My kitten refuses cat food, only eats meat. What's the right diet?

If there are only two available foods for kittens in your geographic region I would feed the one that your cat is most likely to consume without problems. If for some reason your cat begins to have issues with that type of food I would feed the other one but consider adding something like chicken broth or tuna juice to it. Hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Raw beef is missing other key vitamins and minerals that kittens need to develop so I do not recommend feeding that alone. I would try canned kitten food and put it on a plate so she can stand in it and eat it. If she goes 24 hours without eating, I would take her to a vet to make sure there are no physical problems causing her not to eat a balanced diet. Good luck and kisses to Reena!

Some cats prefer one type of food over another. I would just leave dry food out for him to nibble on and then feed him small amounts of canned food twice a day. He has plenty of teeth that he should be able to chew small kibble. He will begin to eat more dry as he continues to get older and gets hungrier. I hope this helps!

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, meat by itself is really not good for cats to eat especially as an entire meal. Feeding meat by itself lacks a large amount of essential vitamins, minerals, and balance of nutrients that cats need (especially kittens) and require every day. I would stick to the cat food formulations instead and a tiny bit of meat can be given as a treat every so often.

Kittens do the majority of their growth in the first five to six months of life but continue to grow until they are around one year old. During this time of rapid growth and maturation of their bones, it is very important to choose a complete and balanced diet with the appropriate levels of nutrients. Diets formulated for growth include those labeled for kittens or “all life stages.” Canned foods promote increased water consumption in cats, and feeding dry food exclusively or in combination with canned is also acceptable. Offering a kitten with a variety of textures early in life can be helpful in minimizing the chance of having a picky eater. Regardless of diet selection, always make diet changes gradually by mixing the old and new foods together over five to seven days and make sure to carefully measure the appropriate portions of your cat’s food. Abrupt changes have a greater likelihood of resulting in vomiting and/or diarrhea.

It is important That Pelly eat mostly kitten food. You can certainly supplement with meat/fish but make sure at least 75% of her daily food intake is kitten food. Whiskas is not the highest quality food but if it's your only option, then go for it. Purina, Iams, Eukanuba and Science Diet are all good brands if you can get them. Make sure Pelly is appropriately dewormed to make sure the parasites are not making him too skinny. I hope this helps.

Picky eaters can always be frustrating! By 7 weeks of age, Ryoko does not need to nurse from her mom, so any nursing may be delaying her need for kitten food. If possible, try to separate the mother cat from all kittens for several days. During that time, offer canned kitten food mixed with finely shredded chicken to try to tempt Ryoko to eat, then gradually decrease the amount of chicken mixed with the kitten food. If she does not care for canned food, you can try offering dry kitten food. She won't starve herself! I hope this helps and that all goes well!