How much food to feed your Kitten? | Veterinary Approved

Feeding kittens is a very common question I get as a small animal veterinarian! So I made you guys this video. Which is not only s super cute with my ragdoll kittens but will help you!

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FEEDING A KITTEN:
Under fed and underweight kittens get sick and can die.
Look at the body weight chart in my video to make sure you are feeding your cats enough food! So most Veterinarians use a 1-9 Body condition scale, 1 being underweight – bones showing ribs and pelvis bones easily palpable and 9 being obese or overweight. We want to shoot for a 5 which puts your cat an ideal body weight with some fat covering the entire body but with a nice abdominal tuck. So you can always refer to this chart to make sure your kitten or cat is not too skinny.

Kittens will however have more lanky arms and legs with a round pudgy abdomen until about 5 months old when it should start to tighten up and tuck in. Too round can mean parasites so always have your vet examine your kitten!

First I have to start with always… always… always! feed your kitten a cat food formulated diet from any company. Cats need more protein and have a dietary need for taurine since the have limited enzymatic activity for making it on their own.

Kittens should go to new homes around 8 weeks old.

Feeding kittens and cats is easy and most cats are similar in weight. So lets make this as easy as possible. First off, I always recommend offering your kittens a buffet of the same brand of wet and dry kibble. Some kittens maybe too young when you get them to want dry kibble but they normally love wet food by 3-4 weeks old when theyre weaning off their moms.

For an 8 week old kitten weighing 1lb +, feed them 1/4th cup dry food and 1/4 small can wet food three times a day. Do not be worried if they don’t eat it at every meal. Cats WASTE FOOD. Pick it up, throw it away and replenish with fresh food. All you need is a few bites to ensure your kitten has an appetite and is eating. Some kittens are closet eaters and may want to eat alone.

At 4 months old you can feed them ½ cup dry food with ½ small can wet food three times a day. Put tin foil over the extra food and keep it in the fridge to stay fresh. If you can’t feed them 3x a day, leave the morning portion out the whole day until dinner and refresh their food.

This feeding schedule will get you through to 8 months to 1 years old. At this time if your cat is 8 to 10lbs you can feed them 1 cup dry food twice a day or continue with your ½ cup dry and 1 full can wet twice a day.

Easy as that! Check their body condition score and make sure theyre not too skinny or obese. And you can increase and decrease food by 1/4th cup for either case.

Most importantly with kittens and cats is they have to eat. So make sure they don’t skip 2 days of eating. This puts them at danger for fatty liver disease which is deadly to cats.

Okay guys! If you have any other feeding questions for your kittens or cats please put it in the comments below. Don’t forget to Subscribe to my channel and ill see you next week!
~ Dr. Lindsay Butzer

[wheathusk]

This was pretty useful. Nobody ever cleared it up like this. My 5 month old kitten keeps stealing my 2 yr olds food and eats like she has food insecurity from before we got her. She cleans out her own and her brother's bowl too. The older one is a picky eater and over sensitive and will go hungry sometimes

[debbieolagues]

Thank you sooo much! Finally, a straight answer. You have answered all our questions about how much to feed our kittens and cats when all the other sites left us scratching our heads and converting grams into ounces.

[chitts]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:32 🐱 Use a body condition score card to assess your cat's health and adjust their feeding accordingly.
01:29 🥩 Feed kittens a cat-formulated diet rich in protein and taurine; offer wet food initially and transition to dry food.
02:11 🍽️ Feed 8-week-old kittens 1/4 can of big wet cat food and 1/4 cup of dry kibble three times a day.
03:06 🐾 For 4-6 month-old kittens, give 1/4 cup of dry kibble and a whole can of wet food twice a day.
03:47 🐈 Feed adult cats 1/2 cup of kibble and one full can of wet food twice a day; adjust portions based on the cat's activity and weight.

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[guyventoliere]

Bless you. Finally an answer I understand. I was starting to think that nobody wanted to commit to giving a straight answer when it came to this.

