Dry food for kittens: tips on choosing and features of use

When a kitten appears in the house, the question immediately arises how and what to feed him. The stores feature a huge variety of food for animals: both natural food and dry. Often, the choice of owners falls on the second option due to the balance of its composition. Is it permissible to feed the kitten with such food, how to choose it - let's deal with these and other issues in the article.

Dry food is granules, which are based on meat with the addition of vitamins and trace elements. Almost all manufacturers divide their products into two main lines:

• for adult cats;
• for kittens.

For the smallest members of the cat family, the dry food will be with small granules that are placed in the mouth. Such food will be absorbed by 80-90%, and the nutritional value will be greater than for adults. An important detail in the amount of minerals, because kittens have an increased need for them, as they grow.

When choosing a feed, pay attention to the composition, choose the manufacturer that included natural products. So, "dehydrated chicken meat" is a natural component, "bird meal" is not.

Veterinarians are not advised to combine "dry food" with natural food. This is due to a different way of digesting food. If your kitten eats "crackers", it requires a large amount of water, which is not necessary with natural feeding. Therefore, frequent changes in nutrition systems can lead to stagnation of feces, constipation, and gastroenteritis.

When you have definitely decided that you will feed the kitten with dry food, select the manufacturer that suits your pet.

Different feeding systems cause a lot of controversy among veterinarians and experienced breeders. Someone thinks that there is nothing better than natural nutrition, and some say the opposite.

Positive sides

1. Dry food manufacturers take into account the developmental characteristics of kittens and make high-calorie feed. This is important, because every month we are anxiously watching, the kitten recovered or not.
2. Industrial method is the enrichment of "crackers" with vitamins, minerals, trace elements, so necessary for the harmonious development of children.
3. The hostesses are exempt from daily cooking for their pets, which is a definite plus in the conditions of modern megacities.
4. A bowl of food is filled once in the morning, and the kitten can regulate the amount of food eaten at a time.

Negative points.

1. The most important argument of veterinarians who do not recommend dry food is the occurrence of urolithiasis in children. However, with increasing product quality, this problem gradually disappears. The main recommendation now is that you should not choose a mass-market feed, such as Whiskas, Friskas, KittiKat.
2. Sharp granules can damage the kitten’s tender mucous membrane.
3. Good food with natural ingredients are quite expensive. In addition, they are often difficult to find on the shelves of a regular supermarket.
4. In the presence of dyes and preservatives, the baby may develop an allergy.
5. If a tiny pet has a limited water resource, it will cause stagnation of feces and major problems with the entire gastrointestinal tract.

In each case, only the owner has the right to choose how to feed the kittens. But here it is necessary to analyze all the pros and cons of different approaches to the power supply system.

To date, the number of cat food is amazing. How not to get lost among this variety and choose really what your pet needs?

We have already said that you need to carefully read the composition of the feed. Once again, what should be looked for there:

• in good food natural meat is always present;
• for kittens, “crackers” are enriched with vitamins and minerals;
• look for storage periods: the shorter they are, the less preservatives are added to the feed;
• also pay attention to the presence of dyes, gluten, wheat flour, stabilizers - all this should be in the minimum amount, and it is better to be absent altogether.

The quality of significantly different feeds of foreign production. It can be:

• Royal Canin Size nutrition Mini Junior;

• Hill's Science Plan Puppy & Kitten;

• Eukanuba Puppy & Junior Small Breed;

• Pronature;

• Farmina N & D;

• Purina.

This is one of the best feed. Their range is huge, you can choose the taste that suits your pet: with turkey, beef, rabbit and others. Also, many manufacturers produce and wet food, canned food, Pacerva.

Most veterinarians agree that up to 1.5-2 months of age to feed kittens with dry food is unsafe. Most often they rely on the fact that the sharp edges of the granules damage the digestive tract. This is the place to be, therefore, if you decide to give “crackers” at such a young age, you will need to prepare them.

Prepare him a fresh batch before each meal. If you give "crackers", they must be soaked. To do this, purchase lactose-free milk at the store or cook low-fat chicken broth. Add a little meat to the liquid, about 1 teaspoon. Then sprinkle crackers, be sure to wait until they are completely wet, stir everything into a thin porridge.

Such manipulations are carried out before reaching the age of 2 months. Then you will need to gradually change the texture: add less water and meat, put more dry food in larger quantities.

By the time when the little ones begin to cut their teeth, they will begin to nibble and bite everything actively. This is the optimal time for a complete transition to dry food, usually the kitten reaches three months of age. remember, that The feed should be age-related, so carefully inspect the packaging for labeling by month.

Each manufacturer has a special table on which to determine the frequency of feeding and portion volume.

Those doctors and breeders who adhere to such an early introduction of dry food, note that it is balanced with nutrients, vitamins and minerals, so necessary for the growing body.

Natural products are not as rich in nutrients as artificially synthesized granules, therefore, to meet the needs of ordinary kittens, food will require much more. This adds some complexity, because the kittens stomach is very small and simply cannot accommodate the required volume of servings. Also on breastfeeding increases the amount of feces, which is a negative point in the conditions of the apartment.

Of course, even with constant feeding with dry food, you can feed your pet with natural products: mainly cottage cheese, boiled chicken, lean meat, ryazhenka, cream. Remember that there must be at least 3 hours between taking dry food and natural products!

Modern ideas about the approaches to feeding young cats have changed. So, the majority of veterinarians say that the first “crackers” can be given already from 4-5 weeks of age. Full transition to dry food is carried out in three to four months.

At this time, you must clearly monitor what and how much your pet ate.

From birth, kittens eat mother's milk. Usually they do it without adhering to any regime, - as he wanted, so he ate. From the age of two months it's time to take the frequency of feeding in their hands.

• From 2 months 4–5 meals per day is enough for a kitten. Each of them should include broth, dry food, a small portion of meat. Once a day, you can give natural products. Milk is offered only if the baby is excommunicated from the mother.
• Three month Kittens are transferred to four meals. At this time, reduce the amount of liquid in the portion, let the whole "crackers" begin to fall. Enter gradually into the diet of fermented milk products and cottage cheese.
• Half a year The kitten should eat three times a day. Portions are still cooked before each meal and poured exactly on time. For half a year, stop giving whole milk - you can only fermented milk products.
• Closer to the year the baby begins to feel the signals of hunger and satiation, the frequency of feeding is reduced to two times. From now on, you can pour all the food for a day into a bowl at once. However, you should not do this if your pet belongs to a glutton, quickly deals with the proposed portion and requires more. In this case, you need to pour in a bowl only a single portion.

When feeding with dry food, the kitten should have round-the-clock access to fresh drinking water. Change it as often as possible, because while drinking food mixes with liquid, grows turbid and loses its attractiveness for a kitten.

According to the majority of veterinarians, kittens can be taught to dry food from one month of age, when their teeth start to be cut. Full transition to the "crackers" is carried out in three months. It is best to combine this with complete weaning from the cat mom.

If the kitten asks for something in return for dry food, you can offer it wet from the same manufacturer. Gradually reduce portions of wet food and increase the volume of "crackers". The more smooth the transition from one type of food to another you make, the easier it will be to reconstruct the gastrointestinal tract.

One of the common questions that torments the owner of a young cat is whether to give milk. Veterinarians are not advised to do this, as it often leads to indigestion. And since the year milk is strictly prohibited, because it causes diseases of the digestive tract.

An overview of the dry food for kittens can be viewed in the video below.