When should baby kittens start eating kitten food?

patti f: When should baby kittens start eating kitten food?
My cat gave birth to five kittens two and a half weeks ago. When should I give them kitten food?

Answers and Views:

Answer by lizzy
Weaning takes place between 6 and 8 weeks, which is when their little fang teeth come in. Nature knows what she’s doing. Feed them solids when they have teeth.

Answer by Larissa D
once they start getting their teeth. I always started mine with some kitten chow soaked in water, they seem to love it, i think its milk flavored. also it gets nice and soft for them after being soaked for a few minutes. you can try a little canned food mixed in, not too much, but just the plain chow works well. you may have to put a little taste in their mouth a couple of times but then they should chow down!! i would start to introduce it at around 4 weeks. at 6 to 8 weeks they should be completely weaned off the mom and ready to go to new homes!

Answer by Philips G
Yes.. I just play it safe with kittens, I start offering it around the 10th week. One of my calico’s litters did both, they sometimes nursed, and sometimes took the kitten food.. whatever they were in the mood for … +1 on letting nature take its course. Very few times should humans interfere, and only then for safety, or when you KNOW something is wrong. (Usually when the mother starts ignoring a kitten, thats a telltale sign something is very wrong)

Answer by Richina
when the mother starts weening them, she stops feeding them, get some kitten milk and some soft cand kitten food and mix it togeather to wear its a creamy concistance. then every week start putting less kitten milk and as soon as they are used to the canned food, start mixing it with kitten food. they will be on regular kitten food by no time once they get used to it

Answer by Kayty
At about four weeks. They will still need to nurse on their mother for several more weeks but you can start introducing them to the idea of solid food.

When you feed the mother, soften some kitten food with warm water (not milk…cow’s milk is not good for cats) and put some in a saucer near the mother. Take the kittens out of the nest and put them near the saucer, and take a little food on your finger and put it on their lips. Do the same every time you feed the mother cat. She may decide to eat the kittens’ food herself, which is fine. The extra calories and calcum and vitamins in kitten food are good for her while she is nursing.

At first the kittens won’t have a clue as to what the food is or how to eat it. They’ll walk through it, tip the saucer over, get it all over them, get it up their noses and sneeze, and so on. Eventually they will get the idea.

The mother will start to wean them when they are from eight to ten weeks old. She’ll start avoiding them, stay out of the nest most of the time, jump up and leave when they try to nurse, even swat them or bite them. They should stay with the mother at least eight weeks, though many people give kittens away at six weeks. They learn a lot from the mother in those extra two weeks.

Answer by Queen*E
I would double check with the vet on this one to help you find an appropriate food. Usually 6-8 weeks you can feed them wet food. After a while though you should be trying to mix wet and dry food ( the dry is good for their teeth). Between 4 and 6 weeks they should be on a gradual diet of a mix of milk formula and water slightly increasing the amount of water each day. Free feeding the kittens is also good make sure when you are transitioning the kittens you should also litter train them. At about 9 weeks they should be getting their shots and have a check up to see they are all healthy. Different kittens take different amounts of time weening don’t be alarmed if it takes them up to about 10 weeks before they are eating solid food and drinking water on their own.