Asking questions on what kittens should eat shows you have understood that the diet you are going to give your 7 weeks old kitten is vital for her good health and for her development. And even if your 7 week old kitten is not fussy and would swallow everything that passes, this is no reason to give her anything to eat!
Kittens who are seven weeks old should be eating kitten kibble and wet food. They can eat kibble and wet food mixed together at first, but you can slowly start to separate them. Do it gradually so the kittens won’t have digestive problems. You can tell by the 7 week old kitten size. At seven weeks, they will really start looking like a kitten! They will be coming into their personality. Their teeth should be a full set of kitten teeth and their size should be close to the size of a normal kitten you see at the shelters. This is also the age that they will start to climb!
Their weight at this age should be between 750-850 grams depending on the kitten and should still continue to steadily gain weight each day. As part of the physical development, all baby teeth will be present at 7 weeks of age. At this age, the kitten’s eye color will be changing, and the adult eye color will begin to emerge. Male kittens’ testicles will begin to descend around 7 weeks.
How Often Does A 7 Week Old Kitten Need To Eat?
Offer wet food 2-3 times a day (each kitten will be eating a little over one can of food per day). Leave down a bowl of dry kibble and water for them to eat and drink at will. If you have a litter with a mom cat, she should only be allowing brief nursing sessions, if any.
At seven weeks, they should be off the bottle and continuing with their ‘slurry mixture. We mentioned ‘slurry’ in their sixth week. A slurry is a combination of formula and wet kitten food. At this point you should be adjusting to more wet food and less formula mixture.
When it comes to creating the slurry, I would recommend using the KMR formula that I recommended for the kittens week 5 and younger. If you just found a kitten at 7 weeks, you can choose any kitten milk replacer formula. KMR has two formulas, and one helps with the weaning process. That’s why I decided to stick with KMR as we went onto the slurry.
At the beginning of seven weeks, kittens will be transitioning into their own unique eye color. They will be playful and be learning their hunting instincts.
Behavioural Development
Seven-week-old kittens will experience a spike in energy. Sleep will decrease, and time spent playing will increase. At this age, kittens are able to run, climb cat trees, and confidently jump off of furniture.
Average temperature: 100-101 degrees F. At this age, a heating source is no longer required as long as the environment is a comfortable temperature of 70-75 degrees.
Average weight: 1.7-1.9 pounds (750-850 grams) Kittens should receive ample kitten wet food, and may have kitten dry food as a supplement. Provide access to water, food, and a shallow litter box at all times.
Care Information
Kittens should receive access to canned and dry kitten food three to four times per day, and can receive the bulk of their calories from dry food if they choose. Provide access to water and a shallow litter box at all times. If two weeks have passed since their first FVRCP vaccine, kittens may receive a booster at this time. If the kitten has not been dewormed, oral dewormer can be administered. It is also a good idea to have a fecal test run to check for internal parasites. At this age, if they are 2 pounds and healthy, they may be spayed/neutered, microchipped, and adopted.
Kittens 7 weeks and older should eat mainly dry kibble. Gradually decrease the amount of food they were eating while increasing what they will be eating over the course of 7 days.
In fact, these kibbles are designed to be suitable for kittens from weaning up to the age of 12 months. They are a nutritional contribution low in carbohydrates and rich in proteins in order to best meet the needs of developing kittens.
The kitten has high energy, protein and mineral needs, and presents digestive and immune immaturity. As a result, Baby Pré Neutered Cat kibbles provide it with all the nutrients it needs for harmonious growth: support for natural defenses and high digestive tolerance. Because a kitten has so much developing yet to do, a high-protein diet is ideal. And kittens should always have access to fresh, clean water.
Can My 7 Week Old Kitten Eat Fruits?
Basically, cats are carnivores, plain and simple. But while a meat-based diet is essential for your kitten’s health and wellbeing, he may enjoy the occasional plant-based snack. In fact, fruits and vegetables can provide your cat with a healthy boost of nutrition, though there are some you should avoid.
Fruit is an excellent source of nutrition for humans having essential vitamins and minerals, rich in antioxidants which are beneficial for the immune system. Pet parents should be aware, however, that while fruit is a low-calorie snack for humans it still contains a lot of sugar. The high sugar content of fruit could be an issue for overweight cats. So fruits intake should be avoided or limited still to prevent pushing your kitten’s calorie intake over the edge.
Something else you may not know is that cats aren’t actually able to taste sugar. Cats don’t have the taste receptors on their tongues that enable them to taste sweetness, so fruit may be of no interest to your cat. If your cat doesn’t like fruit, there’s no reason to force the issue.
The basis of your kitten’s diet should be a high quality balanced premium commercial kitten food that is appropriate for their life stage and health status. By reading the label, you can check that it complies with the Australian Standard for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food AS 5812:2017 [1]. It is best to start feeding wet kitten food and introducing dry kitten food as your kitten grows. Provide some moist foods in the diet regularly e.g., wet can food. Never feed puppy or dog food to your kitten as it will be deficient in taurine, an essential protein that cats can only obtain through food.