Kitten Vitamins: What to Buy, and What Comes First
Two very different situations bring people to this page, and only one of them needs a bottle.
A weaned kitten eating a complete kitten food does not need vitamins. That food is already built for growth, with the protein, calcium, phosphorus and taurine a growing skeleton and heart require. Adding to it upsets a balance somebody has already got right. If you want a junior multivitamin anyway, the drops here are the right format: Nutri-Vita at ₹130, Proviboost at ₹150 and Zipvit at ₹162, all in stock.
An orphan or unweaned kitten needs a milk replacer, and it needs it today. This is the real kitten vitamin and it is not optional. Kitty Start at ₹460, Lactadiet at ₹950, Beaphar Lactol Kitten at ₹1,150 and Bio Kitten at ₹1,375, all in stock. Buy a feeding bottle at the same time.
Three things to know before you feed a young kitten anything.
Never give cow milk. Today's Veterinary Nurse is direct: "Milk from other mammals is not appropriate for nursing kittens." Cow milk lacks adequate taurine and lacks the iron, copper and zinc that a queen's milk provides, and it causes diarrhoea in an animal that cannot afford to lose fluid. A kitten milk replacer is formulated to match queen's milk. Cow milk, buffalo milk and dairy from the corner shop are not substitutes.
Never feed a cold kitten. This one saves lives and almost nobody knows it. Formula must be warmed to body temperature, around 37.8 degrees, before feeding, and a chilled kitten must be warmed before it is fed at all. Very young kittens cannot regulate their own temperature, and cold formula into a cold kitten makes things worse rather than better. Warm the kitten first, slowly, then feed.
Do not add calcium to a complete kitten food. Calcium problems in cats come from all-meat and homemade diets, not from balanced food. Merck Veterinary Manual: "many homemade diets for cats are deficient in minerals and fail to achieve a proper calcium-to-phosphorus ratio," and the remedy they name is "a high-quality commercial food, or a diet designed by a credentialed veterinary nutritionist." A growing kitten's skeleton depends on that ratio, and adding calcium on top of a food that already had it right moves it in the wrong direction.
What a Kitten Actually Needs, In Order
| Priority |
What it is |
Roughly what it costs |
| 1 |
A complete kitten food, wet or dry, fed to appetite while growing |
Varies with brand |
| 2 |
The core vaccine course, starting at six weeks and finishing at sixteen |
Vaccines here run from about ₹92 |
| 3 |
Deworming, on the schedule your vet sets |
Low, and it matters more than any vitamin |
| 4 |
A litter tray, unscented fine litter, and a scoop |
From about ₹225 for litter |
| 5 |
Neutering, at the age your vet advises |
A clinic cost, not a shop one |
| 6 |
A junior multivitamin, if you want one |
₹130 to ₹162 |
Number six is last on that list on purpose. A kitten that has had one to five is in good shape. A kitten that has had six and none of the others is not.
The Vaccine Schedule That Beats Any Vitamin
If a kitten has arrived in your home and you are working out where to spend, this is the answer, and it has a fixed timetable that you cannot make up later.
The WSAVA vaccination guidelines set the core feline vaccines as FPV, FHV and FCV given together, plus rabies according to local rules, plus FeLV for kittens in regions where it circulates. The timing is the part people get wrong. WSAVA: "Start no earlier than 6 weeks of age and revaccinate every 3 to 4 weeks until 16 weeks of age."
Sixteen weeks is not a suggestion. A kitten carries antibody from its mother that blocks earlier vaccines from taking properly, and the last dose at or after sixteen weeks is the one that reliably works. A kitten given two doses at eight and eleven weeks and then stopped is not protected, whatever the card says.
WSAVA also suggests "revaccinating at about 6 months of age, rather than waiting until the cat is 12 to 16 months of age" to close the gap.
None of this is on this page. It is at your vet, and it is worth more to a kitten than every bottle in this collection.
Orphan Kittens: The Real Kitten Vitamin
If you have found a kitten, this section matters more than the rest of the page put together.
A kitten milk replacer is designed to reproduce what a queen provides: roughly 32 to 48 percent protein, 28 percent fat, taurine, the essential amino acids, and the minerals cow milk lacks, at better than 90 percent digestibility. That specification is why the substitutes people reach for do not work.
How often. In the first week, every two to four hours, around the clock. From then until weaning, every four to six hours. It is relentless and it is the job.
