Feeding Your Cat During Nursing And Weaning

The demand for milk by nursing kittens will continue to increase for about 20 to 30 days. Consequently, the female’s food and water requirements increase during this time. The female may have to be fed two to three times a day. Fresh water in a clean container should be available for drinking. Dry food should be fed moistened during this period to increase the female’s food intake and to encourage the kittens to start to nibble solid food.

When kittens are three to four weeks of age, the weaning process is underway: the kittens’ interest in solid food begins and the female’s interest in nursing declines. Moistened food in a shallow dish (this can be the same dish used by the female, if it is shallow enough for the kittens to eat from) should be available to the kittens for several hours each day. At this time, the female’s food intake will gradually decrease. By the time the kittens are weaned, the female’s food consumption should again be near normal levels.

On the first day of weaning, the queen should not be fed, but water should be available. On three successive days, limited feeding, ?, ?, and ? the normal maintenance amount respectively, is recommended. On the fifth day, the food is increased to the amount the queen was fed prior to breeding.

Reducing the queen's food intake and then gradually increasing it helps decrease milk production and aids in the maintenance of healthy mammary glands. If, after this time, the queen’s body condition is such that more food is needed, increase her food intake until her condition is back to normal.