How Much to Feed a Kitten: Grams and Calories by Age

Feed a kitten roughly 3 grams of wet food per 100 grams of body weight, four times a day at eight weeks and three times a day by six months. In calories that works out to about 190-220 kcal a day at 8 weeks and about 310 kcal at 6 months. The kitten will nearly triple its birth weight in the first eight weeks and keep gaining around 100 g a week until six months, so the portion has to be recalculated every two weeks, not fixed at weaning.

Calculate from weight, not from scoops

Kitten energy needs: 70 × (weight in kg)^0.75 × growth factor. Use 3.0 under four months, 2.5 at four to six months, 2.0 at six months and 1.6 by nine months, then the adult 1.2 once growth stops. A scoop is not a measurement — the same cup of kibble varies by 20% between brands, and kitten food is calorie-dense enough that a 20% error shows on the scale within a month.

Age	Typical weight	kcal per day	Meals	What changes
8 weeks	0.9 kg	194	4	just weaned, on kitten wet food or softened kibble
12 weeks	1.35 kg	263	4	peak appetite, do not ration tightly
16 weeks	1.8 kg	272	3	teething, eating may be stop-start
6 months	2.9 kg	311	3	growth rate starts to slow
9 months	3.7 kg	299	2	close to adult size

The numbers are starting points. An active kitten on the top of the table range can eat 10-15% more without gaining fat; a quiet one may need less. Adjust to the body, not to the bag.

What that looks like in grams

A typical kitten paté runs about 90-100 kcal per 100 g, so an 8-week kitten on 200 kcal eats roughly 200-220 g of wet food a day, split into four servings of 50-55 g. Kitten kibble at 4,200 kcal/kg works out to about 48 g a day, or 12 g per meal. If you mix, convert both parts to calories first: 25 g of kibble (105 kcal) plus 95 g of wet food (90 kcal) is 195 kcal.

Weigh food on a kitchen scale for the first month. After that you can eyeball it, but re-weigh whenever you change brand or flavour, because calorie density moves.

Four meals until four months, then three

At eight weeks the stomach is small and the kitten is growing fast, so four meals is the minimum; five is fine if someone is home. Space them evenly — 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m., with a small top-up before bed. From four months, three meals at roughly eight-hour intervals. From six months, most kittens do well on three, and from ten to twelve months you can drop to the adult pattern of two or three.

Kittens under about four months can be left with a measured portion of dry food between meals. They regulate intake better than adults and the growth cost of underfeeding is higher than the cost of a slightly chubby kitten. After four months, stop leaving food down; that is when overfeeding starts.

Weigh weekly — it is the only real check

Use a kitchen scale: weigh yourself holding the kitten, then alone, and subtract. Do it the same day each week, before a meal. Expect roughly 100 g a week from 8 weeks to 6 months, slowing after that. A kitten that gains nothing two weeks in a row, or loses weight, needs a vet visit — parasites, dental pain and viral illness all show up as a flat growth curve before anything else.

Body shape check: at eight weeks a kitten is naturally round-bellied after eating, but ribs should still be easy to feel under a thin layer. A kitten that looks pear-shaped with a hard round belly, has a dull coat, or has diarrhea is not "just growing".

Wet, dry, and how to switch

Wet food is easier on kitten kidneys and adds water, which matters because kittens dehydrate fast. Dry food is useful for free-feeding and for the chewing practice that helps during teething. Most households end up with both: wet meals plus a small measured amount of kibble.

Change food over 7-10 days: 25% new for three days, 50% for three, 75% for two, then all new. Kittens have delicate guts and a fast switch usually means diarrhea, which in a small kitten is a real risk, not an inconvenience.

When to move to adult food

At 10-12 months for most cats, or when the cat reaches adult size. Large breeds such as the Maine Coon keep growing until 3-4 years and should stay on kitten or all-life-stages food longer. The switch is not just a label change: adult food is less calorie-dense, so the grams go up while the calories stay the same. Weigh the new portion, do not assume the same scoop works.

Keep them on the same number of meals through the switch, and change the food over 7-10 days as above.

Overfeeding and underfeeding signs

• Too much: soft stools, gas, a belly that stays round all day, weight climbing faster than 120 g a week after four months, reluctance to jump and play.
• Too little: ribs and spine sharp to the touch, constant crying, eating non-food items, no weight gain over two weeks, sleeping more than usual.
• Both directions: kittens fed by volume rather than weight drift out of range within a month. The scale settles it faster than opinion does.

One more thing worth doing early: handle the food bowl while the kitten eats, and put a finger in the food now and then. It costs nothing at eight weeks and prevents food guarding at eight months. If you are naming the kitten anyway, the cat name generator is faster than arguing about it.

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