Best Kitten Food UK: What Kittens Need and Which Food to Choose

The best kitten food is a complete food made for growth. It has more energy, protein, calcium and DHA than adult cat food, and the word "complete" on the pack means your kitten needs nothing else to eat. For most kittens Royal Canin Kitten is a safe base, with a complete wet food such as Royal Canin Kitten in Gravy or Animonda Carny Kitten alongside it. Feed kitten food until around 12 months, or around 15 months for a Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat.

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Complete or complementary: check this first

Turn the pack over before you look at anything else. UK pet food law makes every label say which of two types the food is.

• Complete: the food covers all your kitten's daily nutritional needs if you follow the feeding guide. Nothing needs to be added.
• Complementary: the food only works alongside other food. Treats, mixers, kitten milk and many tins of chicken or fish "in broth" fall into this group.

UK Pet Food, the trade body formerly known as the PFMA, puts it simply: look for "complete" on the label, and for a kitten look for "complete" together with "kitten" or "for growth". A cat needs around 40 essential nutrients a day, and a complementary pouch that looks like real chicken pieces can leave gaps if it becomes the main meal. Supermarket ranges are the place to be careful, because complete and complementary pouches often sit on the same shelf in near-identical packaging. Many of the popular tins of chicken breast in broth, such as Applaws' classic range, are complementary.

Two more things on a UK label that are worth knowing:

• Category names: "meat and animal derivatives", "cereals" and "derivatives of vegetable origin" are legal group names. They let the maker vary the exact ingredients by season. UK Pet Food says this does not make a food less nutritious, but you cannot see exactly which meat is inside. Royal Canin Kitten in Gravy is labelled this way in the UK.
• Percentages in the name: "with chicken" means at least 4% chicken, "rich in chicken" at least 14% and "chicken menu" or "chicken dinner" at least 26%. "Chicken flavour" does not have to contain chicken at all.

Reading this in the US? There the wording is different. Look for "complete and balanced" with an AAFCO statement for "growth" or "all life stages".

What a kitten needs that an adult cat does not

A kitten grows into a near adult-sized cat within a year, and at its peak puts on around 100 g a week. How that growth goes month by month is covered in when do cats stop growing. The minimum levels in kitten food come from the nutritional guidelines of FEDIAF, the European pet food federation, which UK Pet Food also publishes. These are the differences that matter.

Much more energy

Per kilo of body weight, a kitten up to 4 months needs 2 to 2.5 times the energy of an adult cat. From 4 to 9 months that is 1.75 to 2 times, and from 9 to 12 months about 1.5 times. That is why kitten food is richer in fat and why a kitten needs several meals a day.

More protein

FEDIAF sets at least 28 g of protein per 100 g of dry matter for growth, against 25 g for an adult cat with normal energy needs. Good kitten kibble goes well beyond that. Royal Canin Kitten has 36% protein and Pro Plan Kitten Healthy Start 40%.

DHA for eyes and brain

DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that matters for the development of the retina and the nervous system. Young cats can barely make it themselves, so FEDIAF recommends adding a small amount of DHA or EPA to food for growth. On the pack you will find it under analytical constituents, often as "omega-3 fatty acids" or "DHA".

Calcium and phosphorus in balance

Growing bones need more calcium and phosphorus than adult bones. FEDIAF gives a minimum of 1.0 g calcium and 0.84 g phosphorus per 100 g of dry matter for growth, with a calcium to phosphorus ratio between 1 to 1 and 1.5 to 1. A complete kitten food already has that balance. UK Pet Food warns that extra supplements can be harmful and lead to growth problems, so do not add calcium or bone supplements unless your vet tells you to.

Dry, wet or both?

Both work, as long as what you feed is complete kitten food. The PDSA recommends a mix of the two for most kittens.

• Dry kitten food is practical. You can weigh out a day's portion, it keeps in the bowl, and it costs less per day than wet food.
• Wet kitten food is around 80% water, so your kitten takes in more fluid without noticing. Most kittens also find it tastier.

If you mix, count everything towards one daily ration. Purina gives a clear example for Pro Plan Kitten Healthy Start: a kitten of 6 to 12 months gets 70 g of the dry food a day on its own, or 50 g plus one 85 g pouch of Pro Plan kitten wet food. The PDSA suggests wet food at mealtimes with a little dry food in between, and sticking to one brand when you mix.

Always put down fresh water as well, ideally a little away from the food bowl, which many cats prefer. A cat water fountain helps if your kitten is a poor drinker. Skip cow's and goat's milk. UK Pet Food notes that kittens do not digest them well, and once weaned a kitten only needs water. Which bowl suits a small face is covered in the best cat bowls.

How often to feed a kitten

A kitten has a small stomach and a big energy need, so it eats little and often. Kittens are usually weaned by 7 to 8 weeks, and Cats Protection advises that they should not leave their mother before 8 weeks. From then on, this schedule works well:

Age	Meals a day	Source
8 to 12 weeks	At least 4	Cats Protection
3 to 6 months	At least 3	Cornell Feline Health Center
6 to 12 months	2, or more smaller meals if you prefer	Cornell, UK Pet Food
From about 1 year	1 or 2	Cornell

UK Pet Food points out that cats are built to eat little and often, so you can keep giving several small meals for life if that suits your day. Weigh the whole day's food in the morning and split it from there. Throw away wet food that has not been eaten after about 30 minutes. Dry food can stay down longer, but it goes stale, so refresh it daily.

