Thread: Advice on feeding......

Hi there, hope you are enjoying your new kittens, it's such a fun time when they are that age.

To answer your questions, yes, kitten food is a gimmick, as is breed-specific and other types of food marketing by the pet food industry. All a cat needs, at any age, is decent meat protein in the right proportions with enough moisture. There are various ways to achieve this.

You are also on the right track to suggest going over to wet food. Wet food is much better than dry, because it contains about 60% moisture, as opposed to dry food which is about 10% moisture. Cats need to take in moisture with their food because they are not great drinkers (they used to live in the desert after all). Even if you provide plenty of bowls of water they will never drink enough to supply themselves with sufficient moisture. Lack of adequate moisture in their diet leads to overly acidic urine which in the long term can lead to the dreaded UTI infections, ie, painful cystitis, and bladders stones.

How much to feed: The guideline amount for an adult cat is 2-3% of the cat's bodyweight per day. So for a 7kg cat that's 150-200g per day. But growing kittens should eat as much as they like, preferably in 3 or 4 small meals per day. A kitten can eat an astonishing amount of food, often more than an adult cat. As your cats are only 18 weeks, give them as much quality wet food as they will eat. It might be fun to calculate how far it is off the adult guideline of 2-3% of bodyweight per day.

Encore is a complementary food, but good quality. So make sure it's a small part of their diet, not the main part.

Hope this helps x