How to Introduce Solid Food to Kittens

Weaning Kittens from Their Mother’s Milk

Do not begin weaning too early. Kittens need their mother’s nutrient-heavy milk to gain sufficient weight in the first two or three weeks of life. Forcing the kittens to wean early will be physically harmful to them, and will also upset the mother cat. The kitten’s eyes will be open and it will be steady on its feet before weaning naturally begins. If the kitten’s eyes are still shut and the animal is not yet steady on its feet, it’s still too early to begin weaning the kitten.

Let the mother cat begin the weaning process. The kittens will be weaned naturally: starting when the kittens are around 3 or 4 weeks, the mother will begin pushing them away when they nuzzle her to nurse. At this point, the kittens will begin to look for other sources of food, and you can start to present them with solid food. Were the kittens living in the wild, at this point in their development (3 or 4 weeks) they would begin eating birds, squirrels, and other animals that their mother killed for them.

Allow the kittens to continue nursing intermittently. Weaning is not a sudden, abrupt process. Although kittens will begin being weaned in week 3 or 4, they will continue to need diminishing amounts of their mother’s milk for the next 4 weeks. During weeks 5, 6, and 7, kittens will become more assertive with their mother and will initiate nursing on their own, rather than waiting for their mother to initiate nursing. It’s also important that the kittens gain independence from their mother as the weaning process goes on. This will encourage them to look for food sources other than their mother’s milk. Between weeks 3 and 8, give the kittens a safe space to wander around in your house or apartment – while supervised – to fulfill their natural curiosity.

Choosing a Type of Solid Food

Begin with a milk substitute. If you’re concerned that kittens will not readily take to eating solid food, you can provide a milk substitute as an intermediary step – one designed for kittens that will give them the nourishment they need. Mix the milk substitute into canned kitten food, since it can upset their stomachs alone. You should serve the milk substitute around the times when the kittens usually nurse from their mother. So, if the kittens typically nurse every two hours, you should set out a fresh bowl of mixed food and substitute at the same interval. You can find a milk substitute at most pet stores, and it may even be for sale at your local supermarket. If you prefer to order online, you can order a milk substitute (sometimes called a “kitten milk replacement”) from stores like PetCo and PetSmart. Do not give kittens cow’s milk. Cow’s milk is not very nourishing to the kittens, and can give them upset stomachs and diarrhea.

Serve the kittens a kitten-specific wet food. Many cat food brands manufacture a kitten-specific wet food that will provide the specific forms of nutrition needed by kittens between 3 and 10 weeks old. The food packaging itself should include instructions for when to switch the kittens over to a food for full-grown, adult cats. Kitten-specific wet food should be included in the “Pet Food” section at any local grocery store. If you’d like a wider variety or are searching for a specific brand of food, you can look at a local pet-supply store. If this is your first time introducing kittens to solid food, ask your veterinarian for nutritional advice and what wet food for kittens they recommend.

Dampen small kibble before serving it to the kittens. It often works well to transition kittens from soft, wet food to kibble. You can feed kittens wet food starting in week 3 or 4; by week 5 or 6, you can begin to introduce some dampened kibble. When you decide to start serving kibble to the kittens, you should first dampen the kibble with a small amount of water or milk substitute. This will make the kibble easier to chew and swallow for kittens not used to hard food. Even if you’re introducing kittens to hard kibble before introducing them to soft, wet food, it’s still important to serve them kibble that has been designed specifically for kittens.

Feeding Kittens Solid Food

Place wet food in a low saucer or dish. To begin feeding solid food to the kittens, you can scoop some soft, wet food (or milk substitute) into a small dish. Make sure to use a low dish so that the small kittens can easily access the food. This food should be served at roughly room temperature, although you can refrigerate leftover wet food. Do not serve the food to the kittens hot, as it could burn them. To encourage independence, set this dish away from the mother. Place the food dish (and a water dish) away from the kittens’ litter box, too, since cats don’t like to eat near their litter.

Begin by serving a single tablespoon of food. Although the kittens will soon develop larger appetites as they stop consuming their mother’s milk and begin to grow rapidly, at first they will eat relatively little. Scoop only a tablespoon of wet food (per kitten) into the dish; the kittens are too small to eat much more than this. By serving only a small amount of food, you’ll save yourself from having to throw substantial amounts of cat food away after every feeding. The kittens will also likely step in the food in the saucer, so be prepared to throw this food out also.

Feed the kittens multiple times throughout the day. Unlike grown cats, kittens need to eat many times throughout the day, as they’ll be used to frequently nursing from their mother. Since kittens will eat solid food periodically during the day, you need to serve food multiple times. Plan to give the kittens wet food 4 or 5 times each day: for example, set out a tablespoon of food per kitten at 8 am, 11 am, 3 pm, 6 pm, and 9 pm. As kittens grow older and pass 10 weeks of age, you can begin to reduce the feeding times gradually: drop down to 4, then 3. When the kittens are between 4 to 6 months old, you can try only feeding them once in the morning and once in the evening.

Offer the kittens a little solid food on the tip of your finger. If the kittens are hesitant to approach the wet food, or are uncertain of how to interact with the new substance, pick up a little on the tip of your finger (or on the top of a clean spoon) and offer it to the kittens. Once they have a chance to smell the food, the kittens will begin to eat. Don’t be surprised if they initially only eat small amounts of the wet food. When offering wet food, be careful not to force it into the kittens’ faces. This could give them a fear of food, and could also accidentally be inhaled. Just hold your finger (with food on it) 2–3 inches from the kitten’s nose and let the cat come closer.

Introduce food to each kitten individually. Due to personality differences, some kittens will naturally be more inquisitive, and others more shy. To make sure that all of the kittens are successfully weaned, you can introduce solid food to each one individually. You can do this by picking up the kittens one at a time and taking them each over to a small dish with food in it, or by extending your finger with a small amount of food to each kitten individually. If some kittens are especially shy around the food, try gently holding their mouths open and swipe a tiny morsel off food on their tongue. This will let them taste the food and hopefully encourage them to try more.