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How much should my 7-week-old kitten eat and how to get her to drink?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Ragdoll | Female | unspayed | 1 month and 19 days old

Hello, i have a 7 week old kitten. How much is she supposed to eat? How do i get her to drink water??

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 10th, 2018

Feed her wet (canned) kitten food 4 times a day. let her eat as much as she likes. She is still very young and normally should still be with mama and her siblings. Offer her kitten milk as well as water. She will get a lot of the moisture eating the wet food, however eventually she will start drinking water. Normally mama would teach her to drink water when it is time. Stick a finger in the bowl when she is in front of the bowl and wet her mouth. She should understand soon. Do not put the water next to her food. Cats do not like to drink next to the food. She will need lots of TLC, and you will need to play with her a lot (paper balls , string with a feather on it, etc)

6Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Elizabeth
Veterinarian
Published on October 22nd, 2019
Offer clean, fresh water at all times but she may not drink very much since she is getting water in the canned food. In general, a healthy animal will naturally consume as much water as its body needs on it's own.
Do try to encourage the kitten to eat dry food as well. I recommend to get kitten formula, canned kitten food and dry (kibble kitten food). Set out a bowl of the plain dry kibble, a bowl of the canned kitten food and bowl of kibbled soaked in formula. You may need to smear the canned food and the soaked kibble around his mouth or even place a few small pieces in his mouth. Most kittens will begin eating this way. Gradually reduce the amount of soaked kibbled over the next 3 weeks. The food I recommend most is called Royal Canin Baby Cat. It is made for young kittens under 8 weeks of age:
https://www.royalcanin.com/us/cats/products/retail-products/mother-babycat-dry-cat-food

Here is a link about raising very young kittens including a formula you can make at home if nothing else is available:
https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-raise-orphan-kittens/

Lastly, here is a link about litterbox training:
https://www.petcoach.co/article/litter-box-training-for-your-kitten/

I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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