Can kittens have cat treats? Kittens have a lot of energy as compared to adult cats. You would naturally want to pamper your kitten by rewarding her for being so cute and cuddly. At this tender age, kittens are very vulnerable and their activities are extremely high making you wonder how and from where they get this energy from. Like grown-up cats, kittens also require a well-balanced and nutritious diet according their age and breed. Feeding the right quantity of food is extremely essential for their highly active life. Cats are true carnivorous, which means they love to eat nutrients found in meat.
In the wild the cousins of cats like lion and leopard know what to eat; they don’t need to be taught what to eat. In the same way a kitten’s diet should be much similar to what their cousins eat keeping in mind their carnivore’s instincts.
Kitten food
For the first few weeks kittens are completely dependent on their mother’s milk. They usually wean by 7 weeks of age. After four weeks, you can start feeding specially prepared diet for kittens. They grow rapidly by doubling their weight within a few weeks. Teeth will start appearing only after three weeks. At this stage you can start introducing soft kitten foods. You can even feed them good quality canned food as treats. Any drastic change in your kitten’s diet plan will affect his digestive system and sometimes lead to diarrhea.
Can Kittens Have Cat Treats?
As your furry little kitten starts growing, he will start developing liking towards different varieties of food. Ideally you can choose from a variety of savory and semisoft treats that they can easily chew and digest. Once your kitten reaches the age of 8 weeks he is ready to taste a large variety of tasty treats according to their age. Most kittens love to eat human food than cat food. Before offering any cat treat for your kitten, please read the labels carefully.
Ideally choose treat that contains meat as their primary ingredient and avoid getting cheap quality treats. Cheap quality treats are laced with artificial colorings, preservatives and empty fillers like wood fiber. You can offer kitten treats on a daily basis, but it should not be their primary diet. Make sure the treats provide your kitten with at least 30% proteins. Most good quality kitten treats contain higher proteins as compared to treats available for adult cats.
So whenever you are feeding a cat treat to your kitten you are providing less protein to your little one. Do not overfeed your kitten with cat treats. Sadly out of love most cat owners forget that their love and kindness towards their kitten may have a drastic affect on their health when they grow up into adult cats.
Obesity is very high in cats. Excess cat treats may harm your kitten’s health. A lot of commercial cat food treats contain high calories and fat, which indirectly contributes to obesity and illness. It is a worrying trend as regular intake of high fat and sugar laced treats can cause dental problems in cats and kittens.
Cat owners feed their adult cats treats that are already rich in calories increasing their chances of developing arthritis, obesity and various other ailments. The calorie requirement of kittens are different from cats so when you feed your kitten cat treats you are spoiling their health by feeding the little one with food that are rich in fat and sugar.
If you need to give your kitten treats, then it is safer to feed them treats meant only for kittens and not for adult cats. The nutritional requirements of a cat are different from a kitten and this will figure in their diets as well.
Constant feeding of cats is not the correct way of showing affection. It will only spoil his health in the long run. As a kitten owner you can show your love and affection to your feline friend in many other innovative ways than depending on treats. Cats enjoy playing; you can spend some time playing with your kitten as well as show your affection, which will not harm your kittens health.
If you still can’t resist feeding your kitten cat treats, then try giving him lean meat. You can even reduce the amount of food from their main meal on the day you feed him with treats to adjust the extra calories.
Make sure you feed your kitten a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet to meet their nutritional requirements. Hope this answered can Kittens have cat treats?
Please also see: Foods for Cats and Can Tuna Harm your Cat?
Please also see: Twenty Foods Your Cat Should Never Eat
