Lots of cats will self-regulate their eating, so you can leave out the total recommended portion of food for the day and allow them to revisit their bowl. As your cat matures, maintain good feeding habits and avoid stress by letting it eat in peace in a calm place. Subscribe to our whiskerDocs Newsletter. Do this by rehydrating a dry kibble with kitten milk or water to a mushy consistency so your kitten will be able to eat it easily, or use a wet food instead. Copyright © 2007-2020 AskTheCatDoctor.com. While shelters often do so earlier, it is my professional opinion that weight until a kitten is roughly 4 pounds is safest. Cats are natural grazers, and will eat 15 to 20 very small meals a day. About Lily's Kitchen Our story Our values Certified goodness Our charity work Subscription service How to recycle our packaging News Proper Food for Pets What is proper food for pets? For medical advice about your personal pet, please see your veterinarian. By the end of the week, their weight will have increased to close to 15 ounces. Mom cats do a wonderful job feeding their babies the proper amounts, grooming them, and helping them grow and learn. A kitten weight chart is a great way to gauge your kitten’s growth. A kitten weight chart or growth chart is an important tool to help gauge proper kitten development. If you’re not sure of the right way to feed your cat, get in touch with your vet for advice. Every kitten's weight will vary, but what is most important is that the kitten is making progress. As you might observe, almost all cat feeding guides recommend feeding the pregnant cat kitten food. Use a small digital scale to weigh your kittens such as a digital kitchen scale. Feeding your kitten from four months onwards. Humans left to care for orphaned kittens need to do the same. You should also consider your cat’s lifestyle when feeding them as an adult cat, from around 12 months onwards. If your vet advises you to, you can feed the newborn cat kitten milk to make sure they’re getting everything they need; this is particularly important if their mother has no milk, not enough milk, or the litter is very large. With or without their mother cat, a kitten should grow steadily, at certain rates, and a variety of changes should occur within a certain time frame. Helping cats and dogs live their healthiest lives. A kitten weight chart or growth chart is an important tool to help gauge proper kitten development. Have plenty of fresh water available, too, to keep your kitten hydrated. If you are bottle feeding, you’ll notice the kittens are drinking much more at each feeding, but at fewer feedings, probably four to five times a day. They are walking steadily, without too much wobbling. This has a very simple explanation: kitten food contains more protein, fat and nutritional elements that are needed for the growth and development process. In fact, it is recommended that all kittens, with or without mom, get weighed on a regular basis. Monitoring weight is an absolutely essential part of orphan kitten care. Return to the Ask The Cat Doctor home page. Stockists. Knowing the kitten's weight will help you determine their progress and wellbeing, will help with dosing medication and food, and will alert you when the kitten is unwell. If you're caring for kittens without mom, please see these additional helpful articles for other important kitten care info: Leave Kitten Weight Chart and return to the Taking Care ofKittens index. The biggest indicator that a kitten is developing properly starts with weight gain, according to a kitten weight chart. The weight range providedin the kitten weight chart below covers both male and female kittens, as well as a large number of breed builds, but your particular kitten may not fit perfectly into the weight ranges. Setting up good feeding behaviours and providing your kitten with the right food for their needs can help them become a healthy and content adult. With or without their mother cat, a kitten should grow steadily, at certain rates, and a variety of changes should occur within a certain time frame. If your cat fails to lose weight, you should consult a vet. Indoor cats with sedentary lifestyles need less energy than outdoor cats, so it’s important to give them an appropriate portion to avoid them gaining weight and suffering from connected health problems. Once weekly, kittens should be weighed, and their weights recorded and tracked. Feed your cat a complete food that’s suitable for their life stage, eg kitten, adult or senior cat – the food packaging will advise which life stage it is aimed at. Every kitten's weight will vary, but what is most important is that the kitten is making progress. Early detection of problems, like failure to thrive, can make the difference in life or death for a helpless kitten. Regardless, in either scenario, certain steps can be taken to catch problems earlier rather than later. The biggest indicator that a kitten is developing properly starts with weight gain, according to a kitten weight chart. Nutritional formulas that help to build your kitten's natural defences, support healthy growth, and aid in digestive system development. You can begin to set good eating habits by making sure you space out your kitten’s food, play, sleep and litter areas, echoing what they would do naturally. In any case, if a kitten is not gaining 1.75 to 3.5 ounces every week, he or she should be examined by your veterinarian right away. The best thing you can do during this period is make sure your kittens and their mother are safe and undisturbed, leaving them to feed in peace. Furthermore, it has been