Best food for Turkish Van kitten at 9 weeks

A Turkish Van kitten — brilliant choice, and yes, the water-loving reputation is very real! You're absolutely right to be thinking about hydration early, because kittens at this age are still transitioning away from mother's milk and their kidneys are developing fast. Wet food genuinely does make a difference here — it delivers moisture directly through meals rather than relying on a kitten to drink enough from a bowl. Before I point you in the right direction, can I ask: is your kitten currently eating anything, and do you know their exact birth date or approximate weight? That helps me get the portion guidance right too.

Perfect — 800g at 9 weeks is a good solid weight, she sounds healthy. Supermarket pouches aren't terrible but they tend to be lower in protein and use more fillers, which isn't ideal at this stage when muscle and bone development is going at full speed. For a Turkish Van specifically, you're going to want something that supports that lean, muscular build they develop, not just kitten calories in general. One thing I'd love to know: does she seem to enjoy the wet food texture so far, or has she been picky about anything — chunky, pâté, gravy?

That makes this very easy. I'd go straight to Royal Canin Kitten Instinctive in Gravy — but specifically the mousse/pâté format, which they do in their wet range. It's formulated precisely for kittens up to 12 months, with a high protein profile, DHA for brain development, and the moisture content sits around 82%, which is exactly what you want for hydration. For a Turkish Van who's going to grow into a fairly large, active cat, the protein quality in Royal Canin's kitten range is genuinely one of the better options on the market at this price point. It's widely available on Amazon UK in multipacks, which keeps the cost down. I'd feed her roughly 4–5 small meals a day at her age and weight — about 30–35g per meal — and keep fresh water available even so, because wet food covers most but not all of her fluid needs.

At 9 weeks, you don't need to introduce dry food yet — her teeth are still developing and wet food is doing a better overall job nutritionally right now. If you do want to introduce a little dry alongside it from around 10–12 weeks, Royal Canin also do a kitten dry that pairs well with their wet range, which keeps things consistent. But honestly, if she's thriving on wet pâté and you're happy with it, there's no requirement to add dry at all. Some cats do perfectly well on exclusively wet their whole lives, and for a breed with that natural draw to water and hydration, it actually suits them well. Just make sure you're not leaving wet food out for more than 30–40 minutes — it spoils faster than dry.

You're all set — she's going to do brilliantly on it. The Royal Canin Kitten wet range in pâté format is one of those products that just works for this age group, and the hydration benefit is real, not just marketing. Grab a multipack on Amazon UK to start — the 12-pouch boxes are good value. If she ever goes off a particular flavour or texture, Royal Canin do a couple of variants so you can rotate slightly. Enjoy this stage — 9 weeks is such a wonderful age. She's going to grow fast!