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What You Should Know About Changing Your Cat’s Diet

Deciding when and how you should change your cat's diet takes some planning. Because cats are creatures of habit, it is not uncommon for them to prefer their current cat food to a new food. They, like humans, become accustomed to something, such as a particular food, and may not welcome a disruption to their routine.

Tips for Successfully Changing Your Cat’s Diet

The following tips should help you change your cat's diet and successfully transition your cat to a new food:

Introduce the new food gradually. This is the most successful way to ease your cat into the diet change. Start by mixing 25% new food with 75% current food. Slowly change the proportions over the next three days or so by gradually increasing the amount of new food and decreasing the amount of current food. At the end of this weaning process, you should be feeding 100% of the new food. You may encounter difficulties; for example, your cat might choose to eat only the old food, or not eat at all. However, a healthy cat can miss meals for a day or two with no ill effects.
Watch your body language. Bringing a new food into your home, placing it into a bowl, and declaring that your cat had better eat it might cause your cat to go on an eating strike. It is better to introduce the new food to the cat using a pleasant tone of voice. Gently encourage the cat to try the new food.
Don't give in to demands. It is important not to give up too soon. During the initial two-day period, do not give your cat treats or table scraps! Cats train us as much as we train them. Giving in to their demands only reinforces refusal behavior and makes it more difficult to make a nutritious dietary change.
Expect a challenge when changing from a moist food to a dry food. The biggest challenge in switching diets occurs when changing from a moist food to a dry food. If your cat continues to resist eating dry food, mix a little warm water with it. You may even want to put the moistened food in the microwave for a few seconds. If you mix the food with water it is important to discard the uneaten portion after 20 minutes. This prevents spoilage. The same rule applies for canned food. After the cat has become accustomed to the moistened food, you can wean him or her onto the dry food.

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Complete Guide On Taking Proper Care Of Your Kitten

Kittens are super adorable, and it is wonderful to have one as a pet. While it’s fun to have a kitten at home, it’s important to understand your kitten’s various needs during the different stages of its life and take care of it in the right way. ‘How to take care of kittens’ is a question that most first-time kitten owners ask. But taking care of newborn kittens can be quite a hassle-free process if you follow a routine and understand a few do’s and don’ts about kitten care. We, at IAMS, are here to help you with this process in every way we can.

Why Is Kitten Care Important?

Kitten care is extremely important to make sure your kitten grows up to be a healthy cat. While in the kitten stage, it is still trying to get used to the new surroundings. Therefore, we recommend that you be by its side and help the little kitten acclimatize to its new house.

What Does It Mean To Raise A Kitten?

A kitten becomes a part of your family right from day one. But raising a kitten might sound like a strenuous job if you’re a new pet parent, but it isn’t. The whole process can be quite fun and will help you bond with your kitten.

What Are The Important Aspects Of A Kitten That One Has To Look After?

Some of the most important aspects of looking after a kitten are:

Hygiene: Maintaining good hygiene is always important. You must clean your kitten’s den regularly.
Feeding nutrition-rich food: Your kitten needs a nutritious, balanced diet for healthy growth and development. It is advisable that you buy IAMS Healthy Kitten food. IAMS is Developed with Veterinarians and Chicken is the 1st ingredient of this recipe. This premium kitten food promotes brain development and helps build a healthy immune system.
Regular health check-ups: Take your kitten to the vet regularly to understand its progress in terms of behaviour and health.
Grooming: It is advisable to start grooming your cat at an early age, especially if it has a furry coat or long hair.

Understanding Kitten Development Stages

As a first-time kitten owner, you might not be well aware of the growth stages your little feline friend will go through, but it’s very important to understand them. So, here’s a table that can help you with the same:

Growth stage	0-2 weeks (Neonatal)	2-7 weeks (Socialisation)	7-14 weeks (Most Active Period)	3-6 months (Ranking Period)	6-18 months (Adolescence)
Character traits	Learns to incline towards sounds	Learns to socialize	This is the most active play period of your kitten	In this stage, the kitten gets most influenced by other kittens in their litter or even other animals.	Asserts maximum dominance in this stage.
	Eyes start to open by this time	Senses of smell and hearing are fully developed by the 4^th week	Starts expressing affection through hugging and licking	Starts understanding and asserting ranks on people it lives with.	Exhibits sexual behaviour if not spayed.
	If the kitten is separated from its mother or siblings, it may tend to get aggressive towards people and other cats.	Sight is fully developed by the 5^th week, and they can run and pounce without colliding with obstacles	Can paw, mouth, and hold objects as well
		Starts grooming itself	Also starts chasing its tail and starts pouncing and leaping around
		Starts developing sleep patterns, motor abilities and interactions

Preparing For A Kitten

How Kitten Care Differs With Growing Age?

The major difference that occurs in taking care of kittens when they grow up is switching their food. Cats need more nutrition and vital elements that keep its body strong and healthy. It is advisable to switch to premium cat food while transitioning your kitten to adult cat food.

Impact On The Kitten If Care Is Not Taken:

If your cat is neglected and does not receive proper care, attention, and nutrition, it may become depressed and weak. Your cat may also contract diseases if it is not kept clean.

What Are Some Of The Preventive Care Measures That Could Be Taken Up For Kittens?

While in the kitten stage, it is advisable to schedule frequent visits to the vet to check on the overall health of your kitten. It is advisable to keep a tab on their allergies while it is in the kitten stage.

Tips For 1st-Time Cat Owners

Here are a few tips for first-time cat owners:

It is advisable to familiarize your kitten with its litter box right from the moment it is brought home.
You may also show your kitten around its crate so that it understands that this is its own space.
If, at times, your kitten bites you, sternly say ‘no’ to it. By doing this, your kitten will learn that these actions are not acceptable.
You may also reward your kitten every time it obeys your instructions. This will condition them to inculcate good habits as well.

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adp_description_block23 What You Should Know About Changing Your Cat’s Diet