see some progression on kittens feeding when they finally reach at least 10 weeks. How much to feed a kitten 9 weeks or 10 weeks is about four times daily since their belly is still too small to contain all those required amount of foods when less often.
The kittens can eat kitten foods and they will start to develop preference of foods and it will last for the rest of their life. Both canned and dry foods are okay and it is up to the owners. However, when the kittens are not used to dry foods yet then you can mix them with little amount of water.
While for the wet foods, you need to store them into refrigerator and when it is the time to feed the kittens, you can warm the foods. Feed a kitten 12 weeks of age should have the same pattern.
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From 3 months to 6 months
The kittens already built routine time during these ages and thus ensure that the foods are placed on safe place and do not often move it around. When feeding them the kitten foods check the nutrition label and make sure that the kittens get minimum protein, fat, moisture, and fiber requirements.
You need to give them the best diet since kittens and cats can have some issues when they get too little amount of protein. Moreover, you do not need to replace the foods when it is unnecessary, unless your vet said so.
How To Bottle Feed a Kitten
And finally, when the kittens are now considered as young cats when they reach six months to a year of age, how much to feed a kitten during that time? You can feed them twice a day which contained dry foods, wet foods, and raw diet. Just make sure that you give them adequate nutrition.
