Kittens
get their start in life typically with their mother's milk. This
milk has all the ingredients that the kittens need to grow. In
addition, this special milk has proteins called antibodies that
help protect the infant kitten from many diseases. Antibodies to
diseases which the mother may have experienced in the past,
either through fighting an infection or through immunization, are
passed to the kitten in this way. (In addition to the
antibodies that cross the placenta.) These antibodies provide the
kitten with temporary defenses against infection.
At about four to five weeks of age, the mother
cannot supply all the nutrients the kitten requires for its
continued growth. At this age, extra food is introduced to
supplement the mother's milk. There are a variety of introductory
foods that can be given to a kitten. This supplemental food
should be at or slightly above room temperature. This is important to remember as the canned
left-overs, when refrigerated, can be quite cold--and if not
warmed before feeding--this can upset the kitten's stomach. Food
left out that is not eaten within 30 minutes to an hour should be
discarded. Just monitor how much your kitten eats at a feeding,
you can determine how much to offer your kitten and thereby
reduce the amount of food thrown away. A
good weaning formula is a high-quality canned food that has been
thinned to a loose paste with kitten replacement milk or warm tap
water. Regular cow-derived milk is NOT recommended and may give
your kitten loose stools. Dry kitten food moistened with a
little warm water is a good transition from introductory food to
dry food.
Between 4 and 5 weeks of age, you can start your
kitten on dry kitten food. Kitten kibbles are especially designed
for your kitten's small mouth and teeth. The most important thing
about feeding your kitten is that you keep him/her on a high
quality dry food. Dry food provides exercise to the
chewing muscles and helps to keep your cat's teeth clean and
white. Our Ragdoll cats have a strong preference for Science Diet
Feline Growth®. There are a lot of high quality dry kittens'
foods available including Science Diet®, Iams®, Nutro Kitten®,
etc. All of these companies also have many high-quality canned
foods available to supplement the dry feedings. The canned
supplements can be offered twice a day, once in the morning and
again in the evening.
Discard any canned food that remains in the dish after 30 minutes to an hour. After a short time, you can determine exactly how much canned food your kitten can eat at one sitting and you can then minimize wasted food. Bacteria can grow quite rapidly in unrefrigerated wet foods and the toxins they create can give your kitten an upset stomach (food poisoning) or worse. High temperatures of summer can speed up the the food poisoning process. Also, the common housefly can compound the problems by further contaminating wet and dry foods. Feed your cat in a location that is fly-proof, if at all possible. Any uneaten dry food should be discarded at the end of each day and the feeding bowl washed well in hot soapy water. Wash the drinking bowl at the same time and refill with fresh water. Hint: Use a high quality crockery or glass dish for water. If you are concerned about lead in your crockery many home improvement stores now carry inexpensive and easy to use kits that test surfaces for the presence of lead. Many cats dislike the smell and flavor of water that sits in plastic or metallic containers. Anything that encourages your cat to drink more water will aid in keeping its urinary system in tip top condition.
Stellarhart strongly recommends the use of quality kitten and cat foods over the "grocery store brand" generic-type cat foods. Check your local Petsmart® for availability (click on handy link below). Table scraps are also not recommended as many vital nutrients are missing from prepared human foods. The occasional well-cooked morsel of meat or poultry will not harm your kitten but don't overdo it.
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