When it ends. "Weaning typically begins at 3 to 4 weeks of age and is completed by 6 to 9 weeks." After that, complete kitten food takes over and the milk replacer stops.
Temperature, again. Formula at body temperature, and a warm kitten before you feed. Both parts.
If you are not sure how old the kitten is, bring it in or send us a photo. Age changes the feeding interval, the volume and whether it needs a vet the same day, and guessing wrongly at this stage costs kittens.
How Old Is the Kitten? Work It Out Before You Feed It
We keep saying age changes everything, so here is how to work it out. These milestones are from the National Kitten Coalition.
| What you can see |
Age |
Typical weight |
| Umbilical cord still soft and pliable |
Under 12 hours |
50 to 150gm |
| Cord dried to a stiff brownish string, eyes shut |
Day 1 to about day 5 |
50 to 150gm |
| Eyes opening as a slit |
From about 5 days |
150 to 250gm |
| Eyes fully open, ears still folded flat |
8 to 10 days |
150 to 250gm |
| Ear flaps unfolded, sitting upright |
About 2 weeks |
250 to 350gm |
| Incisors coming through, standing and wobbling |
2 to 3 weeks |
250 to 350gm |
| Canine teeth through, walking properly |
About 3 weeks |
350 to 450gm |
| Eating some solid food, using a tray |
4 to 5 weeks |
450 to 550gm |
| Fully weaned, playing hard |
5 to 8 weeks |
550 to 950gm |
The weight column is the most useful one, because it is a number rather than a judgement. Weigh the kitten daily on a kitchen scale and write it down. A kitten that is not gaining weight day on day is a kitten in trouble, and that is the single most reliable warning sign you have.
A rough rule that helps in the first fortnight: a healthy kitten gains roughly 10 to 15 grams a day. If yours is flat or dropping, that is a vet visit rather than a change of formula.
The Part People Miss: Warming and Stimulating
Two jobs that are not feeding, and that kittens die without.
Warm before you feed, always. Here is the mechanism, from dvm360's neonatal nursing guidance: "In the first week of life, puppies and kittens rely solely on their external environment for warmth; they are unable to maintain their own body temperature." And the reason it decides the order of things: "Only when a puppy or kitten is maintained at an appropriate temperature is it able to digest milk and thus ready to be fed." A cold kitten cannot digest what you give it. Feeding one is not neutral, it makes things worse. Get the room to around 24 to 27 degrees, warm the kitten gently against your body or on a covered warm bottle, and feed once it is warm.
Stimulate to toilet, before and after every feed. Very young kittens cannot do this themselves. dvm360: "Because neonates cannot urinate or defecate without assistance, they should be stimulated both before and after feedings." For urination, rub gently over the lower belly and groin. For defecation, wipe a warm damp cloth or gauze on either side of the pelvis rather than directly on the anus.
People who have never hand reared a kitten do not know this, and a kitten that is being fed but not stimulated gets into difficulty quickly. If you have taken in a small kitten and nobody has told you this, that is the most important thing on this page.
Best Multivitamin for Cats: When One Is Actually Worth Buying
For an adult cat on complete food, the honest answer is that a multivitamin is rarely the thing that will help. There are situations where one earns its place.
| Situation |
Is a multivitamin the answer? |
| Healthy adult cat on complete food |
No. Nothing to correct |
| Cat recovering from illness or surgery, eating poorly |
Sometimes, alongside getting calories in. Ask your vet |
| Cat on a homemade diet |
The diet is the problem. A multivitamin does not fix an unbalanced recipe |
| Cat that has been eating dog food |
Change the food. Dog food lacks the taurine a cat needs |
| Rescued or street cat in poor condition |
Worming and food first, then a vet, then perhaps a supplement |
| Fussy cat, owner worried it is missing something |
Usually no. Check the food is complete for the life stage |
Taurine is worth a line of its own, because it is the one nutrient a cat genuinely cannot go short of. The reassuring part, per VCA Animal Hospitals: "All diets that are formulated for cats are supplemented with enough taurine to meet the normal cat's needs." The cats that get into trouble are the ones fed dog food, because "dog food does not contain enough taurine to meet the normal requirements for a cat."
