The best foods for hungry, growing kittens, according to vets

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Ensuring your kitten grows into a healthy adult cat starts with their diet. The best kitten food supports their development throughout their first year of life and makes them look forward to mealtime. But with dozens of options on the market, how do pet parents decide what dry and wet food to buy?

Below, veterinarians break down what to consider while picking a kitten food, including options from Purina, Fancy Feast and Hill’s Science Diet. Experts also shared insights about how much and how often to feed your kitten, plus when to transition them to adult cat food .

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The best kitten food in 2026

All of the food below, which includes NBC Selected staff favorites and highly-rated options, is specifically formulated for kittens, meets AAFCO nutrition standards and has a meat source as the first ingredient, per expert recommendations.

The best dry kitten food

Best overall

Iams ProActive Health Kitten Dry Cat Food

Iams’ kibble is small in size, making it’s easy for kittens to chew. It’s made without fillers, artificial flavors or artificial preservatives. It contains nutrients similar to those in kittens’ mother’s milk, like vitamin E, which supports the immune system. The food also has omega-3 DHA, as well as fiber and prebiotics for healthy digestion.

Editor’s pick

Wellness Complete Health Natural Dry Kitten Food

My cat Lucy ate Wellness Complete Health’s dry kitten food before I adopted her, so I continued feeding it to her at home. The small, pellet-shaped kibble is made with natural ingredients and does not contain meat by-products, fillers or artificial preservatives. It’s formulated with vitamins A, E and zinc to support immune health; calcium and phosphorus to support the bones and muscles; and prebiotics, probiotics and fiber to support digestive health.

Best natural kitten food

Hill’s Science Diet Kitten Healthy Development Chicken Recipe Dry Cat Food

Hill’s Science Diet’s dry kitten food is made with all-natural ingredients, and it’s free from chicken by-product meal, artificial flavors, synthetic colors and artificial preservatives. The kibble is small and pellet-shaped, making it easy for kittens to chew. It’s formulated with DHA from fish oil, an antioxidant blend of vitamins C and E to support the immune system, and prebiotics to support the gut microbiome and digestive system. You can also purchase a version of this dry kitten food that does not contain corn, wheat or soy if your cat is sensitive to those ingredients.

Best pate

Blue Buffalo Baby Blue Natural Kitten Wet Cat Food

Blue Buffalo’s wet kitten food is made with real chicken, not poultry by-products. It’s also free from corn, wheat and soy, as well as artificial flavors and preservatives. It has a pate texture, and is formulated with fish oil as a source of DHA and natural ingredients like brown rice, flaxseeds, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Best grain-free

Merrick Purrfect Bistro Grain-Free Healthy Kitten Recipe Dry Food

I fed my cat Wanda Merrick’s grain-free dry kitten food when I first adopted her at two months old. Although she had only a few teeth, she happily ate this small, pellet-shaped kibble. It has natural ingredients like deboned chicken, salmon oil, potatoes and cranberries. It has probiotics that support digestion, antioxidants that support the immune system and omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids that support the skin and fur. The dry food is also made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.

The best wet kitten food

Best overall

Fancy Feast Kitten Tender Ocean Whitefish Feast Canned Cat Food

Both of my cats were picky about their wet food as kittens, but they always ate this Fancy Feast formula without hesitation. It’s made with real milk and vitamins like E, B-12 and D-3. The wet food has a pate texture and does not contain artificial preservatives or colors.

Best for picky eaters

Hill’s Science Diet Kitten Liver & Chicken Entree Canned Cat Food

This wet food is available in five protein-rich flavors, so you can experiment with different options until you find the one your kitten likes best. It is made with easily digestible ingredients, as well as vitamins C and E, to support young cats’ immune systems. It also has DHA from fish oil in its formula, plus prebiotic fibers to keep the gut microbiome and digestive system healthy.

Best grain-free

Wellness Complete Health Grain-Free Whitefish & Tuna Entrée Wet Canned Kitten Food

I’ve also fed my kittens Wellness Complete Health’s wet food, which is free from grains, corn, wheat and soy. It has a smooth pate texture and contains natural ingredients like carrots, pumpkin, flaxseeds and cranberries. The food’s formula has fish oil as a source of DHA and prebiotics for digestion support. You can purchase the wet kitten food in a multipack of flavors or individually.

Best in gravy

Royal Canin Feline Health Nutrition Thin Slices in Gravy Wet Kitten Food

Royal Canin’s wet food for kittens is made from thin slices of meat in a gravy sauce, giving it a soft texture that’s easy for baby teeth to chew. The food contains antioxidants like vitamins E and C and fish oil, a source of omega-3 fatty acids. You can also purchase the food as a pate loaf in sauce .

How I picked the best kitten food

While shopping for kitten food, veterinarians recommend thinking about the following factors.

How to shop for the best kitten food

What is the AAFCO?

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is a non-profit organization that establishes nutrition standards for pet food and labeling standards for different life stages. Pet food companies formulate and test their products against these standards to ensure they’re “complete and balanced” — this means the food contains necessary nutrients in the correct ratios, according to the AAFCO. The nutrient quantities and ratios necessary for each life stage vary, so the AAFCO’s nutrition standards differ accordingly. For example, growing pets, meaning puppies and kittens, need more calorie-rich food that may cause less active adult animals to become overweight.

That said, make sure the kitten food you buy meets AAFCO nutrition standards. You can determine this by checking the nutritional adequacy statement, usually printed in small text on the back or sides of the package. The label should note that the food is “complete and balanced for growth,” meaning designed for kittens only, or “complete and balanced for all life stages,” meaning designed for cats of all ages.

What are the best ingredients for kitten food?

Experts tell us that as long as you buy kitten food that meets AAFCO standards, all the ingredients are safe and each serving offers a complete, balanced meal. But if you want to know more about exactly what the food is made from, read the nutrition label with the following in mind.

Hart says the protein and fat content in wet kitten food might be falsely low because moisture is accounted for. Your vet can help you determine if a kitten’s food meets the appropriate protein and fat percentages on a dry matter basis, meaning the percentage without accounting for moisture.

Is wet or dry food better for kittens?

Ideally, cats, regardless of their age, should eat wet and dry food daily because each type offers different benefits. Loftus says that exposing kittens to wet and dry food early in life can also help reduce food aversions later on.

How to feed your kitten

Once you’ve picked out wet and dry food, you should determine how much and how often you should feed your kitten. Below, experts share their tips.