Can Kittens eat adult cat food? It is a common question when you have to provide care for kittens. Do you wonder if your kitten can eat adult cat food? The answer is no. Kittens are like babies needing a cautionary diet to digest. You cannot just give them anything from the cat food to eat. This food can prove to be dangerous and harmful for them.
Since birth, kittens feed on cats’ milk for their nutritional needs. Unless they start weaning, they cannot eat any solids. They can eat semi-wet or moist cat food by this age.
Feeding your kittens solids in the early 5-6 weeks will harm their health. It is not even found to give them dry cat food. The reason is that it can be painful for them to chew on the dry food.
Two phases of kittens’ growing age:
Two phases to notice in kittens’ age show why they cannot eat adult cat food. Let’s have a look at them.
Phase 1
The phase starts when they are born and ends at four months of age. In this phase, the kittens are growing at a lighter speed; they have delicate bones and muscle tissues that must be taken care of through a balanced diet. They cannot handle any mature cat food at this stage.
Phase 2
This phase starts from the fourth month of their age and lasts 12 months or a year. At this age, they are growing fast, their body is stronger than before, and they are maturing. At this stage, they need a cautionary diet adding nutrients, proteins, and minerals to help them grow, starting with small amounts of cat food.
How is kittens’ food different from adult cat food?
Kittens need nutritional food with more calories at a growing age. They need to eat sufficient food for their health needs and growing age. On the other hand, adult cat food does not have the nutrition they need to grow up. In the market, there are specially manufactured food for kittens taking into account their needs.
Moreover, food for adult cats is designed considering their life stages and body and health needs. This food fulfils their requirements according to their age. The kittens’ food is also different and manufactured according to their baby stages. So, both cat foods are greatly different from each other.
Kittens’ food is full of calories, carbohydrates, minerals and protein, and fatty acids as they need them for their growth. The fatty acids have minerals, vitamins, potassium, and phosphorus. All of them help kittens strengthen their bones and teeth. Their meal mostly includes protein as they are essential for the cells’ development in the kittens’ body. You will find less protein and calories in adult cat food per their age requirement.
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At what age can you feed kittens adult cat food?
You cannot feed your kittens cat food made for adult cats, as it harms them, but you may wonder can kittens eat adult cat food after a little ageing. The answer is yes. When they reach the age of 12 months, you can introduce adult food to them in portions and make them get used to it gradually.
You need to be consistent in using the same brand and quantity that will be digestible for them. If your cat does not like the specific brand you notice through its eating habits, get a consultant and ask them to recommend a brand they like.
It will be a fine choice if you start feeding your kitten the food for adult cats after 12 months of age, around 18 months. They have grown out of their baby stage and are familiar with cat food chunks. You can start this food transition day-wise, starting with small amounts of this cat food and ending the practice with cat food only.
What happens if you feed kittens the cat food for mature cats?
Feeding your kitten the food made for adult cats once is not dangerous, but it does not have to happen daily. Feeding this cat food to the kitten is fine for once only. Don’t make it a daily thing.
As mentioned earlier, the food for kittens and adult cats is designed according to their age, stages and needs. It contains calories, proteins, and minerals, all per requirement according to their age. Over feeding the kittens with cat food for adults daily will not let them grow as they should gradually and properly in perfect health.
FAQs:
Here are some FAQs to consider when feeding the kittens adult cat food. They are:
Can you feed your kittens cat food for adult cats?
It is not proper to feed the kittens this food for their sensitive health conditions.
Do kittens’ and adult cat’s food have the same amount of nutrition?
No, kittens’ food is quite different from adult cats as the nutrition quantity in both varies hugely, suiting their age needs.
At what age can you feed adult food to your kitten?
From 12 months onwards, you can introduce adult cat food to the kittens. Feeding them with this cat food for around 18 months might be more suitable.
Can you start giving adult food options directly to the kittens?
No, it is not right. You need to make your kitten practice feeding on it little by little.
Wrap up!
Kittens are sweet little pets that require proper care regarding their health needs. Before feeding them, it’s important to know can kittens eat adult cat food.
Technically, it is not suitable for you to feed kittens cat food designed for adult cats. They need more vitamins, calories, proteins, and carbohydrates to grow and have a healthy life.
At the same time, adult food includes all these in a very small amount. It is recommended to feed the kittens this food only after 112 months of their early life when they have built strong tissues and cells to digest it well.
