Feeding Kittens
When your babies come to you they are likely to come with a kitten pack containing some kitten friendly dry mix and some high protein wet food along with other bits and bobs. This reflects what they have been fed on up to this point. Unlike many animals such as rabbits you can change a rat’s diet straight away if needed, but it is worth feeding them something familiar for a few days whilst they get used to everything else new. Kittens are growing fast so do need more protein, vitamins and minerals than an adult rat. However these kittens are usually around 7 weeks old and so there requirements are not nearly as much as younger kittens. Instead they will need extra protein to support their regular growth spurts and some extra vitamin and minerals, but otherwise will manage well on an adult rat diet. How you manage this will depend on your situation.
What to feed
Dry Mix
If these are your only rats, or they are moving into a cage with only similar aged rats then it is worth feeding them a dry mix aimed at kittens for a few more weeks (until they are 10-13 weeks) before switching them onto an adult dry mix (with protein levels around 12-14%). If you have run out of the bag provided and only have an adult rat mix and don’t want to buy a small amount of kitten rat food then it is easy to adapt it. Using a small amount of high protein food, such as a nice quality natural dog kibble (small bite fish based is best) mix 9 scoops of adult mix with one of high protein dry food. In reality though they can manage well on an adult mix with additional wet food/treat.
If you have adult or older rats in the cage with them, then don’t worry and just feed them the food you would feed the adults, they may need slightly more high protein wet meals (fed separately from their older cage mates) but otherwise will be fine. If you are feeding a straights based mix, a rat rations mix or one that is not a commercial mix make sure they are getting vitamin supplements frequently, 5-6 days a week, whilst they are young and growing fast. You can mix in some of your kitten friendly mix with your normal mix to use it up and add a bit of familiar variety.
If you have adult or older rats in the cage with them, then don’t worry and just feed them the food you would feed the adults, they may need slightly more high protein wet meals (fed separately from their older cage mates) but otherwise will be fine. If you are feeding a straights based mix, a rat rations mix or one that is not a commercial mix make sure they are getting vitamin supplements frequently, 5-6 days a week, whilst they are young and growing fast. You can mix in some of your kitten friendly mix with your normal mix to use it up and add a bit of familiar variety.
Wet food
This is the best way to top your rats protein levels up, as well as adding in extra useful vitamins and minerals. There are many options for this, and it can be nice to offer a variety, your kittens will be used to lots of different things and should tuck into most foods without fuss, if they seem reluctant to eat something try mixing it in with some cooked carbs or veg as this can make it more exciting for them. Here is a list of some of the options available (note, whilst these are often cooked foods make sure they are cool before offering them to your rats);
- Egg – scrambled, hard boiled and microwaved mixed in cooked rice
- Fish – tinned tuna in spring water (limit to once a week due to mercury content), tinned mackerel or sardines in tomato sauce, avoid brine or salty fish
- Shellfish – cooked mussels in their shells (they will also eat the shells), prawns, tinned shrimps any other shell fish you might find, great for copper content but avoid any soaked in brine
- Other pet food – kitten and puppy food, particularly nice naturals ranges like applaws. Fish based is often best. Also look out for egg food, this is sold for birds and can be made into porridge by soaking it in water or milk (soya is often best) for a few minutes. Rat rations also do some soakable mixes aimed at kittens
- Chicken – cooked on the bone is best, as is giving them any left-over bones, a great way to get extra calcium in their diet.
- Other – Other meats can be fed, and mixing in different types of cooked carbs like rice, couscous, pasta and so on can make it more exciting. Try and avoid very processed or salty/spiced foods. Baby foods can also be used, just avoid the sweet ones.
Vegetables
First you need to check if your new kittens are be used to having a good amount and range of vegetable, this is important as suddenly increasing the amount of vegetables in a rats diet can give them squishy droppings and even diahorrea. Vegetables add in lots of useful vitamins and minerals into their diet and so are well worth feeding. Typically aiming for a small handful between 2 babies works well. Try and offer a range of vegetables and fruits. If your babies have not had much veg in the past it may take them a while to try new things. Try offering things several times before you give up as rats need time to realise what your offering is good. Have a read of this section for more information
Vitamins and Supplements
Depending on what diet you feed this can be very important. If you are feeding entirely a commercially available mix (possibly rat or rabbit food, note not rat rations own mixes) or a mix with a significant proportion of them then it is probably already enriched with these to some extent. You can see this on the ingredients; it will often quote calcium, copper etc though sometimes by different names. As your kittens are growing they may benefit from extra supplements of vitamin D and calcium as they do need more rich nutrition than adult rats, but only 1-3 times a week.
