When Can A Kitten Eat Only Dry Food
The answer will range depending on the kitten.
When can a kitten eat only dry food. It s best to start with wet food first as he won t be able to chew dry food just yet. It is advisable to moisten it a little with water to make it easier to adapt to the process of chewing or add a bit of wet food pâté or pieces in sauce. Keep feeding them their nutritious kitten food until they re about 12 months old when they can make the switch to adult food. Buy this milk replacer at pet and farm supply stores and some grocery stores.
One of the concerns of cat owners whose cats only eat dry food is whether this diet is healthy. Dry food is convenient in that it will stay fresh all day so it can be left out for your cat to eat whenever it wants. Their bones are still growing stronger and their bodies will keep filling out. We must feed them with food appropriate for their age.
So to the main question when can a kitten eat dry food. Between two to three months most of the cat owners already know that we should feed only kitten food for ten weeks. For these reasons most experts recommend you feed your kitten specially formulated kitten food until age 1. Feed your kitten wet canned food four times a day.
Mine always ate mainly dry. However most kittens will be ready for dry food anywhere from seven to eight weeks. There is a school of thought though that believes feline lower urinary tract disease flutd is more prominent in cats fed dry food. Although some cat foods are labeled as appropriate for kittens and cats of all life.
When your kittens are between two to three months we highly recommend you feed them at least three to four times per day. Breastfeeding a kitten lasts about 9 weeks and when their teeth begin to come in after about four weeks they can begin to eat food. Dry food must however be stored in a dry clean environment. By weeks eight and nine they should be grown enough that they can eat wet and solid food on their own without any issues.
Dry food alone is absolutely fine. Another alternative is to mix both wet and dry food to get your kitten used to the texture. Make the transition easier by mixing it with kitten milk replacer. Kittens might look grown up by six to eight months but they re still kittens on the inside.
Don t use the cow s milk you drink or you ll likely end up with sick kittens on your hands. Your four week old kittens can eat dry food but it may be tough at first. Do not give them too much food at one time as they cannot digest it. First let us consider that cats are obligate carnivores meaning cats must eat meat as the main source of nutrients.
Even within the veterinary community there are different opinions about this.