Helping your new kitten get started on the right foot with proper nutrition

Whether you live in New York City or a rural area, there's undoubtedly a rescue group or animal shelter in your community that needs some serious help during the height of kitten season. Now is the time of year when these organizations are overwhelmed with kittens and pregnant mothers, so if you've been wanting to adopt a cat, now is the best time of year to do so. However, kittens are a major undertaking and will need proper care from the get-go to thrive. Nutrition is vitally important and kitten requirements differs greatly from those of adult cats, so use the following tips to understand the nuances of a proper kitten feeding regimen.

1. Stay consistent. By the time you're able to bring your kitten home from the shelter, he or she should be completely weaned off of mother's milk and will have transitioned to a kitten diet. According to CatChannel.com, it may be wise to find out what the shelter was feeding your feline and continue feeding this brand of food for the first few weeks. Shifting to something else drastically could cause digestive problems, so if you're going to make the switch to something else, you'll have to do it gradually.

2. Always use a kitten-exclusive diet. Because a kitten's nutritional needs are very different from an adult cat's, you should always use a kitten-exclusive food for the first several months. According to Catster.com, when your kitten reaches two to three months, this is when routine will become very important. You should feed your companion in small amounts at least four times per day, and when you reach six months, you can decrease the frequency to three times per day.

3. Switching to adult foods. At the six month mark, your feline should be considered an adult cat, so it may be wise to bring your furry friend into your local vet or a Bideawee Animal Hospital if you're in the New York City area. You can then work with your vet to formulate a plan of action regarding your feline's diet to meet his or her nutritional needs, weight and other factors. Meeting your feline's dietary needs is a major concern for new cat parents, but if you have a strong foundation to work with, your new companion should have a long and healthy life to look forward to.