Weaning to Soft Food

cheddar

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Cheddar is getting close to the 4 week mark. Is this the ideal time to start weaning away from formula? Is it recommended to soften kitten kibble or use canned initially then transition to kibble?
 

red top rescue

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Are her teeth in already?  Personally, when raising bottle babies, I don't wean them early because they really need the sucking on the bottle or else they may become "suckers" of everything - blankets,sweaters, fingers and ears or even their own tails.  Also, the formula has all the nutrients a baby needs AND solid food can upset little tummies.  When I have mamas with babies, the babies don't usually start tasting her food until they are five weeks, and I do feed wet food.  Even if the baby has teeth, their jaws are not strong enough to chew even the tiniest kibble when they are that young.  You could try leaving a little wet food mixed with formula down to see if she tries to eat it.  Solid food and litter training need to happen at the same time too, and that's another whole subject.  In short, I would suggest waiting at least one more week before introducing solid food, and then use wet food mixed with formula.  Other people may have other suggestions, but this is how I would do it.
 
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cheddar

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Thank you for the info. I will wait a little longer. This may sound like a dumb question, but is there kitten soft food or is it all life stages?
 

catpack

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There is both food marked for "kittens" as well as "all life stages." There are also "adult" foods, "healthy weight" foods, etc...

I start our tiniest kittens out on either Wellness CORE kitten or Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Turkey formula (the latter is an "all life stages" food.)

We seem to hit the " jackpot" with food allergies/intolerances, weird parasites and IBD in kittens, so typically prefer to go grain-free and use a single protein source.

Another option for getting them use to textures is to use Gerber stage 2 chicken/gravy or turkey/gravy. You can mix this with the formula too. Though, please note, the Gerber should NOT be used as a primary diet...just kind of like a treat to get familiar with a texture other than formula.
 
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cheddar

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I will go and find some soft kitten food. Thank you.
 
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