Feeding your 2-month-old kitten the right food is crucial for its growth and development. At 2 months old, kittens are just weaned from their mother, they need high quality diet to match their nutritional requirement to stay active and healthy as they steadily grow. Each growth stage of a kitten has it specifically formulated diet for good growth. A 2 months old kitten needs food that contains essential nutrients like protein, fat, and taurine for their overall well-being after weaning from their mother.
Foods For a 2-Month-Old Kitten
A 2-month-old kitten is just being introduced to solid foods. You need to understand that their digestive systems are still delicate, hence, any food you give them must not cause any disruption in their digestive system. Generally, kitten food is classified as dry kibble food, wet or canned food, and treats. Each of these food options is formulated with gentle ingredients that will be easily digestible and deliver the required nutrients for their growth and well-being.
Dry Kibble Food
Kibble or Dry kitten food is specially formulated with high quality and highly digestible ingredients to provide adequate nutrients for the kitten; this kitten food is made to be crunchy and has lots of benefits for the dental health of the kitten. Dry kitten food helps clean the kitten’s teeth and helps the kitten grow stronger teeth and proper dentition. Another exciting benefit of dry kibble is that it reduces the risk of obesity in cats. Apart from improving the kitten’s dentition, dry kitten food has other advantages:
- Dry kitten is easy to store
- Dry kitten food can be stored for a very long time compared to the canned food
- Dry kitten food is less expensive than the canned kitten food.
- Dry kitten food contains high fiber than canned food, this makes it aids the kitten’s digestion.
Wet or Canned Kitten Food
Wet or canned kitten food is a highly nutritious kitten food formulated with highly digestible and nutritious ingredients for the healthy living of the kittens. Canned kitten food is more nutritious than dry kitten food; it has more calories than dry food because it contains more water than dry food. The canned food is the best food for a 2 month old kitten because it contains more nutrients and easier to chew on than dry food is. Although Canned foods are more expensive, it has some advantages over the dry kitten food:
- Wet or canned kitten food comes in different flavors for acceptability by the kitten
- Canned kitten food is more nutritious and usually has an instant positive impact on the kitten’s nutrition
- Canned food has more protein, vitamins, and minerals than dry kibbles
- Wet or canned kitten food has more water content, which keeps the kitten hydrated always
- Canned kitten food reduces the risk of urinary problems in kitten
Care must be taken when giving kittens canned food because it can increase the risk of obesity and heart diseases in cats; it is usually recommended to give kittens a combination of canned food and dry kibble for better digestion, nutrient intake, and overall well-being of the kitten. When feeding kittens, moderation is key to avoid further health complications.
Treats
Treats are special foods that most kittens love (and sometimes even adults). Treats are given to kittens as a reward for good behavior and adherence to certain training. Treats are highly nutritious and made with quality ingredients, particularly high protein, and fat alongside required minerals and vitamins. Unlike canned food and kibble, treats can be given to kittens at any time of the day and it is not considered the kitten’s main food for the day, it is more like a supplement.
Only a small amount of treats are fed to kittens per day; too many treats can make the kitten overweight and prevent them from eating their regular meals. Even though the kitten may crave it more than the regular meals, do not grant its demand because you now know how detrimental treats could be to kittens when excessively fed.
Feeding A 2-Month-Old Kitten
A key consideration to always remember when feeding a 2 month old kitten is their delicate digestive system. Remember, the kitten is just weaned and slowly being transitioned to solid foods, so any food given to this kitten must first be appealing to its digestive system before actually providing the right nutrition for the young cat. Worthy of noting is that the amount of food and the frequency of feeding the kitten is not the same as that of adult cats.
Kittens need high quality food, rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals to build muscle and strong bones. The amount of food kitten eats depends on their weight; kittens need about 65 calories per pound daily and an average 2-month-old kitten weighs 2 pounds, so it is safe to say the minimum amount of calories your kitten needs per day is 130 calories. You should check the food label to know how many calories it contains before feeding your kittens. This helps you prevent obesity and get your kitten overweight.
A 2 month old kitten prefers a diet that consists of 75% canned or wet kitten food and 25% dry kitten food (kibble). This combination ensures the kitten’s digestive system is well preserved while the kitten gets the required nutrients from the food. A 2 months old kitten needs to be fed 4 – 5 times daily at an interval of every 4 – 6 hours. Also, very important is the provision of adequate water for the kittens to prevent urinary infections and kidney problems.
