Kitten Feeding Guide: What is the Best Kitten Food?
Kittens grow at lightning speed and need food that fuels that development. When selecting the best diet for your kitten, you need to know what to look for to set them up for long-term success.
What to Look for in Kitten Food
Choosing a food for your kitten isn’t just about filling the bowl - it’s about providing the proper nutrition to help support their muscle growth, brain development, strong bones, and more.
Complete and Balanced: No matter which type of kitten food you opt for, ensure that it is formulated to appropriately fulfill kitten nutrient requirements. Look for claims on the packaging like “Complete and Balanced for All Life Stages.”
High Quality Animal Protein: Protein is crucial for kittens as it’s the building block for their muscles, tissues, and organs - while also providing essential energy for their rapid growth. A diet high in animal protein also supplies important nutrients like taurine that kittens require for healthy heart function, vision, and growth.
Healthy Fats: Fats offer a dense energy source for kittens and help their growing bodies absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Omega-3 fatty acids, like DHA, are critical for the development of a kitten’s brain, nervous system, and vision. Fatty acids also contribute to healthy skin and a shiny coat.
Vitamins and Minerals: Kittens require a variety of vitamins and minerals for proper growth and to promote long-term health. Calcium and phosphorus build strong bones and teeth, vitamin A helps create a strong immune system, and B-complex vitamins (B1, 2, 3, 6, and 12) contribute to the health of numerous bodily functions and systems.
Types of Kitten Food
Kitten Dry Food
Kibble is highly convenient as it is shelf-stable, and usually the most budget-friendly choice. However, the high heat and pressure applied during the extrusion process often destroys some of the nutrients in the food and leaves it extremely dry. A natural prey diet is about 70% water, while dry kibble contains only around 10%, leaving many housecats chronically dehydrated.
Canned Kitten Food
Wet food is a popular choice due to its high palatability, ability to be easily mixed with other foods, and variety of textures. It also contains a high moisture content which supports kidney and urinary health. While not to the extremes of kibble, canned food is still cooked and processed and may lose some nutrients and enzymes.
Raw Kitten Food
Raw food closely mimics a kitten’s ancestral diet to fulfill their needs as obligate carnivores. Raw diets are rich in natural enzymes, amino acids, and vitamins that support healthy growth, digestion, and immunity. For kittens, this means better muscle development, a glossier coat, and a stronger immune system. Raw foods also contain a high moisture content that helps support proper hydration and kidney function. Frozen raw is the most economical raw choice and can even cost less than wet food. It isn’t all or nothing as raw can be mixed with other foods like kibble!
When to Switch from Kitten Food to Cat Food
Many new kitten owners wonder how long kittens should eat kitten food. A cat is usually considered a kitten until they reach 1 year of age (large breed cats like Maine Coons may need to be fed kitten food longer). If you feed your kitten a diet that’s complete and balanced for all life stages, you’ll never have to worry about transitioning to a new food as it’s already formulated to meet the needs of both growing kittens and adult cats!
Give Your Kitten the Best Start Possible
We believe every cat deserves the benefits of real, raw nutrition from the very start. Explore our line of complete and balanced raw cat food made in the USA with responsibly sourced ingredients and formulated for all life stages—including kittens. Use code PURR25 for 25% off your first purchase!
Thinking about transitioning foods for your kitten? Check out these tips on getting cats to try new food!
