When do you feed stray kittens dry cat food?

Corrie

I had a stray cat have babies in my car port. Shes been taking care of them very well. We feed her and another cat as well (thats all).. I was wondering when do we feed her kittens dry cat food? How do we keep them from going out of the property when they start walking around more? Were going to trap them and get them fixed when they are old enough.



Eugenia

At three weeks you should start seeing them try to eat with mom cat. The best thing to do is to feed Mom a high quality canned diet and that will entice the little ones and they will start eating with her. Dont mix water into dry food. The water takes up to much space and the kittens dont get enough nutrition when you do that. Feed a high quality canned only diet to the mom, who will then teach the kittens to eat. :o)Cats were never meant to eat dry food, also known as cereals or kibble. We, humans, make them eat it for convenience to us. It has nothing to do with them or their nutritional needs. Its completely species inappropriate. All small domestic cats descended from desert cats. In the wild, desert cats derive their entire liquid intake from their prey. They do not have a thirst mechanism because they dont need it when eating a species appropriate diet. They get all they need from what they eat. Additionally water was usually not available to them in their desert climate. So they do not often drink water. Regular ol house cats have descended from those same wild desert cats. So in a home environment, your kitty does not get the moisture it needs from dry food and it’s almost always in a constant state of dehydration. Water fountains are encouraged to TRY to get your cat to drink more and your kitty may even enjoy it, but it will never meet its water intake needs drinking from a bowl. Deadly feline illnesses such as diabetes, kidney failure, obesity, allergies, Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD), constipation, bladder stones, kidney stones, urinary tract blockages and Urinary Tract Infections (FLUTD), with and without deadly crystals run rampant these days. Cats are not taking in enough water to stave them off. Proper water intake through a species appropriate diet alone can prevent most of these conditions. Overall, wet is all around better for any cats diet, be it canned or Raw and they should never be fed dry cereal kibble if we wish to most closely match their wild nutritional and dietary needs. Kibble meets our needs… not our cats. I recommend varying the diet with a constant rotation of 2 to 4 different brands of canned foods that your cat enjoys. If you do this, and allow your cat the same assortment they would have in nature when eating mice, bugs, birds and rabbits, your cat’s digestive system wont be so sensitive and you wont have to run around looking for a specific brand when your store is out. You will have a nice variety to choose from instead. Canned foods I recommend you consider for your rotation: Natures Variety - http://www. naturesvariety. com/content. la… Wellness Grain Free Formula’s - http://www. wellnesspetfood. com/cat_welln…By Nature Organics - http://www. bynaturepetfoods. com/productp… Organix - http://www. castorpolluxpet. com/store/org… Evangers Holistic Pheasant - http://www. evangersdogfood. com/cat/20089… Evangers Organic Braised Chicken - http://www. evangersdogfood. com/cat/50103… Evangers Turkey Butternut Squash - http://www. evangersdogfood. com/cat/50111…



Adelia

Outdoor kittens are tough little opportunists and will go for solid food as early as four weeks, and you might not even need to moisten it. A recently pregnant/nursing mom needs more nutritition, too, so I would put dry kitten food out for the whole family -- it also has smaller pieces. (Occasionally a kitten will choke on dry food for adult cats, though Ive only heard of that happening to spoiled indoor kittens.) Youll be able to tell theyre getting enough to eat if they have energy and arent too skinny. Unless mom gets scared and moves the whole family, they wont leave on their own until theyre several months old. Some agencies will trap and spay/neuter as young as eight weeks. Its safe for the kittens. If you can start to play with the kittens without freaking mom cat out, they can socialize to people and they might even be adoptable as pets, but the most reliable way to tame them for adoption is to take them away from mom once theyre eating solid food at 4 or 5 weeks. By the time they reach between 8 and 12 weeks, if they arent being raised as pets, they might never become tame (although there are exceptions; we have one as a sweet indoor pet). But even if all you can do is feed and fix them, youre doing a great thing for their health and happiness and for your neighborhood.



Jessenia

The mother cat will know when to start the kittens on the dry food. Just keep finding the mother and the kittens will start eating the food when they are ready. If they seem to be having problems you could soften the dry food a bit with warm water. Maybe you could put the mother and the kittens in a large box if you intend on having them fixed and caring for them.



Lance

When they are 5-8 weeks you can try to feed them but wet food is so much better especially for kittensAs far as keeping them from leaving the property, I have no clue. My cats are indoor outdoor with the only rule being that they have to be in at night. Do you intend to let them in your home? I hope so



Patience

Good..get mom fixed right away. Kittens eat dry food around 4 or 5 weeks. take some in a bowl and add A LITTLE water... it will soak it up and make it soft for them... they will eat it and then you can later give them just dry food. I would (if you can) pet them if you can so they wont be wild. And possibly you can find them homes. good luck >



Eden





Cristin