What should I feed my kitten?

Kittens are baby carnivores with specialised needs. Kittens naturally wean off their mother’s milk at around 8-12 weeks of age. When young cats are old enough (around 8 weeks old) they start to eat food on their own whilst simultaneously decreasing the amount of milk they suckle from their mother.

Basic kitten feeding guide

The following information is general advice, but as each kitten is an individual, seek veterinary advice, particularly if your kitten has any special dietary needs or has a reaction to a standard diet.

The basis of your kitten’s diet should be a high quality complete balanced premium commercial kitten food that is appropriate for their life stage and health status [1]. By reading the label, you should check that the food meets the Australian Standard for the manufacturing and marketing of pet food (AS5812) [2] or an equivalent international standard (including being a nutritionally complete pet food that conforms to the recommended requirements for cats in accordance with an internationally recognised nutritional profile; e.g., AAFCO or FEDIAF) ​[1]​. It is best to start feeding wet kitten food and introducing dry kitten food as your kitten grows. Provide some moist foods in the diet regularly e.g., wet can food. Never feed puppy or dog food to your kitten as it will be deficient in taurine, an essential protein that cats can only obtain through food.

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.

Please ensure clean fresh drinking water is available at all times but do not provide milk as this can cause gastrointestinal upsets.

Teething

Kittens go through two stages of teething – the eruption of their deciduous teeth between 2 and 6 weeks of age and then the eruption of their permanent teeth between 3 and 6 months of age [3]. You can introduce kitten-specific chew toys and dental treats that can help your kitten with teething and oral health but it is important to choose appropriate and safe products so speak to your veterinarian.

Bones and raw meat are not recommended as they carry bacteria that can make both animals and humans ill and bones can break teeth and cause constipation and internal blockages [4].

If you do choose to offer bones to your kitten, these should always be raw and introduced gradually. The bone must be large enough so that the kitten cannot fit the whole bone in their mouth or swallow the bone whole; only some smaller bones are suitable for kittens such as raw chicken necks and wings. Never feed your kitten cooked bones as these can splinter, causing potentially fatal internal damage or intestinal obstruction. Always supervise your kitten if they are eating raw bones.

Other foods

Your kitten should be fed a complete and balanced diet appropriate for their life stage and health status and so any other foods should only be fed occasionally as treats, these foods are not suitable as the main part of the diet.

Fish, such as tinned sardines, tuna or salmon in springwater (take care with any fish bones) can be offered as a treat occasionally. Cooked meat such as boiled or steamed chicken may also be offered occasionally, but please ensure no cooked bones, onions/onion sauces, or other toxic substances are consumed by the kitten (see below).

As mentioned above, raw meat and bones carry bacteria that can make both animals and humans ill and so are not recommended. However, if you do decide to feed your kitten any raw meat or raw bones, it is recommended that you choose only human-grade raw meat and bones. Any raw food offered to kittens should always be fresh. Avoid feeding raw meat until the kitten is 20 weeks of age to help avoid certain nutritional deficiencies during growth.

You should avoid raw meat products marketed as pet food (pet meat/pet mince/pet rolls and bone products, sausages, sausage meat and cooked manufactured meats as they can contain sulphite preservatives. There have been many pet food safety incidents linked to sulphite preservative-induced thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency, which can be fatal.

A small amount of finely-cut vegetable matter may also be offered. It is important to remember that cats are ‘obligate carnivores’ and they do not have some special enzymes and body processes which other animals have to digest and convert plant nutrients. This means that they cannot utilise plant-based foods in the same way that dogs and many other animals can. See this article for more information on cats’ special dietary needs.

Kittens may benefit from having access to grass (avoid chemically treated grass and toxic plants). Kittens will occasionally eat grass, which may be a source of vegetable matter and micronutrients. Be aware that concerns have been raised that large amounts of certain types of ‘cat grass’ may be harmful.

Toxic foods

Do not ever feed the following substances as they can be harmful to kittens and cats (note this is not a complete list): alcohol, onions, onion powder, garlic, chocolate, coffee or caffeine products, mouldy or spoiled foods or compost, avocado, bread dough, yeast dough, grapes, raisins, sultanas (including in Christmas cakes etc), currants, nuts (including macadamia nuts), fruit stones or ‘pits’ (e.g. mango seeds, apricot stones, avocado stones), fruit seeds, corncobs, tomatoes, mushrooms, cooked bones, small pieces of raw bone, fatty trimmings/fatty foods, salt and roughly-cut vegetables.

Also ensure your kitten doesn’t have access to string wrappings around rolled roasts or absorbent pads found under meat when wrapped on trays.