What It Costs
| What it is |
Product |
Pack |
Price |
| Kitten drops |
Nutri-Vita Drops |
30mL |
₹130 |
| Kitten drops |
Proviboost Drops |
15mL |
₹150 |
| Kitten drops |
Zipvit Drops |
30mL |
₹162 |
| Kitten milk replacer |
Kitty Start |
|
₹460 |
| Kitten milk replacer |
Lactadiet Cat Powder |
|
₹950 |
| Kitten milk replacer |
Beaphar Lactol Kitten |
|
₹1,150 |
| Cat multivitamin |
Well Up Tablet |
30 tabs |
₹225 |
| Cat multivitamin |
Vita Support Syrup, cat only |
100mL |
₹240 |
| Cat multivitamin |
Nutrich Tablet (S) |
30 tabs |
₹258 |
| Cat multivitamin |
Vitabest Syrup |
150mL |
₹425 |
Two notes. Almost nothing here publishes how much of any vitamin a dose delivers, so a ₹1,375 liquid and a ₹225 tablet cannot be compared on content. And most of these are labelled for dogs and cats together, dosed by weight, so send us the cat's weight rather than halving a dog dose yourself.
What Is in Stock
This collection lists 124 products and 56 are in stock.
Junior, in stock: Nutri-Vita Drops, Proviboost Drops and Zipvit Drops. Pet Up Drops, Combipet Drop and Petton Drops are out.
Cat specific, in stock: Vita Support Syrup at ₹240, My Beau Cat at ₹1,375 and Biopet Vitali Cat Paste at ₹950. Beaphar's Top 10 Cat tablet at ₹190 is out of stock, which is a shame because it is one of the few tablets made for cats rather than for both species.
Not in this collection at all: the kitten milk replacers. They are filed under food. Ask for them by name and we will find them.
Cat Vitamins and Supplements: What Not to Buy Here
Some of what is filed in this collection is not a cat multivitamin, and we would rather name it than let the category vouch for it.
Human pharmacy products. Supradyn from Bayer, Verol from Zydus, Evion from Merck and Zincovit from Apex are all made for people and all tagged for cats. They are out of stock as we write. They are not dosed for a four kilo animal and a cat swallows whatever you give it, so please do not buy them for a cat on your own judgement.
A cattle product. Rumigard Bolus at ₹58.88 is in stock and tagged for cats. A rumen bolus is made for animals with a rumen. Cats do not have one.
Iron and haematinic syrups. Ferricon-L, Fe-Folate and Hemobest are in stock and filed as multivitamins. Iron supplements are for diagnosed anaemia, not for general topping up, and iron is one of the ingredients where too much causes real harm. If a vet has told you your cat is anaemic, buy the one they named. Otherwise leave these alone.
Order From the Counter
Goodman Pet Chemist runs four branches and moves stock between them.
-
Parel, open 24 hours, which matters if you have found a kitten at night
- Mahim
- Sewri
-
Seawoods, Navi Mumbai
For a kitten, send us its approximate age and weight and a photo. We will tell you whether it needs a milk replacer, a feeding bottle, kitten food or a vet, and in what order.
Questions We Get at the Counter
Does my kitten need vitamins?
If it is weaned and eating complete kitten food, no. That food is already formulated for growth. If it is an orphan under about four weeks, what it needs is a kitten milk replacer, urgently.
Can I give a kitten cow milk?
No. Milk from other mammals is not appropriate for nursing kittens. Cow milk is short on taurine, iron, copper and zinc, and it causes diarrhoea in an animal that cannot spare the fluid.
What is the best multivitamin for cats?
For a healthy adult on complete food, none. Where one is genuinely wanted, Nutrich at ₹258 or Vitabest at ₹425 are mainstream veterinary choices, and Vita Support at ₹240 is one of the few made only for cats.
How often do I feed a newborn kitten?
Every two to four hours in the first week, then every four to six hours until weaning. Weaning starts at three to four weeks and finishes by six to nine.
My kitten feels cold. Should I feed it?
Warm the kitten first, gently, before feeding, and warm the formula to body temperature. Feeding a chilled kitten makes things worse. If it is very cold or floppy, that is a vet visit, not a feed.
Should I add calcium so my kitten grows strong bones?
No, not on a complete kitten food. Calcium and phosphorus are balanced in that food deliberately, and adding calcium unbalances it during the months when the skeleton is forming.
Do cats need a taurine supplement?
Not on proper cat food, which already contains enough. Cats fed dog food do, and the answer there is to change the food.
Are cat vitamins and supplements safe to buy without a vet?
The genuine pet supplements here are, in the sense that they are sold over the counter. Whether they will do anything for your cat is a different question, and it is the one this page is really about.
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