how to feed my kitten!

Hi Everyone

I am new to this pet ownership thing and am always second guessing everything I do!
My kitty is 12 weeks now (got her when she was 9 wks.).
The place where I got her from gave me some dry food and said to mix it with water to soften it. We did that for the first week and half or so and now she eats it fine without it being mushy. As of now we free feed her being that we are gone from 7:30am til 5pm.
We also give her canned food on Sundays. She loves every kind we give her and after she eats it so she so calm compared to normal.
Anyway, basically I am wondering what everyone recommends for a kitten her age. I have read to keep her on dry mostly for her teeth, but then some say dont do dry only do canned. I am worried about only doing canned since we're gone throughout the day.
With so many opinions out there, it just confuses me.

help Thanks. i love this site!!!

WElcome. I give my cats wet food morning and night, and they have biscuits down if they get hungry while I am at work, I like mine to have a combination of both. Canned food does spoil quicker than dry.

Same here....a small amount of wet in the AM and PM and a good brand dry available at all times...alsong with fresh water.
Linda

I give my kitten only 1/2 can of wet food a day, at dinner time after I get home from work. He seems to vomit if he eats a whole can a day - and I'm talking about those "mini"-size Nutro Max kitten food cans. Then I leave dry kitten food out during the day and also at night for free feeding. If you're worried about ants getting in the food, Johnson & Johnson's baby powder sprinkled around the bowls and also a friend has told me cinnamon works to keep the ants away.

Maybe you could give your kitten a 1/2 can in the morning, then take the bowl away and wash it before you go to work, leave dry food during the day, then the rest of the can at dinnertime? I think they say wet food is best for kittens because it has a lot of nutrients and they are more likely to eat it than dry food. However, it's true that they must be given a combination of both in order for their teeth to get strong. And during the day if the kitten gets hungry, she will still eat the dry food.

My female cat Geisha was raised on nothing but hard kitten kibble and now Nutro Max dry cat food. I tried to give her wet food as an adult, but she doesn't like it. She loves her dry food! And she's extremely healthy and has good weight on her for a 1 yr, 3 month old. When she smells our kitten's wet food, she tries to scratch all over the placemats, as if it smells like poo or something. If your kitten likes the wet food, I think it's good to feed it to her every day (along with dry kibble, and just don't overfeed on the wet stuff). Life is too short for us not to make these little creatures as happy as they can be.

I have two 9 week old kittens in at moment, which I am fostering. I give them wet food 3 times a day and they have dry food downall the time. I would only give her wet food when you are around as it can spoil fairly quickly especially in warmer weather. I use kitten food and biscuits and they are doing very well on them.

My kittens have only been fed dry food ... I was anxious to get into the routine of feeding them wet, because I figured then they might start throwing up, or having not-so-nice poops. They're 11 and 15 weeks. Should I start a routine of wet? Starting with a 1/2 can a day maybe? And I would like to just feed them at night I think -- would this be ok?

How are your kitties doing? Have they started on the wet food? My little guy Kuri is six months old and he LOVES his wet food, but lately he's been having issues with diarrhea, gassiness, and vomiting, so the vet told me to discontinue the wet food for him. I thought it was worms at first, but I believe it may now be that he has a sensitive tummy. Hope you find a good solution for your kittens!