Congratulations on being a kitten owner! This is a special time for both of you, filled with opportunities to start your kitten's life right.

Your kitten may be small and cuddly now, but before you know it, your grown-up cat will be pouncing around. To ensure your kitten will be a happy, healthy cat for years to come, it's important to recognize her kitten-specific needs now.

All kittens need the basics - precise nutrition, time to sleep and play, and lots of love - but kittens have individual needs, as well. Cat owners tend to think of these early years as the "healthy years" and may not give enough consideration to feeding practices. But because of factors like age, activity levels and the fact that kittens need more protein and calories than adult cats, a "one size fits all" approach to nutrition just won't work. Improper feeding can increase your kitten's risk of obesity, poor muscle and bone development and poor immune response.

Your kitten needs precise levels of essential nutrients to stay her healthiest throughout life. Her body needs a kitten food to provide taurine and other nutrients she needs for proper growth and development.

Starting your kitten off with proper nutrition is a vital step in ensuring she'll grow into an active, healthy cat. Feeding her a properly formulated kitten food, such as Hill's® Science Diet® Indoor Kitten pet food, helps fuel her growth and energy from day one.

Feed your kitten 2-3 meals a day. Free feeding your kitten is not recommended because it can lead to obesity. Offer canned or dry food so she can get used to the textures.

SOURCE: ©2009 Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.