Feeding

 

At melo Exotics we wean our kittens onto a raw, ground chicken diet, supplemented with vitamins and minerals. Once our kittens are eating their raw chicken well, Innova Evo wet food, Turkey and Chicken formula, is mixed into the raw at an increasing rate, until the kittens are exclusively eating the Innova Evo wet food.   at all time our kittens have access to both Innova Evo and Royal Canin Kitten formula,   Royal Canin BabyCat formula. Kittens eating primarily wet food tend to drink very little. Because moisture content in wet food is so high, not much water is required.
 
At nine to eleven weeks of age, when our kittens are ready to leave melo Exotics, their diet is Innova Evo wet food, Turkey and Chicken formula, twice daily. Most have begun to nibble on the dry food, although they may not be eating sufficient dry food to sustain themselves. 
 
Once home with you, we recommend continuing Innova Evo wet food feedings twice daily for several weeks. If you plan to change to a different brand of high quality wet food, do it gradually, mixing it in with the Innova Evo at an increasing rate.
 
As your kitten grows, increase the amount of food offered at each meal. When first arriving home, kittens will generally eat a quarter of a can per feeding. If they lick their platter clean within a couple of minutes, you can offer them more. If they don’t
eat everything you gave them, offer a little less at the next feeding.
 
Each kitten converts to dry food at a different rate. Some leave melo Exotics eating a considerable amount of dry food, soon choosing to eat strictly dry. Others will take months to convert to dry food, thinking it's the end of the world if they don’t get their spoonful of wet food each morning. 
 
If your kitten does not seem be very interested in dry food, we recommend mixing the dry into their wet food at an increasing rate to force conversion to the dry food. Long term, we recommend their diet consists mainly of dry food as it’s nutritional and calorie content is much higher than wet food which is 90% water.
 
Some people ask about feeding a raw diet to their hybrid cat. This is certainly your choice. Be advised, however, a raw diet requires a great deal more effort, plus added dietary supplements. Raw food diets for pets are available in the marketplace. Some individuals choose to make the diet themselves. To make a balanced ration which meets the calcium-phosphorus ratio necessary for a feline diet requires knowledge most people lack. So we recommend that if you choose to feed raw food, you do it in combination with a high quality dry food. When feeding in this manner, it is important the raw food be fed in limited amounts so your cat is not omitting the dry food. 
 

We are also asked if it is necessary to supplement with Calcium, Taurine, Vitamins, etc. If you are feeding a high quality dry food, this is not necessary. 

 

You can contact us by phone +237 51776277 or by email melo_colette@yahoo.de