Kitten food
At first, the kitten is completely dependent on the mother cat: she feeds him with her milk, providing immunity, licking, and teaching the necessary skills. But starting from 2 months, he is already able to provide his energy needs by feeding on his own. It is at this age that it can be weaned from the mother and even offer dry food not soaked in water.
Start feeding the kitten
Before you bring the kitten home, ask about what it was fed earlier, and try to buy the same food in advance. Even if you do not agree with the choice and plan to change the diet, at first stop on the one to which your new pet has become accustomed. This way you will avoid the gastrointestinal disorders of the kitten caused by a drastic change in nutrition. In the future, you can transfer it to any other diet: to do this, you need to mix new food with the usual food and gradually, within 5–7 days, increase its share in the bowl.
The basic principles of nutrition
It is important to remember that the cat is not suitable 1-2 meals a day, permissible for dogs. In order for her digestive system to work properly, she needs to be fed 3-4 times a day, and a kitten up to 12 weeks of age – 5-6 times!
To teach a kitten to eat properly, it is best to combine dry and wet food. At the same time, at a certain time of the day, the kitten should receive wet food, and the dry one can be in the bowl in free access for the entire remaining time, and the animal can eat it whenever it wants. This approach to feeding is called ad libitum (from the Latin. “Optional”, “plenty”) and is considered the most physiological for cats.
It is important that dry, wet food and water are in different bowls. Also ensure that the water is always fresh. Throw out the uneaten remnants of wet food in time, and immediately wash the bowl after it so that microorganisms that can cause the kitten’s digestive disorders do not multiply in it
It is not necessary to offer the pet food from the table or try to diversify its nutrition with other products, because the complete food already contains all the useful substances necessary for the full growth and development of the kitten. The use of supplementary foods introduces an imbalance in the diet, teaches malnutrition and is often the cause of digestive disorders.
Choosing kitten food
During the first 20 weeks, the kitten gains an average of about 100 g of weight per week. Of course, to provide the body with sufficient resources for such intensive growth, you need a high-calorie, complete feed with a balanced mineral composition, containing a large amount (from 35%) of high-quality protein that is easily digested. To maintain the development of vision and the central nervous system, the diet should also be saturated with omega-3 fatty acids. All the above requirements are met by the PRO PLAN® food: dry PRO PLAN® Junior and wet PRO PLAN® Junior NUTRISAVOUR®. In addition, PRO PLAN® Junior contains a unique OPTISTART® complex containing colostrum (mother’s primary milk), which helps to maintain healthy intestines and strengthen your kitten’s immune system.
