"Dry food is fine as long as it is complete and balanced," says Dr. Kallfelz. Dry food may be less expensive than canned cat food and may stay fresher longer. Cats that eat only dry food need to be provided with lots of fresh water, especially if they are prone to developing urinary tract blockages.
Ideally, give them dry food only – this means you don't have to worry about it being out all day, as it doesn't go stale. As they get older, reduce their meals to three times a day. By six months, you can be feeding a kitten two meals a day.
Not necessarily, but feeding a combination of wet and dry food can give your cat the benefits of both. The wet food will increase her total daily water intake and provide her the variety she wants and the dry kibble will help keep her teeth clean.
Kittens 5 to 6 weeks should be given kitten kibble and kibble should be mixed into the wet food. Kittens 7 weeks and older should eat mainly dry kibble.
How much a kitten should eat varies based on age, weight, and other nutritional needs. Most kittens under six weeks old will drink 2-22 ml of formula or cat milk per day. Most kittens over six weeks old should eat ¼ to 1 and ¾ cups of dry food per day.
What type of food does my kitten need, wet or dry? It's important that very young kittens have at least some canned food to eat as part of their diet. Very small kittens have very small teeth and can't chew dry food well. Without some canned food, they won't get enough nutrition to grow properly.
Wet food is preferred for kittens as it contains the essential moisture needed to keep your growing kittens happy & healthy. Kittens should also be given free access to food during their first six months, and should be fed at least three times a day. After four months, feeding can be decreased to twice a day.
You can safely leave dry cat food out for several days and it won't spoil, but it's best to throw out leftovers and wash the dish on a daily basis, to keep Fluffy's food at its freshest. Keep in mind that dry food will grow stale within a day and may not be as appealing to your cat once this happens.
At about 12 months of age, your kitten will reach their full adult size. Your young adult cat no longer needs calorie-dense kitten food to fuel growth and is ready for a diet of adult cat food.
Stop free choice feeding
If your cat is eating only dry food, and you leave food out at all times, stop this practice immediately. This step is critical. Feed twice a day, at set meal times, and take up what the cat doesn't eat within about half an hour. She gets no other food until the next meal time.
If your cat only eats dry food, she is likely to be getting less nutrition than a cat eating wet food. Many low-quality dry foods contain a lot of fillers. Throwaway lines like these are typical of the overly simplistic advice you find online about feline nutrition.
Dry cat foods typically contain more carbohydrates than wet food because many dry foods use grains, such as cornmeal and rice, to process the kibble. Some cat foods even contain proteins from vegetables rather than meat, which is also not ideal for your carnivorous cat.
Can kittens eat commercial cat food formulated for adult cats? Kittens can eat commercial food for adult cats as long as it contains all essential nutrients necessary for a healthy feline diet.
By six to eight weeks, kittens can eat wet or dry cat food at will. With wet food and/or dry food, you can provide a greater variety of flavors and textures, which will help support her adventurous nature. You can also feed a combination of wet and dry food or dry kibble by itself.
What do vets recommend? Wet food is not a special meal or an occasional treat. Cats can and should eat wet food every day because it agrees with the feline digestive system better than dry or semi-moist food.
While Fancy Feast is often considered a lower-cost option, it is still made by Purina, so it has been formulated by veterinary nutritionists according to AAFCO standards for kittens. It is also a smooth paté, which is easy for kittens of all ages to eat.
Harmful Foods Your Cat Should Never Eat: Tuna, Milk, Raw Fish, and More.
How Often and How Much Should You Feed Your Kitten? It's important to feed your tiny newcomer small portions at regular intervals, up to 6 times a day. Some veterinarians prefer free-feeding, meaning providing unlimited kitten food all day long, tapering off to meal eating at around four to six months of age.
Dry cat food generally lasts for around six months or up to a year from its manufacture date if unopened, but once the seal is broken it should be used within 14 to 21 days.
"Dry food is fine as long as it is complete and balanced," says Dr. Kallfelz. Dry food may be less expensive than canned cat food and may stay fresher longer. Cats that eat only dry food need to be provided with lots of fresh water, especially if they are prone to developing urinary tract blockages.
Food temperature
To start, feed wet food at room temperature; cats don't like food if it is too hot or too cold. Once wet food is put down, it can be difficult to stop it drying out throughout the day, especially when the weather is warm.
The choice between wet and dry food for your cat is not always easy. By combining both feed types, so-called "mixed feeding", the advantages of both feed types can be combined.
One reason that cats like dry food so much is because the pet food companies do not play fair when manufacturing this sub-optimal food source. They coat the kibble with extremely enticing animal digest sprays which are very pleasing to a cat - making a poor-quality diet very desirable to the target animal.