[rsquaremedia-innovationlab]

most helpful video on youtube!! she cuts to the chase and doesnt waste your time with background info, history lessons or animal psychology LOL i have a 2year old tabby stray who i feed 2x a day. i hand mix 1 scoop of kibble with a quarter of wet food. I use the protein scoop that comes with my protein shake powder. Smoke usually eats all of that without any waste - so i think thats the right quantity for him. i do give him snack of tiny chunks of tuna, flounder or shrimp - approx the size of a penny - 2-3 sections at a time after play. i do that about 2x a day

[orangetruck]

Best video yet ! I feed my 2 adult ragdolls 1/2 of the regular can or 1 of the smaller can twice a day between them, along with a little kibble and thier weight seems good.

[malidabonita]

I feed my 1 yo ragdoll a wet can and 2 pouches of Stella and Chewy’s Carnivore Cravings a day and he still cries for more… I thought I was over feeding but now I feel comfortable adding in raw freeze dried kibble with his meals

[yung_wog]

Awesome vid, glad that I was doing it right for the first few days. Adopted my 9month old rescue Andy a few days ago and noticed he was very hungry, i fed him a whole can of wet food over the clurse of the day, 3 small portions, and had kibble available at night in case he got hungry. Hes much much happier this way!

[privatebubba]

Always feed the wet food first. The dry food will not go bad if left in the bowl

[aparnapal-ibrh]

Thank you for posting this video, it's really helpful for me 🙂 I was worried about the diet of my kitten, Much needed video 🌸

[carolholt]

Never feed your kitten or cat dry kibble. Too many carbs, not enough fat and useable protein.

[elektras]

So I followed your advice since I’m a first time kitten owner/ caregiver.
I’ve had my kitten for 2 months now and took her for her 4 month rabies shot and checkup.
Kitten looks like she’s swallowed a ball- vet says kitten is overweight and needs to go on a diet.
My kitten was spayed at 2 months old before they released her to us so my vet thinks this could be the reason why she’s overweight.

Hopefully this comment helps prevent this for someone else.

💔Update: my vet misdiagnosed my kitten whose tummy was filled with fluid because she had FIP. Vet made me place her on a diet. FIP is rapidly progressive and fatal. Unfortunately my kitten passed away 3 weeks later (last week). I was worried she wasn’t fat and spent days researching what else it could be. 2 weeks into her diet I could feel her ribs and spine but her tummy was soft but still huge, she showed no signs of pain when I touched her tummy but I was still worried it wasn’t fat. Internet chat with vet-vet still insisted it’s because she’s fat and that she’s lethargic because she’s been spayed young at the shelter, said it’ll take a few month for her hormones to settle. A few days later she couldn’t walk more than 3 steps without rest and couldn’t climb the couch. I did my research and took her to the vet next morning, told her I think maybe my kitten has something called FIP and asked her to check for fluids. Vet drained almost 3 CUPS of fluid and reweighed my kitten who turned out to now be underweight and it was too late for her- she passed away the next day 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

Figured I’d update since original comment I had the belief that this vet caused my kitten to become obese.

[cloudoftime]

Thanks for the quick and easy tips. I would just recommend to everyone to spend a little time on your cat. Take an hour to research what kinds of food are best for them (macro and micro nutrient content) and what will fit into your budget. Also, all food should have the calorie content printed on it, just like human food. Use multiple reputable calorie calculators to get an average based on your cats weight, age, and neuter/spay status. Then, feed based on their calorie requirements and according to the appearance scale. It doesn't take much time to get this down.

And take pictures; it's an easy and convenient way to track your cats progress.

[EmilouASMR]

Still confused. Am I feeding my kitten 1/2-1 can three times a day or total in a day?

[myypca]

I have a brand new little kitten who has a voracious appetite. He does not waste any food and eats every drop he is served!!! He is my little hungry man... 🤣😂🤣

[johnnym]

All you did was confuse me even more. Thank you. All I want to know is how many ounces to feed my kitten at every feeding?

[artifacthunter]

I don’t trust somebody who calls then a ki-en it’s kit-ten!

[lindcobbs]

I have four very tiny Munchkins and those amounts would be a little too much.

[WayofJayCole]

How do you feed them together like that? I have 2 and the boy always scarf down his food then eats his sisters. I have to separate them when there eating.

[Lego_stopmotion_guy]

Thank you so much I need to do research bc and this helps soooo much thanks❤