8 week old kitten food

[Jkat.z]

Hi is it normal to have to blend kitten food with water for an 8 week old? Our kitten seems to have a bit of difficulty eating kitten food out the pouch. When I blend the kitten food with water into a soup, she happily slurps away. She was weaned a little late i think. She eats well and is a healthy weight. The vet said she was fine weightwise.

Thanks

 

[Kieka]

At 8 weeks old a lot of kittens don't have a good thirst drive and aren't fully comfortable with solid food. Blending their wet food with water (or KMR or goats milk) is a great option. It helps a kitten who hasn't quiet gotten the hang of chewing food to eat while also ensuring they stay hydrated. I personally feed a mush to kittens under 12 weeks old and will decrease the liquids after 12 weeks old until they are comfortable eating and I am sure they are drinking enough water.

You should keep a small bowl of kibble available at all time while your kitten is still growing (somewhere between 9 and 18 months depending on the individual kitten). Growing kittens need a lot of calories to grow big and strong. While kibble is not the ideal food for any cat, keeping it available for a kitten allows the kitten to eat whenever hungry without waking you up at 2am, 4am and 6am for early morning snacking. Wet meals should be as often as you can manage during the day time at least for the first 6 months and then you can start tapering down to an adult schedule of 3-4 wet meals a day (or 1-2 wet meals, although if you do 1-2 meals I'd leave a measured amount of kibble for snacking).

But thats all future, for now. Yes, mixing with water is fine (KMR or goats milk is better because it ups the nutrition). Mix with water until 12 weeks or the kittens gets better at chewing. Then slowly reduce water content over several weeks but monitor water drinking. If your kitten isnt drinking then keep adding water to food. Do remember that cats are sensitive to water being stale or sitting for a while (part of that ingrained natural instinct). If you don't have a water fountain be sure to empty and refill the water dish daily or your cat may avoid drinking.

 

[Jkat.z]

Thank you for this detailed advice. Really appreciated!