Kittens require more food per pound of body weight to support their growth than do adult cats, and therefore should be fed more often throughout the day. "Growing kittens up to six months of age may require three meals a day," says Francis Kallfelz, DVM, Ph.
You can feed your kitten one to three times a day, as long as you don't give her more than her total daily calorie needs. For example, you can put dry kibble in her bowl in the morning and she can graze throughout the day.
Young kittens have very small stomachs and are best started on 4 small meals a day – if that's not possible, leave out some dry food so they can nibble. At 4 months old, this can be dropped to 3 meals daily. At 6 months old, this can be dropped to 2 meals daily.
How Often and How Much Should You Feed Your Kitten? It's important to feed your tiny newcomer small portions at regular intervals, up to 6 times a day. Some veterinarians prefer free-feeding, meaning providing unlimited kitten food all day long, tapering off to meal eating at around four to six months of age.
Cats should eat at least two meals each day, about 12 hours apart. But a breakfast, lunch, afternoon, dinner, and right before bed schedule is an equally great option. If more than 12 hours elapses between meals, the stomach can become hyperacidic causing nausea.
Your new kitten should eat three times daily. Morning, afternoon, and evening is a good choice. You can arrange the schedule to fit in with your own routine, although it is best to keep a consistent routine from day to day.
"From age six months to maturity, most cats will do well when fed two times a day." Once the cat becomes an adult, at about one year, feeding once or twice a day is appropriate in most cases. Senior cats, age seven and above, should maintain the same feeding regimen.
In most cases a kitten will alert you when she has had enough at individual feeding times. If you overfeed her she will then be predisposed to constipation, bloating, gas, diarrhea, or other serious gastrointestinal complications. In newborns, these can be fatal.
Let young kittens eat as much as they want; they will almost certainly not become overweight. You can free feed as long as other pets don't eat all of the food and you leave out only dry food. Young kittens need a lot of calories for their size.
How Often to Feed Kittens. Younger kittens (6-16 weeks) need to be fed several meals per day, if you are not free-feeding. As they are growing and burning calories, we want to keep their bodies supplied with energy. Feed meals every 6-8 hours.
We recommend feeding your kitten three meals a day until they are six months of age. At six months, your kitten will closely resemble an adult in size, but they are still a kitten and should continue eating a diet made especially for kittens. You can adjust their feeding to two meals a day instead of three.
Cats will get fatter if they're regularly overfed. This means they get less mobile, more lethargic, less active, and can eventually get sick.
Kittens may poop up to three times per day, while older cats are usually less often. If your cat poops more than 3 times per day or less than once per day, consult your veterinarian. It typically takes 10-24 hours for food your cat eats to move through the digestive tract.
Most kittens over six weeks old should eat ¼ to 1 and ¾ cups of dry food per day. When in doubt, always consult your vet about your kitten's unique dietary needs.
How often should I feed my kitten? Between 6 and 12 weeks of age, it is recommended that kittens be fed four times per day. From 12 weeks to six months of age, we advise that your kitten be fed three times per day.
Kittens should be offered food at least 4 times per day. Take care not to overfeed or underfeed your kitten. Your vet will be able to weigh your kitten, assess your kitten's body condition score and provide advice.
At this stage, their stomachs are still very small and their food requirement is high, so it is best to let kittens feed ad-lib so that they can eat when they are hungry. This means ensuring that food is constantly available, even going so far as to fill several bowls around the home.
Wet food is preferred for kittens as it contains the essential moisture needed to keep your growing kittens happy & healthy. Kittens should also be given free access to food during their first six months, and should be fed at least three times a day. After four months, feeding can be decreased to twice a day.
If a cat eats more food than it needs, it will become overweight and may suffer. If you underfeed your cat, it will lose weight and may become ill. Healthy adult cats should maintain a stable body weight that is neither too thin nor too fat. A vet can advise on the correct weight for your cat.
Your kitten is growing so she needs to eat a lot to meet her daily nutritional requirements. These nutrients in the kitten's food provide her with the energy and raw materials she needs to build tissues and grow. An energetic and active kitten will need more food and will have the tendency to eat more.
Your kitten is no different but she still needs to drink water and plenty of it! Kittens may get the water they need form wet food such as Whiskas® wet pouches, but they still need fresh drinking water. Water aids their body processes and helps them avoid potential problems with their kidneys.
Kittens should urinate after each feeding and have a bowel movement one to four times a day.
While a cat's natural inclination is to have many small meals spread throughout the day, a healthy cat will be perfectly content eating once or twice per day as long as she is getting what she needs from those meals.
How often should cats eat wet food? What do vets recommend? Wet food is not a special meal or an occasional treat. Cats can and should eat wet food every day because it agrees with the feline digestive system better than dry or semi-moist food.
Too much snacking in between meals may be the reason why your cat won't eat wet food. Complementary food isn't a problem when kept below 3% of the overall diet. Anything over that is not healthy or helpful. Giving cats treats willy-nilly can mess up their appetite and hinder their metabolism in the long run.