If your kittens are on a more homemade or straights based mix, that is not already enriched or isn’t mainly a commercial mix, then they will need more frequent supplements, around 6 days a week. There are many ways to achieve this, the two easiest are either rat rations daily 3 (a powdered supplement of copper, calcium and vitamin d) or a combination of Dr Squiggles daily essentials and calcivet in there water bottle. You should keep this up whilst they are visibly growing fast, normally for at least the first 4 months, beginning to drop off to normal levels as they approach the 6 month mark.
If your kittens are on a more homemade or straights based mix, that is not already enriched or isn’t mainly a commercial mix, then they will need more frequent supplements, around 6 days a week. There are many ways to achieve this, the two easiest are either rat rations daily 3 (a powdered supplement of copper, calcium and vitamin d) or a combination of Dr Squiggles daily essentials and calcivet in there water bottle. You should keep this up whilst they are visibly growing fast, normally for at least the first 4 months, beginning to drop off to normal levels as they approach the 6 month mark.
Treats
Treats are very useful for kittens, especially with trust training and when topping them up with protein and vitamins when they live with older cage mates. However treats are also one of those things it’s easy to overdo and can lead to chubby rats which are not healthy, so it is worth starting as you mean to go on. Aiming for feeding them occasional healthy treats which also help their diet is the best way to do it. For kittens this means feeding higher protein treats, avoiding too much sweetness. Typically cat, kitten and puppy treats are good for this, looking out for natural chicken, fish or liver treats, or perhaps some dried fish, even a seed in its shell is great. One or two of these a day can help top up protein levels. Herb leaves are also very popular and if you are trying to train your rats try some natural yoghurt on your finger, or individual rice crispies.
Try and avoid junk food, giving them the taste for it when young will encourage them to want it through their lives, and rats are very good at getting what they want. You also need to bear in mind there relative size, a crisp may not seem much to a human, but with the difference in size its equivalent to them eating around 4 packets of crisps
Try and avoid junk food, giving them the taste for it when young will encourage them to want it through their lives, and rats are very good at getting what they want. You also need to bear in mind there relative size, a crisp may not seem much to a human, but with the difference in size its equivalent to them eating around 4 packets of crisps
How much to feed
The biggest challenge with kitten food is to work out how much, especially as if you feed too much they will grow up fast and tend towards being overweight in adulthood. The ideal amount of food is just enough to give them what they need to grow and no more. To get this balance right it is useful to learn to read your new rats. How they look (their condition) will tell you if they are getting enough of everything. Their coats and tails, as well as how they feel, can tell you everything you need to know. Move towards feeding them as an adult around 8-10 weeks (slowly reducing the amount of wet protein meals from daily to once a week). If you see any of the issue described then give them wet protein meals for 2 or 3 days as a boost and then see how they get on.
- Coats – a rats coat should be shiny, smooth and not too long. They moult there coat between every 4-8 weeks and at first this should be very obvious as a line moving along their body. When they moult they need extra nutrients to help grow their new coat. If they are missing some then it takes longer for them to moult and their fur is effectively older. That makes it look a little dull and long, often around the bum in particular making it look scruffy. This means they need a bit more protein to help kick start their moult. It can also get brown tinged or patchy (rusting) this can be a sign they don’t have enough copper in their diet (there are other less problematic reasons too, but making sure its not copper first is very useful), giving them some liver, liver treats, denes wholegrain mixes or similar high copper food (over 20mg/kg) can help fix that.
- Tails – a rat’s tail is also useful. When it is right it should have a nice round cross section, or possibly slightly oval as they grow. If your rats tail gets proper edges on it (called square or matchstick tail, due to the square cross section) then it is a sign it isn’t getting quite enough nutrition to build the muscles on there. Normally this is protein related so give them a nice high protein meal or two, however it can also be linked to vitamins (found in vegetables), healthy fat content (give them a bit of good oil dribbled on a wet meal) and vitamin D/Calcium (up the amount of supplements they are getting). Its best to start by offering protein, then extra fat and so on.