Our shelter uses Shelter's Choice for our formula, although we did use KMR previously. Just what we have provided in their kennels and excluding our syringe feeding process, kittens under 6 weeks will get a bowl of regular wet kitten food, a bowl of wet food mixed with some formula to make gruel and kittens under 8 weeks get what we call kitten crushed food, which is just dry kitten food that has gone through a food processor to break it into smaller pieces, and a bowl of water. Kittens 6 weeks and older get just regular wet food, crushed kitten food, and a bowl of water.
Like Marnie said, you should try to be consistent with the food you are offering unless the cat is not eating what is being offered. Tiki cat is great but I worry that it would not be a sustainable option to have consistently. If the reason for it is just because of the size of the pieces, it might be better to do what our shelter does and get a food processor.
It is against protocols at our shelter to mix wet and dry food. To my knowledge it is mostly because the two differ in how long they are good for when exposed to air so mixing wet and dry would make the dry no longer edible much sooner than it would on its own. I thought I had read about it in the ASV guidelines but looking through just now I must've made that up or saw it somewhere else. It can be ok to mix in the home in a much more individualized environment but it does not seem like the best option for a shelter/rescue.
For credibility, my shelter is now in its 151st year of operation, we have partnered with Best Friends before, achieved 90+% save rate the last two years despite having a stray government contract and taking in 15,000+ animals a year, and we have had Kitten College come through our shelter and help us revamp our kitten program to ensure we are doing the best that we can (Thank you Marnie!)
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Laurel Wilton
Feline Welfare Supervisor
Nebraska Humane Society
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-11-2026 04:36 PM
From: Emily Jennings
Subject: Advice on Gruel with KMR vs Water
Hello!
This is my first post on Maddie's Forum! I am meeting with management on Tuesday to talk about our kitten feeding protocols. Some history/need to knows:
- We are an open intake shelter, and take in any and all animals that come through our doors. We are starting to swing into kitten season!
- We currently do not buy kitten food, and rely solely on donations for kitten wet and dry food.
- A majority of the kittens we intake are under 8 weeks of age.
- In the past, we have mixed wet food with KMR for kittens under 8 weeks of age to create gruel to help pack on calories and wean orphaned kittens.
Now the upcoming conversation with management:
Our operations director no longer wants to use Meat Milk (KMR mixed with wet food) for kittens that are weaned. She believe it is, in her words, "It is not ideal nor a health standard and will mess with the GI system development." Her solution is that kittens should always have wet food/water slurry with dry kibble mixed in, and wants kittens 5-7 weeks of age to get Tiki Cat Baby Cat because they "can not fit the other kitten kibble in mouth."
My concerns:
A majority of the kittens we get in, we have no information other than the location they are found, their sex, and the age we assign them by the development of teeth and body. We do not know if they are properly (or at all) weaned, nor their past reliability on a food source. They are generally underweight, have parasites and any other issue an orphaned kitten might have. From everything I have been reading, KMR does not cause GI upset or hinder their GI tract development for kittens who should still be receiving their mothers milk and can help alleviate GI upset for kittens that are weaned too quickly. KMR gruel is widely used at many shelters and is recommended by ASPCA, Best Friends, and many other sources I've printed in preparation for talking to her.
We also do not buy Tiki Cat Baby Cat, so including that in a new protocol is not reliable because we do not buy kitten food at all. The one bag we have, I donated.
Can someone please tell me what their experiences are, advice, protocols, and maybe how to approach her with information? In the past, she has acted on a lot of things she has "learned" over the years, including recently euthanizing FeLV+ cats that she believes are incredibly contagious and dangerous to other cats despite all the evidence I've brought to leadership showing otherwise.
Thank you!
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Emily Jennings
Cat Care and Training Coordinator
WA
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