Feeding kittens
Let’s start from the beginning: feed kittens with food specially
prepared for them. Almost all the cats we knew preferred canned food most of all. As for our own pets, we feed them with canned food only. But canned food may spoil if
the term of its keeping is missed. The other problem is that it is more expensive and it leaves more rubbish than the dry food. Dry food is good for keeping either in
package or in plate. It is not such expensive as the canned one, its easy to use and to keep. Half dry food is as suitable as the dry one and the most of cats
accept it as good as the canned one. But such food usually has many different chemical colorants, additions and spices.
Fresh water is necessary for the kitten but it is usually not in the centre of problems for many owners. Even if the kitten drinks the water what drops from the tap, the fresh water must always be in the plate. Wash up its plate and change the water every day. it’s very important if you feed your pet with dry food. If it drinks the necessary portions of water it would protect the kitten of urine diseases. Fresh water is important for all cats but especially it’s necessary for males who suffer of such diseases more often.
There is a myth that the milk is the most necessary food for kittens. But really milk may cause constipation. it’s better to give fresh water to kitten instead of milk.
Teeth of kittens appear in the age of 3.5-6 months. Chewing may be painful for them from time to time during this period. If you feed your kitten with dry food and it seems to you that it wants to eat but after some bites it goes away, try to put the food into the warm water for some minutes. Water will soften the food and it would be easier for kitten to eat it. Of course, you’ll not have such problems with canned food because it is already soft.
The mouth of kitten, like the mouth of each baby, may ache while teeth appear. it’s possible that he’ll bite everything trying to decrease the pain. It may cry or just be nervous. Possibly, there would be some constipation or your kitten would be weaker than usually. During this period his breath may be not very fresh. But everything will pass. If it troubles you much you should visit veterinary. He can find out the symptoms of your pet and say if there are some reasons to trouble.
Little kitten which is not three months old yet must have the access to food during the whole day. It grows and it needs so much energy that there are few chances that your pet will overeat. Most of all he would run about in your house and burn calories as any healthy kitten does. Bu if, in any reason, it is necessary for you to feed him some times a day you should do this at three times a day.
When the kitten is about six months old you can feed him twice a day. Such feeding is also recommended for adult cats. At the age of six months the quick growth of a kitten stops. He will continue to grow but it’ll be slower. Feeding twice a day will help you to control the number of food he eats. Now it may seem to you not very important, but, in spite of this, fatting is widespread problem among adult cats which are always at home. You should do something for your cat wouldn’t be too fat.
Plan the time of feeding your cat for it would coincide with your own one. But as we said before, never feed your pet as soon as you've got up. If you do this your cat would understand that it gets food as soon as you've got up. That’s why it will help you to get up early! Because five o'clock in the morning is not very early time to have a light breakfast, is it?
If your kitten awakes you in the middle night don’t feed him for relaxing. In the other way it would bore the habit which you hardly avoid after. Cats have a good memory as for the food. In spite of that try to feed it just before you left home to your work. Don’t let him to associate feeding with your getting up and everything will be all right.
In the evening the same actions should be done as for your coming back home. If you feed him as soon as you have entered the house he would be nervous when you are late. And nervous kittens often cause many problems. Inspire of that feed him only when you sit at the dinner table or when it is the time of your latest coming home. For example, if you usually come home at six o'clock in the evening but twice a week you are late because of your training in the gymnasium and come at half past seven, then you should feed your kitten at eight o'clock every day. It will become a custom and usual practice.
The great importance is where you feed your pet. If you don’t want him jumping up on the working table in the kitchen where you prepare food, don’t feed him at the other side of this table. The same is concerned to the kitchen table and so on. Your kitten must feed itself comfortably while going to the plate with the food and if the plate is near some thing where you don’t want to see it, it would be the problem for both you and your pet.
If you have a dog who is usually a great fan of cat food you have to isolate it while you are feeding your cat. Then you can put the plate with food for cat on the floor. Here is another advantage of feeding your cat twice a day: the dog can’t eat cat’s food because nothing has left in the plate. Millions of cats showed to their owners that they need the plate with food 24 hours. But it’s not right.
Here is another clever advice: never feed your kitten from your dinning table. When you see that large green eyes staring on you from the floor just repeat to yourself: “Twenty years, twenty ears!” If you don’t want to have such problems during twenty years don’t give it food from your plate.
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