For kittens, the veterinarian recommends primarily two types of feeding. You can choose one of them that you think may be best for your kitten. You can also consult with your vet about this topic.
There are two methods: free feeding and portioned meal feeding. This article will go over both methods in greater detail so you can choose the best one for your kitten.
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Free Feeding
In free feeding, the parents leave the bowl of food out all the time, and the kitten can eat whenever they want. Because of the short shelf life of wet foods, this procedure can only be used with dry foods.
The main benefit of this method is that if you do not have time and are always busy, it is best for you. Along with that, your kitten can determine for themselves how much food they need for the whole day.
This can also be a disadvantage because when food is left out like this, kittens spend a lot of time overeating, resulting in them gaining a lot of weight.
If you also have an adult cat, it may try to eat the kitten food, which could be bad because kitten food has more calories than regular cat food.
In this case, you cannot track the feeding of the kitten, and it is really important to know how much food they are consuming at the end of the day. If they are sharing free feeding, one might not get enough food.
However, now there is a new feeding bowl that only opens when your kitten goes to eat. For that, you need to wear a microchip that can be detected by the bowl, and it opens up and closes after they leave. Just make sure the other cat isn’t looking at the kitten doing this because cats are smart and can learn things.
Portion-Meal Feeding
Portion-meal feeding is the second feeding method for kittens. This is a more traditional method of feeding, in which every time you want to feed them, you prepare a new meal.
In this method, you can use both wet and dry food. This way, you can also keep track of their feeding pattern and how much food they are consuming and at what time. This kind of feeding is best if you have multiple cats in one place.
However, the downside of this method is that it is more time-consuming. It takes time to prepare the meal. If you are using dry food, you also need to make sure that they are getting their meals on time. Especially when you have a kitten, they need to be fed almost six times a day.
But now there is new technology that will do your work for you. There are special feeding bowls that have a timer in them; they can give food at the time you have selected, so you do not have to worry about it at all.
Kittens can also learn to earn some of their food by engaging in their natural hunting behaviours. Maintaining your kitten’s physical and mental wellness is aided by doing this.
To prevent your kitten’s supper from being eaten in a matter of seconds, you can choose from a wide variety of solutions, such as bowls that play music, balls that slowly release dry food, and others.
How often should you feed a kitten?
Kittens are growing into adult cats, and they are more active, so they need more calories. To fill their daily requirement they need to be fed multiple times a day. Multiple feedings should be continued until the kitten is 16 weeks old.
To figure out the amount of calories it needs in a day, you can find that out with the help of your vet, and then you can divide that number so at the end of the day they can reach their daily requirement of calories.
Generally, the number is six times a day, or you can also use free feeding.
How Much Should You Feed a Kitten?
Kittens grow quickly and eat more than adult cats. So you need to provide them with all they need for growth and instil healthy eating habits.
Kitten diets vary for each kitten. You can change the feeding instructions on the bag or can of food as needed for your kitten. Based on your kitten’s weight, your vet can utilise metabolic calculations to establish daily calorie needs.
We want kittens to be hungry for their meal, but not so ravenous that they gobble it up in seconds. Kittens take 1/4 to 1/2 cups of food at a time.
You may need to increase your kitten’s daily caloric intake if it’s thin. You may need to slow your kitten’s weight gain. To determine your kitten’s weight, your vet will use a body condition score.