How much to feed a kitten

The feeding guide on the pack is your starting point. It gives grams per day by age and sometimes by expected adult weight, and amounts differ a lot between brands because the calorie content differs. Two examples from the makers:

• Royal Canin Kitten: a 4-month-old weighing 1.8 to 2.75 kg gets 66 g a day.
• Animonda Carny Kitten: a kitten expected to weigh 4 kg as an adult gets 150 to 195 g of wet food a day, roughly one 200 g tin.

Weigh the food on digital kitchen scales, as the PDSA recommends, because a measuring cup can be out by a surprising amount. Then weigh your kitten every week or two. If it grows steadily and you can feel its ribs without seeing them, you are feeding the right amount. If it looks round, cut back a little. If it stays thin, stops gaining or stops eating, ask your vet.

Treats count too. The PDSA and UK Pet Food both say treats should be no more than 10% of the daily calories, with the main meals reduced to match. For ideas that do not spoil dinner, see the best treats for cats.

When to switch from kitten food to adult food

• Most cats: at around 12 months. Royal Canin advises the same.
• Large breeds such as the Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat: at around 15 months, because they keep growing for longer.
• After neutering: a neutered kitten needs less energy and puts on weight more easily. Advice differs here. The PDSA suggests that a kitten neutered at 4 months stays on kitten food until 6 months and then moves to a food for neutered cats. Royal Canin also makes a Kitten Sterilised food for neutered kittens of 6 to 12 months. Ask your vet at the post-neutering check what suits your kitten, and keep an eye on the scales either way.

Make the switch gradually over about a week. Royal Canin gives this schedule:

Day	Kitten food	Adult food
1 and 2	75%	25%
3 and 4	50%	50%
5 and 6	25%	75%
7	0%	100%

The same schedule works for any change of food. What makes a good adult diet is covered in our guide to feline nutrition, and if you want to keep costs down later, see the best cheap cat food.

Bringing a new kitten home: keep the food the same

Cats Protection advises using the food your kitten is already used to, at least at first. Ask the breeder or rescue what they feed and buy a bag before collection day. A new home is stressful enough, and new surroundings plus new food is a common cause of an upset stomach. Once your kitten has settled, change over with the schedule above if you want to.

Loose stools after a change? Go back to the previous step and build up more slowly. Call your vet straight away if your kitten has diarrhoea for more than a day, vomits repeatedly, will not eat or seems flat and sleepy, because a young kitten dehydrates much faster than an adult cat. Worms are another common cause of diarrhoea in kittens, so keep up with worming as described in the best cat dewormers. If your kitten keeps reacting to food, talk to your vet before trying special diets yourself. Some background is in dry cat food for sensitive stomachs.

Maine Coons and other large breeds

A Maine Coon is not fully grown until three to five years old, while most cats are done at around one. Royal Canin advises kitten food until around 15 months for large breeds such as the Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat, and its Maine Coon Kitten food is made for that period.

Longer on kitten food does not mean feeding more. A Maine Coon kitten that gets heavy too fast puts strain on its joints. Keep it lean, follow its growth on the scales and choose kibble big enough to make it chew. More about the breed is in our Maine Coon guide.

Kitten food brands you will find in the UK

Royal Canin, Purina Pro Plan and Hill's Science Plan are the brands most vets and breeders sell. Purina ONE, Iams, Whiskas, Felix and Sheba have kitten ranges in most supermarkets, and the big chains sell their own-brand kitten pouches. Lily's Kitchen and Applaws cater for owners who want more named meat, and fresh-food subscriptions such as KatKin deliver to your door. Any of these can be a good choice as long as the specific product says complete and kitten or growth. Price says more about the brand than about whether a kitten thrives on it.

Grain-free is a personal preference. For a healthy kitten it is not a requirement, as long as the food is complete and your kitten digests it well.

The best kitten food: our picks

Comparison at a glance

Wet food is mostly water, so its protein and fat percentages look much lower. Compare dry with dry and wet with wet.

Food	Type	Age	Protein	Fat	DHA	Grains
Royal Canin Kitten	Dry	4 to 12 months	36%	18%	0.17%	Yes
Pro Plan Kitten Healthy Start Chicken	Dry	From 3 to 4 weeks to 12 months	40%	20%	0.05%	Yes
Royal Canin Maine Coon Kitten	Dry	Up to 15 months	36%	23%	Not stated	Yes
Royal Canin Kitten in Gravy	Wet	4 to 12 months	12%	4%	0.047%	Yes
Animonda Carny Kitten Beef, Chicken + Rabbit	Wet	First year	10.5%	6.5%	Not stated	No

All five are complete foods according to the makers. Check the pack when you buy anyway, because recipes do change.

Frequently asked questions