Is Kitten Food Important?

jaycee

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Should I be feeding my 8 week old kitten a kitten formula food or is adult cat food okay? How important is kitten food really?
 

sharky

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I feel kitten is important as most kitten foods are 10% more caloric and have more protein and fat .... ALL stage foods are great if you make sure to check fat and protein levals ... MOST adult is what some call all stage ...

Easy way to tell... look for the AFFCO statement if it says all life stage or growth and matenience it should be fine for a kitten
 

EnzoLeya

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Kittens need kitten food for a reason! There are many things in kitten food to help them grow and stay healthy. You are recomended to keep them on kitten food until they are around 8 months to a year old I believe. Hard food is a big change from milk for your little one which mean digestion is also very hard for kittens. Kitten food is made especially mild so that they can easily chew the small kernals and digest them without problems. Kitten food is often less expensive and I highly encourage using it! We use Purina Natural Kitten Chow for both our kitties, 7 months and 11 months old. It's a good pice and it's good for them too!
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Kittens need kitten food for a reason! There are many things in kitten food to help them grow and stay healthy. You are recomended to keep them on kitten food until they are around 8 months to a year old I believe. Hard food is a big change from milk for your little one which mean digestion is also very hard for kittens. Kitten food is made especially mild so that they can easily chew the small kernals and digest them without problems. Kitten food is often less expensive and I highly encourage using it! We use Purina Natural Kitten Chow for both our kitties, 7 months and 11 months old. It's a good pice and it's good for them too!
You obivously havent researched much... try a nutrition search on this site"_
.. Kitten chow is one of the lowest in quality and ingrediants
 

starryeyedtiger

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Yes- a good kitten food is very important!
I feed ALL of my foster kittens Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul- i like the ingredients and i like the fact that it's gluetin free and all of the first listed ingredients are REAL foods and meats
The nutritional content is good according to my vets as well. The price is also great on it considering all the good ingredients! They have a website online that you can order it from or you can check your local pet stores
 
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jaycee

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hmm looks like there not really agreement on this issue. i trust sharky though.
thanks sharky
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by jaycee

hmm looks like there not really agreement on this issue. i trust sharky though.
thanks sharky
Anytime... I actually learned that from an old country vet
 
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jaycee

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im sorry, i hope that didnt sound rude to the other people who answered my question, i appreciate you posting your opinions also!
 

EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by sharky



You obivously havent researched much... try a nutrition search on this site"_
.. Kitten chow is one of the lowest in quality and ingrediants
I just checked the site that was left by a previous reply...it backs me up...
 
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jaycee

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before anyone else responds to that i would just like to ask please dont turn this into a processed food vs raw debate. i just wanted to know opinions on whether it is really important to feed commercial processed kitten food to kittens rather than adult processed cat food.
 

wmarcello

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So... I have the reverse question right now...

Is it ok to feed an adult cat kitten food?

I want to take our 1-year old Inka off the Felidae for now to see if she has a food intolerance that is aggravating her bladder infection. Sharky has mentioned that the lamb in Felidae could be causing some inflammation. We still have a bag of their kitten food around (Nutrience) that is a chicken and rice formula. Is it ok to feed them that for a week or two? Here are the guaranteed analyses.

Felidae
Crude Protein min. 32.00%
Crude Fat min. 20.00%
Crude Fiber max. 2.50%
Moisture max. 9.00%
Lenoleic Acid (Omega 6) min. 3.75%
Vitamin E min. 200.00 IU/kg
Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega 3) min. 0.75%
Magnesium max. 0.095%
Taurine min. 0.20%
Ash min. 5.50%
Calcium min. 1.00%
Phosphorus min. 1.00%
Cellulase min. 100 CMCU/kg
pH 5.5