my professional recommendation that kittens are spayed or neutered when they weigh roughly 4 pounds. The predicted weight loss is based on a 15% reduction in calorie intake from the level necessary to maintain current weight. Royal Canin, Health Nutrition for Cats and Dogs, Feeding your kitten from four weeks to four months. Weighing kittens is not optional--you must make it part of your kitten care routine. Our feeding guide is worked out for the average cat of the weight shown but your cat could differ substantially from average – requirements vary considerably between cats of the same weight. From birth to adulthood, there are different ways you can support your cat to be healthy and content, including their diet and how they develop a relationship with their food. Weight can be the number one indicator of problems in many cats, but where kittens are concerned, this is especially true. Feeding your kitten Feeding your cat Feeding your senior cat Grain free diets Insuring your cat Overweight cats Lilyland Our World. 5 important things about feeding your cat. At first, they’ll receive colostrum – a milk-like liquid which helps support their immune system in early life – followed by milk. Charges may vary depending on your service provider and your location, possibly incurring higher costs (up to 72p per minute when calling from the UK). Our ingredients Complete nutrition Register / Sign In. It is important to evaluate your cat's condition before choosing a cat food. Check out the Weight and Feeding Chart to determine the average healthy weight for each week of kitten development, and note that this is only a guideline--not a rule book. Even more important than your kitten falling within a perfect range, week after week, on the above chart, it is important toensure that kittens are gaining roughly ¼ to ½ an ounce every day, or 1.75 to 3.5 ounces every week. From birth to a month old, your kitten will be getting all the nutrition they need from their mother when they suckle. Calculate How Much Canned Food to Feed a Cat; Other Tools for Assessing Your Cat's Weight. Your information is safe and secure with us; please read out privacy policy for more details. To keep track of kitten weight, it is often easiest to use,of all things, a kitchen food scale. A healthy kitten should gain a minimum of 10 grams per day. At this age you can start introducing solid food—use wet food at first, and try mixing it with kitten formula. Watch the video below to see how to easily weigh a kitten: Check out the Weight and Feeding Chart to determine the average healthy weight for each week of kitten development, and note that this is only a guideline--not a rule book. At four weeks old, your kitten will start to show an interest in solid food and you can begin weaning. Placing the kitten in a bowl on the scale will help keep the kitten stable--just be sure to tare the scale first so that only the kitten's weight is being recorded. As you can see from the growth chart provided above, this generally means that your kitten will be 12-16 weeks old by the time I would recommend neutering. Kittens grow very quickly during the first 12 weeks of their life, and with or without their mom’s, it’s important for us pet parents to oversee their proper development. If you’re feeding orphaned kittens, you may not be doing so often enough and/or there could be an issue with your formula, for instance. Cats are natural grazers, and will eat 15 to 20 very small meals a day. A kitten that is not growing is usually sick or may not be getting enough nutrition. As your cat matures, maintain good feeding habits and avoid stress by letting it eat in peace in a calm place. Kittens growvery rapidly, because in the wild, they would be expected to be weaned and fending for themselves by the time they are 12-16 weeks old. However, after this it should gain weight steadily – weigh it each day and consult your vet if its weight stagnates or drops. At first, your kitten may lose a little weight as it learns to suckle. While a cat that is a normal weight may not need a special diet, a cat that is severely under or overweight will probably have special caloric needs. If a kitten is failing to grow or thrive, this can indicate serious problems with your kitten’s health. Have Cat Questions? Sign up to receive Kitten Lady news, updates, and more. Weigh kittens at least once per day and write down the weight. Choose a feed which is specifically designed for kittens which will support their growth – for example, it should be enriched with antioxidants to stimulate their production of antibodies, as during weaning the immunity they’ve gained from their mother begins to decrease. This site is for your information only. Choose a food that’s specially formulated for sterilised cats, and which is appropriate for their breed and gender, and monitor their weight closely. If you choose to get your cat neutered, there is the risk they’ll gain weight rapidly after the procedure as their energy expenditure reduces by 30%, yet their appetite increases by up to 26%. If the kitten is not gaining weight, or is losing weight, this is a sign of illness and should be addressed immediately. If the kitten is underweight or losing weight, bring her to a vet immediately to ensure that she is treated and supportive care is put into place. Click here for guidance from our team of veterinary telehealth specialists on how the COVID-19 coronavirus can impact you and your pets. Visit whiskerDocs for answers to your pet care questions. If kittens are still with their mom, it’s possible that there’s a health problem with mom as well.