If you have a kitten, you want it looking very healthy and well cared for. However, having good intentions alone is not enough; you have to have a good understanding of all the types of cat food and the important ingredients in each. An often overlooked part of cat ownership is knowing what foods it should be eating at every stage of its life.
Unfortunately, some pet owners end up feeding their kitten the same meal from its early stage through when it becomes an older senior cat. This is not a good practice and I truly encourage all cat owners to do the proper research to understand what to feed at each stage.
As a loving pet owner, I hope that you’re reading this because you feel your kitten deserves the best, and you are taking the first step in understanding what food you should feed your cat at each important life stage.
Without further ado, here’s a quick guide on what I recommend you feed your feline friend. Pay close attention to the key stages at which you should adjust the diet. I will recommend the timing of transition and my food suggestions at each stage.
What Food Should You Feed Your Kitten?
Putting your kitten on the right diet from the start with proper nutrition at an early stage will be crucial to helping it grow.
From experience, I recommend that when your kitten arrives at your home for the first time, it’ll be better to feed it with what it’s already accustomed to, especially if the food is of high quality. For example, if you bought your kitten from a vet or a shelter, make sure to ask them what they were being fed. Quickly changing the diet can be a shock to the system so we strongly recommend a gradual introduction to the new diet.
After 2-3 days of your kitten getting comfortable in the new environment, you can introduce the new food to it gradually (in small portions), preferably not more than one serving per day. Pay close attention to how it reacts and pending no negative reactions, you can adjust the diet fully by week 2-3.
Ideally, your Kitten’s food should be very rich in calories because their stomach cannot accommodate as much food like adult cats. So every opportunity they have to eat, ensure the food is very nutritious, even if it is consumed in small amounts.
Additionally, kitten food requires very high levels of protein to help them grow. Other Nutrients like magnesium, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and iron will help your feline friend develop very healthy and sturdy teeth and bones.
Although dry foods have a longer shelf life when opened and they help to keep the mouth of your kitten healthy, wet food is still highly preferred among most kittens because they are softer and they keep your kitten well-hydrated.
Lastly, if you have a kitten that’s very picky about food, wet foods will be a good substitute because it also has a palatable smell and friendly-texture. Overall, I recommend wet foods for your kitten over dry food. I mention a lot of criteria, but luckily, American Journey’s Minced Chicken Wet Cat Food checks all the boxes.
I know, it may look like your kitten is eating better food than you! You can purchase it at Chewy.com through the following link. As is the case with any new food, I would recommend only ordering no more than 24 cans in your first order. After you confirm your cat enjoys it, feel free to buy in bulk. Not too much though! Because soon it will be time to move on to adult food.
When Should You Switch From Kitten Food To Adult Food?
This part does depend on the type of cat you are trying to feed. That’s because extra-large Cats like a Maine coon take a longer time to mature, usually between 18-24months(which means you’ll have to wait a bit longer before switching its food). However, my suggestions below will be a good rule of thumb for the majority of other breeds that are of average size.
For the majority of those breeds, they will be matured around 12 months and that is when you should start the transition.
Note:
Be careful not to feed your kitten with adult food when it’s still under 8 months even if they have grown quickly. Be patient enough till they are roughly 12 months, around the time their bones will be well-developed.
Similar to the introduction of the kitten food, the transition should be gradual over the course of a few weeks. Luckily, you can begin to be a bit more creative with the ingredients and food types. One great way to begin the experimentation process is with variety packs. This is common amongst many brands offering wet food, but what I love about American Journey, is they have many variety pack options that include different flavors as well as a dry food and wet food mix. This is a great option for letting your cat try a variety of foods that come from the highest quality of ingredients.
It is hard to believe, but at some point your little friend will move on to the senior stage of its life. Read on to understand what to feed at that stage.
When Should You Switch From Adult Cat Food To Senior Cat Food?
You may not know this, but cats will spend about 30% of their life at the senior stage. The food it ate at a younger age should begin to be replaced around the 7-8 year mark if you want to ensure it carries out the rest of their days in good health with nutritious food appropriate for their age.
At the senior stage, a nutritious diet for your cat is one that contains quality amounts of protein to boost its immune system, carbohydrates that provide energy and are easy to digest, balanced amounts of fat( preferably fewer calories) and of course the essential minerals and vitamins.
Also, you should ensure your senior cat drinks plenty of water to keep it constantly hydrated and prevent problems in its urinary tract.
As your cat gets older, its nutritional requirements will definitely need an upgrade to ensure you are meeting all of those diet needs. Although American Journey makes a great senior dog food, they don’t yet have a senior offering for cats. If you are okay with a slightly higher price point, Blue Buffalo has a few good options for this stage of life.
Also note that when your cat becomes a senior, one of the things you’re likely to notice is that its sense of taste and smell might not be as strong as when it was younger. That’s the best time to show it more affection by cutting its food into tiny and soft bits to make it easier to consume.
Final Thoughts
You made it this far so you clearly understand the importance of paying close attention to your cats diet.
One common theme that I hope you realized at each step is that switching the food of your pet at every stage should be a gradual thing. You will increase the portions over a few week period until you can tell for certain that it has become fully accustomed to the new diet.
If your cat keeps rejecting the food while you’re trying to make the transition, this could be a sign of a medical problem, and you should consult with your vet for proper examination.