How to feed puppies and kittens

3 Weeks to 3 Months Old

Milk from the mother kitten (queen) and mother dog (bitch or dam) is ideal for puppy and kitten growth. If the mothers cannot provide enough milk, puppy or kitten milk replacer is the ideal supplement.

Feeding kitten (how to feed a kitten and how much to feed a kitten):

How to feed a kitten and how much to feed a kitten: Kittens need 2-3 times more calories per pound than adult cats need. For newborn kittens, all the calories are provided by queen’s milk or by milk replacer. At 3-4 weeks of age, kittens can be supplemented with a small amount of canned or dry commercial food that is saturated with milk replacer. Tiny kittens play with their supplemented food and need to be cleaned after they eat.

Most queens suckle their kittens until they’re 7-8 weeks of age, gradually decreasing the time the kittens are allowed to nurse. With this natural weaning process, by 7-8 weeks of age, kittens obtain 80-90% of their nutrition from supplements, and 10-20% from the queen.

A kitten’s weight should double or triple during the first weeks of life, then continue to gradually increase to the adult weight between 9-12 months of age. Weaned kittens should be fed 4 times a day until 3 months of age. If kittens are growing properly and gaining weight, reduce feeding to 3 times/day. After 6 months of age, feed kittens and adult cats 2 times/day. If possible, avoid leaving food down all the time because this allows the antioxidants, fatty acids, and vitamins in the food to oxidize so that your kitten receives less of the nutrients it needs and that you’ve

Canned or homemade diets provide moisture that helps prevent kidney and bladder problems and may be healthier than dry diets for many cats.

Feeding puppy (how to feed a puppy and how much to feed a puppy):

How to feed a puppy and how much to feed a puppy: Puppies need 2 times more calories per pound than adult dogs need. For newborn puppies, calories are provided by the mother’s milk or by milk replacer. At 3-4 weeks of age, puppies can be supplemented with a small amount of canned or dry commercial food that is saturated with milk replacer. Tiny puppies play with their food and need to be cleaned after they eat.

Most dams suckle their puppies until they’re 7-8 weeks of age, gradually decreasing the time the puppies are allowed to nurse. With this natural weaning process, by 7-8 weeks of age, puppies obtain 80-90% of their nutrition from supplements, and 10-20% from the dam. Puppies need 25-30% of their diet to be protein.

A puppy’s weight should double or triple during the first weeks of life, then continue to gradually increase to the adult weight. Small breed dogs, whose adult weight is 20 pounds or less, reach their adult weight between 9-12 months of age, but large breed dogs don’t reach their adult weight until 2 years of age. The size and weight of an adult dog is not determined by how quickly it grows, so feeding too many calories will not make your dog maximum size. In fact, feeding too many calories harms your pet. Your pet will reach a maximum size determined by genetics and nutrition.

When growing puppies receive too many calories, and too much calcium, they develop bone disease and arthritis including hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), osteochondrosis (OCD) and hip dysplasia. Because too many calories and too much calcium cause the bones to grow improperly, these pets have painful legs and joints, lameness, and malformed bones. Sometimes these signs appear to be rickets, which is a deficiency of calcium, but they are actually the opposite problem. If puppies with HOD, OCD, or the tendency to hip dysplasia are supplemented with calcium, their problems become more severe and their bones may be permanently damaged.

With any puppy, but especially puppies of the large and giant breeds, feeding puppy so that the puppy grows slowly is the way to go. Do not over feed.

Weaned puppies should be fed 4 times a day until 3 months of age. If puppies are growing properly and gaining weight, reduce feeding to 3 times/day. After 6 months of age, feed puppies 2 times/day. If possible, avoid leaving food down all the time because this allows the antioxidants, fatty acids, and vitamins in the food to oxidize so that your pup receives less of the nutrients it needs and that you’ve paid for. Gradually introduce a variety of foods and textures so your puppy will mature into an adult willing to eat a variety of healthy foods.

The articles here were answered by a variety of pharmacists and veterinarians   Date Category Topic 01/06/12  Other  My Chihuahua Is Expecting Puppies 12/13/11  Other  Newborn Puppies 12/09/11  Digestive Care  Feeding 05/24/11  Ear Care  Ear Mites 05/11/11  Digestive Care  Dry Food Vs. Wet Food 04/17/11  Digestive Care  Lactating Mom Needs To Gain Weight 02/21/11  Other  Post Welping 02/02/11  Other  Puppy With A Problem 04/16/10  Other  Getting Ready For Puppies 09/11/09  Skin Care  Itchy/flakey Skin 06/13/09  Digestive Care  Vomitting Up Undigested Food 05/04/09  First Aid  Shaking+head+speratically,+vomited+yellow+liquid+and+white+frothy+foamy+stuff 03/13/09  Wormer  Nothing Is Working 01/23/09  Odor Control  Shih-tzu Odor 01/07/09  Other  Weight Control/dieting 1 2 3 4 »»

 

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