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Your kitten needs plenty to eat before he turns six months old! Kittens grow about one pound each week and to ensure that they will get all the proper nutrients you should feed them cans of cat food, actually cans prepared for kittens because these cans have more protein and fat than adult cats need and just the right nutrients to make sure your cat will grow as it should!

So how do you find the right can for your kitten and should you change the diet periodically?

First of all read those labels, just because can says it is for the kittens it does not necessarily meet all the needs of your kitten! Remember the words "Complete and Balanced". Why your kitten should eat from a can that states the food is complete and balanced? Reason is simple, to be able to print "Complete and Balanced" the can must meet AAFCO's requirements for approved diet for your cat. AAFCO is short for Association of American Feed Control Officials.

The other words if your can does NOT state "Complete and Balanced" there is a good chance it does not have everything your kitten will need to grow as healthy as it should! So those words are very important in every pet food you are purchasing, not only for your kitten but also for your adult cat.

Even if your can meets the minimum requirements it still might not be the best choice, there is few other things to look for!

If the source of protein is labeled only "meat" stay away. You should find the exact source of protein like beef, lamb or chicken in the label.

If the source is "meat" you do not know what you are giving your kitten, it could be just bone meal or by-products, avoid those!

Other words you do not want to find on the can are BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin or propyl gallate, those are all chemical preservatives.

Corn meal is not a greatest ingredient either and cats do not need carbohydrates in their diet even though some dry food can contain about 50% of carbs!

Vegetarian diet is not suitable for any cat to stay healthy but they can digest it. In general many supermarket brands do not provide adequate nutrition for your kitten, so make sure you will read those labels, first year of your cat's life is so very important for right growth!

Any food is not good if your kitten does not eat it so make sure your kitten will like the food and change the variety and try to get your kitten used to many different flavors early on. If you keep feeding the same can over and over there is a slim chance that your cat will even develop allergies for some ingredients!

After opening the can store the possible leftovers in the refrigerator, many stores sell lids for open cans, those are a smart investment! Still do not keep open can for longer than 24 hours to ensure it stays fresh.

You cannot really overfeed a kitten so feed them often and as much as they want to eat, at least four times a day would be ideal when they are young.

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