What should and should not kittens eat when they start weaning? If you are also wondering about this, please read the information we are about to share below.
Why is it important to choose the right food for kittens?
Even though you take care of and feed your kittens very carefully, they are still prone to vomiting. The cause of this condition may be: when the kitten is just starting to eat solid food, you feed it too much, while the kitten’s digestive system is not yet stable, it cannot digest a lot of food at the same time, causing the intestines to be full. And bringing the food back up and vomiting out is the body’s reaction to help the digestive system not be overloaded.
In addition, frequent changes in food also make it difficult for the kitten’s digestive system to get used to it. Food that is not fully cooked can also cause the kitten to vomit after eating. Food that is too large and not soft enough can also cause the kitten to choke and vomit.
Kittens that eat the wrong food are prone to vomiting.
At 1 month old, kittens will enter the weaning stage to get used to foods other than milk. If you are new to raising kittens, you can apply the formula to calculate the amount of food for kittens according to the following ratio: Each kg of cat weight needs 40-50gr of food. The ratio of substances is as follows: 50% animal meat + 20% starch + 20% green vegetables.
If you don’t have much time to cook for your kittens, you can train them to eat kitten food pellets according to their age. The nutritional content of these pellets has been calculated by the manufacturer to suit each age and stage of development of the kittens, so there is no need to worry about excess or lack of nutrition.
If you have time to cook for your kittens, some good kitten foods that you should use are:
+ Seafood: Fish and shrimp are cats’ favorite foods. If you feed your cat fish, you need to be careful to remove the bones to avoid choking. Shrimp also needs to be peeled because shrimp shells contain benzoic acid, which is not good for kittens’ health.
+ Meats: You can buy poultry meats for your kittens such as chicken, beef, pork, etc. However, you should only feed your cat lean meat because fatty meat is not good for the cat’s digestion and cardiovascular system.
+ Poultry eggs: Chicken, duck, quail, goose, and goose eggs provide a rich source of protein and calcium, which is good for the skeletal system. Each week, you can feed your cat 2 eggs by boiling them. You can grind the eggshells into small pieces and mix them with rice or kitten food to provide enough calcium for your cat.
+ Vegetables: Every day, kittens need to absorb 10-15 grams of vegetables. You can cook vegetables with porridge or mix them with rice, food and then feed them. Some good vegetables for kittens are: spinach, carrots, green beans…
Kittens’ digestive systems are not yet fully developed and healthy enough, so in addition to the good foods they should eat, there are still some foods they should avoid. Specifically:
+ Do not eat ready-made dog food: Because each food product is calculated with different nutritional content to suit each pet’s physical condition.
+ Do not drink human milk: Because human milk has not broken down lactose, it will cause difficulty in absorption and diarrhea in cats.
+ You should not feed your cat only one food, you should diversify the food for your cat to avoid boredom.
+ Do not feed kittens raw fish because this food contains thiaminase which can destroy vitamin B1.
+ Avoid consuming caffeinated drinks such as chocolate, tea, and coffee because they are not good for the cardiovascular and nervous systems and cause vomiting and diarrhea in cats.
+ Kittens should not eat macadamia nuts because these nuts contain substances that cause weakness, muscle tremors, unsteadiness, and even death.
+ Kittens should also avoid eating garlic and onions because they contain a lot of thiosulfate which damages red blood cells and causes anemia.
+ Some fruits that kittens should not eat are: grapes and raisins because they contain some bad ingredients that affect the cat’s kidneys; avocado contains pepsin which causes difficulty breathing and pulmonary edema.
+ You should limit feeding cats raw or undercooked food because it contains many disease-causing bacteria.
Kittens should also not eat macadamia nuts because these nuts contain substances that cause weakness, muscle tremors, unsteadiness, and even death.
When feeding kittens, Sen should pay attention to preparing soft, pureed food for the kitten to help digestion easier. You should diversify and change dishes regularly to avoid the kitten getting bored with eating.
In addition, do not force your cat to eat too much, causing its stomach to be overloaded. Let your kitten eat according to its ability to be more interested in eating. Hopefully, with the information we provide above, Sen can more easily choose food for their cat!