Nutrience
Crude protein min. 33.0 %
Crude fat min. 20.0 %
Crude fiber max. 3.0 %
Moisture max. 10.0 %
Ash max. 7.0 %
Calcium min. 1.4 %
Phosphorus min. 1.0 %
Magnesium max 0.1 %
Salt min. 1.0 %
Vitamin A min. 25,000 I.U./kg
Vitamin D3 min. 1,600 I.U./kg
Vitamin E min. 110 I.U./kg
Vitamin C min. 50 mg/kg
Herbs 0.2 %
 

april31

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Well as we have a mix of ages in our family and the weight on all cats are fine i mix the kitten food with adult food. Until the youngest is a year old. It is hard when I free feed dry to get them to eat only the food for them. Now as long as the adult cats dont get over weight it works for me. I mix equal parts of kitten and adult. When I was trying to put wieght on one of my adult cats I used more kitten food then.
 

ashley45

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Sharky- and all those who don't advocate kitten food:

Is all kitten food bad, or are there some quality brands? I'm feeding my 8 week old Royal Canin Babycat.
 

booktigger

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i think kitten food is important, but it is too rich for some cats, so worth just trying and seeing if your kitten is one that will tolerate it or not. I personally wouldnt give adults kitten food, as it is higher in fats and protein, so can be too fattening for adults.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by sharky

I feel kitten is important as most kitten foods are 10% more caloric and have more protein and fat .... ALL stage foods are great if you make sure to check fat and protein levals ... MOST adult is what some call all stage ...

Easy way to tell... look for the AFFCO statement if it says all life stage or growth and matenience it should be fine for a kitten
Originally Posted by Ashley45

Sharky- and all those who don't advocate kitten food:

Is all kitten food bad, or are there some quality brands? I'm feeding my 8 week old Royal Canin Babycat.
please see the above quote.... I do think kittens should get kitten food unless the other cats in the house are eating an appropriate all stage


RC is good just check on the grain level ... many have corn wheat and soy in one formula yet many dont


Originally Posted by wmarcello

So... I have the reverse question right now...

Is it ok to feed an adult cat kitten food?

I want to take our 1-year old Inka off the Felidae for now to see if she has a food intolerance that is aggravating her bladder infection. Sharky has mentioned that the lamb in Felidae could be causing some inflammation. We still have a bag of their kitten food around (Nutrience) that is a chicken and rice formula. Is it ok to feed them that for a week or two? Here are the guaranteed analyses.

Felidae
Crude Protein min. 32.00%
Crude Fat min. 20.00%
Crude Fiber max. 2.50%
Moisture max. 9.00%
Lenoleic Acid (Omega 6) min. 3.75%
Vitamin E min. 200.00 IU/kg
Alpha Linolenic Acid (Omega 3) min. 0.75%
Magnesium max. 0.095%
Taurine min. 0.20%
Ash min. 5.50%
Calcium min. 1.00%
Phosphorus min. 1.00%
Cellulase min. 100 CMCU/kg
pH 5.5

Nutrience
Crude protein min. 33.0 %
Crude fat min. 20.0 %
Crude fiber max. 3.0 %
Moisture max. 10.0 %
Ash max. 7.0 %
Calcium min. 1.4 %
Phosphorus min. 1.0 %
Magnesium max 0.1 %
Salt min. 1.0 %
Vitamin A min. 25,000 I.U./kg
Vitamin D3 min. 1,600 I.U./kg
Vitamin E min. 110 I.U./kg
Vitamin C min. 50 mg/kg
Herbs 0.2 %
Short answer from my vet YES... but ...it depends on age of adult and how active ( ie this is a vet ??? ) ... Nutrience is a Canandian brand??? I ask as the label has different things listed
 

wmarcello

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Originally Posted by sharky

Short answer from my vet YES... but ...it depends on age of adult and how active ( ie this is a vet ??? ) ... Nutrience is a Canandian brand??? I ask as the label has different things listed
Yes, I think it is a Canadian brand, sold at our local Pets Unlimited, a chain store. If you go up to my original post you can click on the name of the brand and it will take you to their website.

Our cats are just over a year old and still quite active. I didn't think it would be a problem since the analyses seem to be quite similar, so I figured the difference in nutrition between the two foods would be small.
 
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