What To Feed Kittens – The 6 Best Flavorful Options For Baby Cats

Kittens are so adorable that every pet lover wants to have one they can play with.

But guess what, these beautiful creatures can also be a handful.

So, while ensuring that your kitten is healthy and happy, you must take their nutrition very seriously.

Thing is, if your kitten grows up eating just one food, there is every likelihood that she will get used to that food, and changing it later may prove quite challenging.

On the flip side, if your kitten is served a variety of food, especially during her first year of life, then it’s going to be easy to feed her a variety of food even if she has a favorite.

That said, here are some fantastic foods you can feed your kitten during her first year.

While some of these foods are great, others can come in as treats.

Primary Kitten Food Options

Your kitten deserves to be spoilt and given the VIP treatment she deserves.

And part of that includes feeding your kitten proper kitten food, especially the ones labeled for all feline life stages.

Even though it’s okay to introduce your kitty to other foods, it’s important to stick to her primary foods as making too many changes can trigger digestive upsets.

You can also change the flavors of foods every now and then, but try to stick with the same brand to maintain a bit of consistency.

Canned Cat Foods

The incredible variety of ingredients included in canned cat foods makes them such an excellent choice for kittens.

With canned foods, your kitten can try fish, shrimps, and various types of poultry.

And to spice things up, some of these canned foods feature brilliant ingredients like vegetables.

While introducing your kitten to canned cat foods, you can just add a teaspoon to her favorite primary diet.

More so, canned foods come in handy when training your kitty.

Salad Greens

Cats are what you’d call obligate carnivores.

What this means is that they must eat meat.

But you know the cool thing about cats, they do well with vegetables too.

That said, try to add some vegetables to your kitten’s diet every now and again.

This should help add fiber, minerals, and vitamins to their meals.

You can start with finely chopped lettuce, a few broccoli florets, and salad greens.

Scrambled eggs

Just as much as you’d enjoy a plate of scrambled eggs, complete with melted cheese on a Sunday morning, your furry friend will also love to grab a bite.

So, while enjoying scrambled eggs, do well to offer your kitten a little teaspoon as they love scrambled eggs too.

But please don’t include pepper, salt, or salsa before feeding your furry friend.

Cooked Meats

Kittens are known to love meat, so feel free to feed your cat tiny bits of nicely cooked turkey, chicken, venison, beef, lamb, or other lean meats.

But while at this, you want to make sure you avoid feeding your cat greasy fried meats, fatty meats or meats salted with nitrates and other preservatives.

In addition to this list, ensure that you don’t feed your kitten bacon, sausage, or hot dogs.

That’s because this variety of food items can upset your kitten’s digestive system, leading to diarrhea.

Also, when feeding your cat, please make sure you dice or shred them into tiny pieces.

This is because your kitten may get greedy and try to swallow a large chunk, which may trigger choking.

Squash and Pumpkin

If you plan to cook squash or pumpkin for your family and friends, please try to keep some for your kitten.

Just like you, cats do very well with a meal of squash and pumpkin.

To prepare this beautiful delish for your cat, simply grate a tiny piece of squash and pumpkin.

Wrap it using a damp paper towel and have the whole thing microwaved for a few seconds.

Wait for it to cool and offer a pinch to your kitten.

You can refrigerate the remaining for another day.

Fresh and saltwater fish

Every kitten will savour a meal of nicely cooked fresh and saltwater fish.

So next time you’re preparing a meal of fresh and saltwater fish, do well to share your cooked fish with your kitten.

But please don’t go overboard with it.

A tiny bit is enough, even if cats are known to beg for more.

Cat grass

Feeding your kitten a meal of cat grass isn’t such a bad idea, and they aren’t so hard to find.

You can get a growing cat grass either from pet stores or some grocery stores.

Most times, the grass is either wheat or oat grass.

By feeding your kitten cat grass, you’re providing her with essential vitamins, fibre, and minerals.

Cat grass also offers a new experience for your furry friend as cats are known to play with the grass more than they eat it.

Frequently asked questions

Can cats eat regular foods?

Just like you wouldn’t feed a kitten adult cat food, kittens too aren’t to be fed just about any food.

For kittens, they require special formula food until they are a year old.

While adult cats can be fed kitten food, doing the same for kittens is a no-no.

How long can a kitten go without food?

The most a kitten can go without food or water is four days.

Anything after that is fatal.

At what age can kittens eat dry foods?

Kittens who are up to five to six weeks old can be fed high-quality dry foods, even though they are still nursing.

Not just that, introducing your kitten to these types of food is very important in training cats, especially as you plan to have them weaned.

Conclusion

When feeding your kitten any of these foods, please try to stick to the 10% rule.

This means any food you add to your kitten’s primary meal should not be more than 10% of their daily calorie requirements.

Going above that could upset your kitten’s nutritional balance, and we doubt you’d like that very much.

If you are looking for an automated solution to feed your kittens then check out these automatic kitten food dispensers here.