How to feed my kitten: treats, changing brands, and adult food?

By 8 weeks old, you can absolutely start to give your kitten dry food. If they are accustomed to eating wet food, consider making the transition gradually by mixing the wet and dry foods together over 5-7 days. While it would not necessarily be harmful to eat small amounts of an adult cat food, it would be best to exclusively feed kitten food for the first year of life since these foods are balanced for growth. Some of my favorite brands of kitten foods include Science Diet ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=29250 ), Royal Canin ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=31886 ), and Purina ProPlan ( http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=31190 ), and I have included a few examples. It would be fine to give an occasional Webbox tasty stick as a treat, but avoid offering too many. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Yes, you are correct that you need to make the switch from kitten food to adult food, and I would recommend doing it slowly to avoid GI upset. Start adding in adult food to her kitten food, and over the course of two weeks, increase the amount of adult food and decrease the amount of kitten food until she is eating the adult food only. Other than that, the only thing you need to make sure to do is get her vaccines boostered :-)

How lovely of you to take on these kittens! Yes, you are correct they should be on kitten food and should stay on kitten food until they are one year of age. Purina kibble is a great food, just get the kitten version. To switch them to it, mix 75% old food and 25% new food, and feed them that for 3-4 days. After that time period, give them 50% old food and 50% new food mixed together. Again, feed that for 3-4 days. Then mix together 25% old food and 75% new food, and feed for 3-4 days. Finally, then give them 100% new food. This will help slowly transition them to the kitten food. If you see diarrhea at any point, add a little less new food and a little more old food to settle their stomach. Once the diarrhea is gone, continue the transition. I hope this helps!

Hi there. I would recommend feeding her a high quality kitten food until she is 9 months old. You can feed her canned food and dry food. There are several great brands of kitten food available, I like Royal Canin kitten food, Natural Balance and Wellness. I hope that helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello, any new diet that will be offered should be transitioned gradually. Sudden diet changes may cause a decreased appetite, vomiting or diarrhea. So transition the diet slowly. Make sure that the new food is also for kittens as she needs the additional calories and protein for her growth. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. You may absolutely feed them Royal Canin kitten food as long as they are under 1 year of age. If they are not kittens then it’s not a good idea to feed them kitten food because this has more calories than they need and will cause them to become overweight and at high risk of developing diabetes and arthritis issues. You can try feeding them a similar adult food with the same protein in it as the kitten food. Check your local store and online store for more protein (beef, chicken, turkey, salmon, etc) options. I hope this helps! Best wishes and take care.

Yes, the adult food is a complete diet for all life stages. Usually kittens grow better with a kitten food as they do not have to eat as much to get the nutrients they need and the energy requirements. I usually feed kitten food until they are six months old then switch to adult food. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.