What Age Can Kittens Start Eating Hard Food

Kittens naturally wean off their mother s milk at around 8 12 weeks of age.

What age can kittens start eating hard food. Your four week old kittens can eat dry food but it may be tough at first. Normally the kitten weaning process begins at about four weeks of age. Her primary kitten food. By five to six weeks he should be eating only lightly moistened food.

At this age you can start introducing solid food use wet food at first and try mixing it with kitten formula. If you are bottle feeding you ll notice the kittens are drinking much more at each feeding but at fewer feedings probably four to five times a day. Make the transition easier by mixing it with kitten milk replacer. Your kitten should be eating a good quality kitten food or a food labeled for all feline life stages.

Buy this milk replacer at pet and farm supply stores and some grocery stores. Drop down to 4 then 3. Now you can start to leave out small amounts of dry food and fresh water at all times. But if you re weaning a kitten that has been orphaned you can start a little earlier between three and four weeks.

When young cats are old enough around 8 weeks old they start to eat food on their own whilst simultaneously decreasing the amount of milk they suckle from their mother. Coinciding with the beginning of the ingestion of solid foods and on their own the first internal parasite will be given very important to maintain the health of our kitten. Begin by feeding your kitten soft or wet canned food. Don t use the cow s milk you drink or you ll likely end up with sick kittens on your hands.

Gradually increase the amount of dry food over several days paying attention to the feeding instructions on the back of the bag. For example set out a tablespoon of food per kitten at 8 am 11 am 3 pm 6 pm and 9 pm. Plan to give the kittens wet food 4 or 5 times each day. The following information is general advice but as each kitten is an individual seek veterinary advice particularly.

Kittens can begin eating solid food at around four weeks old. It also helps underweight or slow growing kittens. Of course it s not the. As they grow used to eating solid food and their teeth continue to develop begin to mix in dry food softened with a bit of water.

With mom they ll start to try to eat her food and she ll push them away from her says benson. Feel free to change flavors of food but remain within the same brand to maintain some consistency. Even as you introduce her to other foods this should be her primary food as too many changes can cause digestive upsets. Larsen agrees that it s fine for young kittens to free feed by making unlimited kitten food available to them all day long and then to transition to meal eating around four to six months of age.

When they start biting and chewing on the bottle they re ready says benson. By the end of the week their weight will have increased to close to 15 ounces. When the kittens are between 4 to 6 months old you can try only feeding. By eight to 10 weeks kittens should be accustomed to eating unmoistened kitten food.

By starting to eat more solids the kitten may become constipated and one way to help is to gently stimulate their gut by giving gentle massages we will leave a small litter tray so they can begin to do their needs there. As kittens grow older and pass 10 weeks of age you can begin to reduce the feeding times gradually. Basic kitten feeding guide. Free choice feeding has the additional benefit of reducing stomach distention resulting from rapid meal eating.