We just got a 9 week old kitten. We keep science diet (dry) food out for him as well as water all the time. He wasn't eating it so I started giving him the canned food, which he seems to love. How much should I give him a day? A full can (for kittens)? I've been feeding him when he seems hungry, 2-3 times a day.|||Figuring how to feed a cat depends on the age, activity level and health status of your cat. I will address your concern by giving you advise base on the assumption that your cat is generally healthy and have no special dietary or medical needs.
If you have been feeding your cat dry food around the clock with a food dispenser, the first thing to do is to stop slowly. Kibble addict resist changes and it's not a good way to cut them off dry immediately. They are used to the smell of dry kibble - where food manufacturer trick their senses with addictive coating to entice them to eat. Also, your cat is used to the crunchy texture of dry kibbles and will resist eating wet.
What you need to do is a gradual transition - introduce her to wet food slowly. Start off with a mixture of what she is eating now and mix it with the wet food.
If your cats eat both wet and dry, you can eliminate the dry almost immediately. On the other hand, if they are kibble addicts, you need to go slow. Feed more times, less quantity because kibble addicts are used to having food around 24/7 (if you free fed).
A normal healthy and active kittens needs double the amount what a normal adult would eat. And that would mean feeding at least 3 cans of 3oz can food or better yet, 4 cans, if your kittens are very active. For kibble addicts, you need to upped the number of feedings at the beginning but each time, serve only a smaller portion. Since they are used to eating all the time, you can try feeding them up to 6 times a day. This is just a very extreme recommendation because once your cat has established a wet food appetite, you can greatly reduced the number of feeding and increase the quantity.
Once you got your cat to eating wet food, you can now feed either 2-3 times a day. Always monitor your cat's reaction to the food. If after four weeks or so, you find that your cat seems to have grown a little more chubbier, reduce and the opposite is correct if she seems to be hungry at all times.
Sometimes, when switching to all wet using scheduled and portion control feeding method cat owners feel bad when they see their cats begging for more food. Resist the temptation to give in. Cats can very well go a few long hours without eating. Stick to your routine. But never starve a cat into eating.
The decision to switch to wet food is the correct one and I am glad that you have taken a step forward in ensuring your cat gets all the proper nutrition and species appropriate food.|||Kittens are rapidly growing and can eat enormous amounts of food to fuel that growth. Go ahead and give him that canned food, I'd try 1/4 can at first, and adjust the amount based on how quick he eats it. If he leaves some, then don't give more, but if he just wolfs it down, give a bit more. Feeding him 3 times a day isn't too much.
Canned food is really a much better diet for cats - it eliminates all the grains that cats (being obligate carnivores) do NOT need. And there is really no proof that dry is better for their teeth - even vets cannot agree on this. Some research indicates that the dry food actually sticks to their teeth and causes placque to form. We do know that the grains in dry cat food contribute to diabetes, and that an all-dry diet is hard on the kidneys as cats aren't big on drinking water and the canned diet provides more moisture.
My own kittens - rather my foster kittens - all get fed Innova's EVO, which they thrive on. It's a premium grade food that is all meat and no by products (that's scrap not fit for human consumption, so it's sold and put in pet food). Check the ingredients on the Science Diet.|||because he's so small, you should feed him about a little less than a fourth of the can (those are big cans for cats!) three times a day, if it's the larger science diet cans. if it's the smaller size, then a third of the can three times will work. or, to make it easier on you, give your kitten a tablespoon of wet food, and see how much he eats. base it off of that.
but seriously, straight wet canned food can give kittens diarea. your kitten is probably not eating because he has just been moved and expected to settle in a new area. he has also just been taken off of his mother's milk. instead of giving up on the dry (which is much cheaper, and gives tarter control too!) mix the dry food with the wet. it gives the dry food a moist smell, which is very appitizing for cats.|||Hey! I have two 9 week old kittens right now as well! They have their dry food out always, and I feed a can of wet food (5.5 oz) morning and night (they finish it off together pretty well). They are maintaining a very good weight on that... Once the teeth come in and become stronger, you'll want to back off and make sure they're eating that dry food. ^.^ Good luck!|||Canned food is bad for them it's high in sugars promoting type 2 feline diabties and causes teeth issues. A full can even for a ful grown cat is way too much.
Kittens need different things, ask your vet!|||That's what we feed our cat!! One can a day should be good, but if you can afford that much go ahead!!|||Firstly, Science Diet is terrible quality food. You are paying a fortune for a ton of junk. Canned food is better for him anyways, regardless of what people say. It doesn't stick to their teeth and make them rot. Look at tigers teeth in the zoo, aren't they pretty and shiny? Considering they eat a ton of wet meat, shouldn't their teeth be rotted? No. Also, wet food helps protect your cat from problems it may have later on, especially urinary problems. Cats need the moisture in the wet food. If your cat will eat it, you should give it to him. Feed him as much wet food as he request. You are feeding him just fine that many times a day. Don't you like to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? Well it seems kitty does too. Don't leave dry food out over night. I found it lets my cats over eat and get fat. Monitor what your kitten eats like you would monitor a small child.
Bad Foods:
Iams
Science Diet
Royal Canin
Eukanuba
9 Lives
Friskies
Whiskas
Nutro
Fancy Feast
Good Foods:
Innova
Blue Buffalo
Halo
Before Grain
Merrick
Wellness
Felidae
Things you don't want in a Cat Food:
Corn
Gluten
Wheat
Brewers Rice/Grain
Dyes
Preservatives/ BHA or BHT
By Products
Digest
those are all cheap fillers
Cats are carnivores. Even if Science Diet boasts 'Chicken or Fish #1 ingredient' like some companies do, it goes by weight. So the next 6 ingredients could be fillers, and they will end up outweighing the actual meat!
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