Canned food and kibble are fed to kittens in a cat feeder; if you are the busy type and may not have time to feed the kittens regularly, you can buy an automatic cat feeder that dispenses food at a preset time or interval daily to ensure your cat has access to food at the best time. Using an automatic feeder has several advantages, it helps to store the kitten’s food and prevent wastage. It also releases the preset quantity of feed per time. This way, you can be sure your kitten is eating at the best time and the required quantity.
Homemade Food For 2-Month-Old Kitten Recipes
It is possible you prepare homemade food for your 2-month-old kittens if you have the right ingredients and recipes. Here are two recipes you can adopt to prepare nutritious food for your 2-month-old kitten at home:
Recipe 1
- 400 grams of Lamb Leg or Steak or muscle meat of any choice
- 100 grams of chicken heart.
- 40 grams of chicken liver
- 200 grams of chicken necks
- 80 grams of Lamb kidney
- 200 grams of chicken giblets
- 10g of Psyllium Husk or 5g Chia Seeds
- 10g of Cat Supplement
Wash and mince meats in the food processor; add the cat supplement, psyllium husk, or chia seeds and 150ml of water with the mashed meat in a bowl, then mix well.
Recipe 2
- 200 grams of Lamb leg
- 100 grams of chicken hearts
- 30 – 40 grams of chicken liver
- 200 grams of chicken necks
- 80 grams of Lamb Kidney
- 100 grams chicken giblets
Wash and mince the ingredients in a food processor. Note that the meats are cooked without any seasoning
Commercial Food For 2 Months Kitten
We’re sure you’ve heard the advice to feed your kitten as much as they’ll eat. The good news is that there are tons of commercial cat foods out there that will give your little one exactly what he needs in just a few minutes a day, and we’ve got the scoop on all of them.
Here are some of our favorites:
IAMS PROACTIVE HEALTH Healthy Kitten Dry Cat Food, 3.5 lb. Bag
Price: $10.98 ($3.14 / lb)
Features :
- Contains chicken as its major protein source to help the kitten develop and grow into a strong, lean, healthy adult cat
- Contains omega-3 DHA that helps promote healthy brain development.
- With nutrients like those in mother’s milk plus vitamin E to help kittens build strong immune defenses
- Helps the kitten develop healthy digestion with natural fiber and prebiotics
- Helps promote strong vision development and a healthy heart with taurine
Fancy Feast Grilled Wet Cat Food – (24) 3 oz. Cans
Price: $18.99 ($0.26 / Ounce)
Features :
- Fancy Feast wet cat food is made without artificial colors or preservatives
- Formulated with real, high-quality ingredients to deliver 100 percent complete and balanced canned cat food
- Contains real seafood in a light, savory gravy for cats
Hill’s Science Diet Dry Cat Food, Kitten, Chicken Recipe, 7 lb. Bag
Price: $32.49 ($4.64 / lb)
Features:
- Contains DHA from fish oil to support healthy brain and eye development in kittens
- Provides high-quality protein to help young cats build lean muscle
- Provides balanced minerals to give your kitten strong bones and healthy teeth
- Made with natural ingredients
- Veterinarian Recommended
Purina Fancy Feast Grain Free Pate Wet Kitten Food, 4 Flavors
Price : $19.88 ($0.28 / Ounce)
Features :
- Contains a complete and balanced nutrition for kittens.
- Specially formulated for growing kittens. Delicious taste kittens love
- Protein-rich recipes. Made from real poultry or seafood and milk.
- It has a smooth pate texture and is easy for kittens to eat
Instinct Grain-Free Recipe with Real Chicken for Kittens
Price : $26.46 ($5.88 / lb)
Features :
- Made without grain, potato, corn, wheat, soy, by-product meals, artificial colors, or preservatives
- Contains 81% real animal ingredients and nutritious oils; 19% vegetables, fruits, and other wholesome ingredients.
- Contains probiotics for digestive & immune health and omegas for healthy skin & soft fur.
- It offers complete & balanced nutrition for kittens. Each piece of kibble is coated in freeze-dried raw for nutrition & taste. Delicious flavors that even picky kitties will love.
Lastly, the growth rate of a 2 month old kitten solely depends on the quality and quantity of the food it eats. Though some cat owners are of the opinion of free-choice feeding for kittens because of the need to eat well for good growth and development, the risk of being overweight and obese is high in free-choice feeding. In order to prevent weight issues in kittens, the calorie needs of the kitten by age must be met.