When and how can you give dry food to a kitten?

The appearance of a kitten in the house is a great joy, but there are a lot of worries with it. Many are interested in what to drink and how to feed a little friend. Dry cat food is a very convenient way to fully feed your furry pet. It should consider how to determine what is already possible to give a kitten dry food and how to do it correctly?

Little kittens at the beginning of life are still blind and clumsy, and they only eat mother's milk. It is difficult to imagine that in a few months they will run and mischief. The activity of the kids provokes their violent appetite, so the selection of proper nutrition for them is an important task and a guarantee of health for the future adult animal. Caring owners do not care about the question of how old a kitten can be given dry food.

It seems that in these "crackers" almost no nutrients. This opinion is erroneous, since In any veterinary store you can find a special dry food for kittens, which contains a lot of minerals, vitamins and protein.

This is very important, as the kitten grows very quickly, and for his own health he must eat healthy and high-calorie foods. His life goes on in constant motion, and after a few months he should almost equal in size with an adult cat.

So, in how many months is it recommended to introduce dry food to a kitten? His age should be at least 2.5–3 months, that is, when his milk teeth erupt. This time and is the best for training to the crispy delicacy. The kitten is still fed by mom's milk, so the new diet will enter its life gradually and without harm to health.

Most feed rulers contain separate products for kittens. Even such popular and low-cost firms like Whiskas, Kitekat, Friskies and then try to produce special food for fluffy babies. Of course, it is better to choose products not from the mass market, but better ones, if we talk about young cats. After all, in such lines there are specialized options for different breeds, taking into account the characteristics and susceptibility to diseases.

It is worth considering in more detail which feeds are the best in their segment.

• Acana. This is a complete feed for kittens, in which there are no dyes and flavor enhancers. The variety of types of such food is not too impressive: with chicken, fish, lamb. But natural meat, eggs, fruit, seaweed, vitamins are included in the composition. Fortunately, the manufacturer does not add ingredients such as corn kernels and other vegetable fibers that are not very useful for cats to the volume.

• Royal Canin. Balanced feed of this company pleases with its not too high price and various tastes. It is possible to give dry food of this brand to cats from four months. A distinctive feature of the brand has become a medical line for kittens with special features, which is very convenient for the owner of pedigreed animals. There are legends and arguments about the composition of Royal Canin, as it is believed that this food is not as good as it is written on the packaging.

• Monge. The Italian manufacturer offers a very expensive feed for kittens called Monge superpremium kitten. Its undoubted advantage is that it is suitable for feeding not only children, but also the most pregnant cat.The whole thing is in its nutritional composition: it contains antioxidants, a lot of protein and fat, which is very important for a fast-growing organism, as well as phosphorus, potassium and fatty acids. At production of a ruler preservatives, dyes, fragrances and amplifiers of taste are not used.

• Orijen. A feature of the feed from this company is that the meat used in them is environmentally friendly. The meat ingredients used in the feed for kittens of this brand include turkey, chicken, sardine, herring. In addition, it added fresh eggs as an additional source of protein. In addition to the protein elements, it consists of low-glycemic carbohydrates that cats consume in the wild.

• Diamond Pet Foods. This American brand offers dry food Chicken Soup Kitten Formula. Since this food is produced in the USA, it is quite difficult to get it in Russia. The composition of this product does not include hydrolysates, that is, substances obtained in the processing of horns, hooves and feathers of animals. About forty percent of this feed is muscle protein. And also in the manufacture of using bone chicken and fish meal and vitamin supplements.

• Hill`s Science Plan. This brand from the Netherlands offers specially formulated kitten food with the optimal composition, including fish oil, sodium and phosphorus. The following ingredients are included in Hill`s Science Plan Puppy & Kitten feed: chicken, chicken flour, ground corn, animal and fish oil, beets, natural preservatives. This feed is also suitable for pregnant cats.

Low cost feed for kittens can hardly boast the perfect composition. Therefore, it is better to consider more expensive options for at least the first six months of the animal's life.

If the first five positions are natural products, that is, meat and poultry, then this food is suitable for a kitten. From nutrition in the first months of life depends on the health and development of the baby. If you doubt that dry food will suit your pet, you may well feed it with natural food for a long time. Only this should be not only one porridge on the water, but products such as meat, cottage cheese, eggs, vegetables.

Cooking for little fluff is not that difficult, but the food from the store makes life easier for busy people.

Knowing the features of the breed of your kitten or the health problems of his mother, you can pick up a special line, taking into account these nuances. There are pads for cats with problems of the urogenital system, for strengthening bones and teeth, for a beautiful and shiny coat. In any veterinary store you will be prompted the best option, taking into account the needs of your kitten.

The body of a newly born animal is still very sensitive, especially to food. Kittens first feed on mother's milk, and this food is easily digested and digested. To transfer the kitten to dry food, you need to act gradually. It is not necessary to sharply switch the animal from one type of food to another, because the stomach and intestines of the newly born fluffy miracle are still very tender.

If you took the kitten from your hands, then first of all find out how the old owners fed the beast. Stick to a similar diet for a new-born cat for a couple of weeks, as he is already in a stressful situation due to a sudden change of residence. After this time you can gradually transfer the animal to dry food.

How to start introducing a new type of food? It is not so difficult, but not very easy. A sharp shift to a dry food after a wet diet can provoke indigestion in kittens or other intestinal problems.

The liquid must be heated to + 50– + 60 ° С, not more, so as not to destroy the vitamins.. Too much liquid is also not worth adding. The pieces should remain decorated. Pate or twisted meat can be added to the soaked food. Gradually, it is necessary to reduce the amount of liquid, so that by the age of six months the cat or cat can safely eat only dry food.

Feed the kitten dry food properly. You can not give the animal the usual food and feed in one meal. Kittens love to feast on cottage cheese, vegetables and meat, but after such dishes you must wait at least three hours, only then allow to eat "crackers". Dry food requires a lot of clean drinking water for a kitten. It should always be freely available. If you do not leave the baby water and feed him with dry pads, he may have a bowel torsion.

It is recommended to give dry food to a kitten in portions, since at first he cannot rely on his appetite and eat everything, no matter how much you put. It is best to feed the baby about four times a day, and after half a year he will get used to eat in small portions. Then you can leave him a large bowl of dry food for the whole day.

On whether kittens can be given dry food, see the following video.