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In terms of nutrition, your cat's first 12 months
are absolutely critical. Inadequate nutrition can
stunt growth, impair mental development, and
adversely affect personality. Fortunately, it's easy
to provide top-notch nutrition to kittens and cats.
Keep these guidelines in mind:
• Cats are carnivores. They must be fed foods high
in animal protein content.
• Kittens need kitten food, not adult cat food. To
sustain healthy growth, kittens require certain
amounts of protein and fat, and a higher level of
vitamins and minerals than adult cats require.
That's why high-quality kitten foods like MAX® CAT Kitten and Natural Choice
Complete Care Kitten in Regular and Indoor
formulas are ideal. Each batch is formulated to the
same specifications, so there are never any
surprises for your kitten's delicate digestive
system. Also, and this is very important, Nutro
kitten foods are sized to fit a kitten's small mouth.
• Always have plenty of fresh water available
regardless of the animal's age. Refill the water dish
with fresh water daily.
• Once a kitten has been
weaned (at the age of
five or six weeks),
they should be fed
four times a day
with a gruel made of
dry kitten food and
warm water. Steadily
reduce the water
content until the
food is totally dry,
usually by the age of eight weeks. Always follow
the feeding guidelines, so you know how much
food your kitten should eat every day.
• After a kitten is three months old, reduce feeding
frequency to three times a day. At six months,
reduce to twice a day.
• Once the kitten reaches adulthood (generally at
1 year old), place their daily requirement of food in the dish at the same time everyday. Allow your
cat to eat "free choice" throughout the day. This
style of feeding is important for maintaining
urinary tract health. If you feed canned food, make
sure you throw it away after two hours.
 • Once you find a brand of food your cat likes
(almost all kittens take immediately to MAX® CAT Kitten or Natural Choice
Complete Care Kitten and then eagerly graduate to
Nutro's adult formulas), don’t switch brands.
There are many cat foods sold at supermarkets
and club stores. Typically, these brands are less
energy-dense and less digestible, which means
your kitten has to eat more, leading to more
stools, and more litterbox odor.
• The most nutritious
food for you to buy is a
super premium dry food
such as MAX® CAT or
Natural Choice Complete
Care in Regular or
Indoor formulas. These
are available from pet
specialty retailers. If you need help finding a
retailer near you please call our toll-free customer
help number 1-800-833-5330 or visit our website at
www.nutroproducts.com.
• It follows that the more a cat has to eat, the
more waste there is to clean up. Super premium
brands like MAX Cat Gourmet Classics and Natural
Choice Complete Care will not only provide
superior nutrition but because your kitten will eat
less and use the litterbox less your cat’s litter will
last longer.
• Choose brands that use high-quality meat proteins like chicken meal.
Nutro does not use chicken heads,
feet or intestines, which may be
found in products that
contain chicken by-product
meal. In contrast, Nutro
foods contain chicken
meal, which is chicken with
the water and fat cooked
away. This provides a
concentrated source of
highly digestible protein
for a cat.
• Look for foods that contain sunflower oil,
soybean oil or poultry fat. These are good sources
of essential fatty acids, such as linoleic acid, which
give your cat a soft, shiny coat.
• Don't “improve” a kitten or cat food with table
scraps or leftovers. This alters the carefully
balanced blend of ingredients in the food and can
cause diarrhea, allergic reactions, or excessive
weight gain.
• Don't use any off-the-shelf additives unless your
vet tells you to. A properly formulated kitten or cat
food will provide all the vitamins, minerals and
fatty acids that any cat needs. Adding ingredients
can actually be harmful.
• For cats with longer hair or for cats prone to
hairballs, Nutro has formulated MAX® CAT Indoor and Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor products. Our formula helps
reduce shedding so less hair is swallowed during
self-grooming. And, the FiberCLEAN System, a
natural vegetable based system, helps move hair
through the digestive tract for fewer hairballs and
less vomiting.
• If your cat is over its ideal body
weight, feed MAX® CAT Weight Control or
Natural Choice Complete Care
Weight Management. The lower
calories and fat in these formulas
will help your cat lose weight safely.
• When your cat turns seven years
old, it will be time to switch to MAX® CAT Senior or
Natural Choice Complete Care Senior.
These unique formulas provide
optimum nutrition for senior cats, to
help ensure a long and healthy life.
• Indoor
cats have special
nutritional needs due to
indoor temperature,
lighting and their reduced
activity. Natural Choice
Complete Care Indoor
formulas offer a special
blend of vitamins,
minerals and nutrients to
meet those needs – and
are formulated to help limit common problems
such as shedding, hairballs and litter box odor.
• Nutro also has a complete line of cat foods in
cans and single-serve pouches to satisfy even the
most finicky eater. Each of our high-quality canned
formulas provides ideal nutrition for kittens,
adults, overweight and senior cats.
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