How you feed is just as important as what you feed. Here’s the what.

In general, cats need meat protein in their diet. They are descended from hunters, and require meat proteins in order to be healthy.

Most commercial kitten foods will be adequate for the average kitten, but you do often get what you pay for with pet foods. Get the best quality food you can afford on a regular basis.

Kittens will general accept many different textures and styles of food – kibble sized and shapes, canned pate or canned chunks and gravy style diets. It’s a good idea to offer different types of food to your kitten while she is young — sometimes older cats will be less open to any changes in the food.

If you’re looking at the label, the most important thing to look for is the AAFCO statement. Here’s a quick primer:

When looking at kitten food, the ideal statement will look something like this:

Feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that this diet provides complete and balanced nutrition for the growth and development of kittens.

This will be hard to find.

More commonly, you will see something like:

This food is a complete and balanced cat food, specifically formulated for the growth and development of kittens.

This means that the diet has everything your growing kitten needs.