Orijen/EVO for Siamese kittens?

I will be adopting two Siamese kittens shortly, and I've been spamming your forum with questions ! I just want to give them the best care they will deserve and I think it's important I ask !

Anyway, I also want to give my kittens the best food there is. Since I am Canadian, I found out a pet-store very near my dad's has all the food showcased here: http://www.naturapet.com/ as well as all Orijen products.

I wouldn't say my budget is unlimited (so you don't suggest I get fresh lobster and schrimps every day ) but I will definitely have enough for Orijen for example (and I heard they were quite in the most expansive range).

I really don't want to get the Wiskat supermarket crap ... I heard things about Royal Canin but I was still under the impression Orijen was made of better quality? RoyalCanin has a LOT of different products, even one especially made for Siamese: http://www.royalcanin.ca/products/fn...siamese_en.php

Do you suggest canned or bag? Wet (dry+water) or dry? What about treats?

Thanks!

Congratulations on your new kittens, I bet you can't wait to bring them home! Have you nailed everything down in preparation?

Personally I prefer to feed a mostly wet (pouches or cans) diet as cats expect to get most of their water from the food they eat and don't tend to drink much, if fed a wet diet the moisture helps with kidney and urinary tract health. Dry is convenient for when you're out at work, or if you want to leave food out for them to snack on overnight, as it can be left out for that length of time without going off or attracting flies.

So what I suggest is 2 meals of canned/pouched wet food a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, and leave a measured amount of dry food out that they can nibble on in between meals, fulfilling their desire to eat little and often.

I haven't used Orijen, but I have heard that it is very good and I like the look of it. I've used Royal Canin (easier to come by here!) and am happy with it. As I'm in the UK I can't give an opinion on many of the foods you will have available as they don't exist here. Of course start them off on either kitten food or a high quality 'all stages' food, don't at this point give them food that is labelled as being for adults as they need more calories and specific nutrition for growth (and the Royal Canin 'Siamese' food is for adult Siamese over a year old, they do 2 for kittens - babycat which has very small kibbles for up to 4 months, and kitten for 4-12 months).

Considering that you're starting with them almost from scratch, if I were in your shoes I would feed as much wet food as possible. If your schedule (i.e. being around the house to feed them when feeding is required) permits this, they would benefit greatly from a wet diet.

Then, you should look for grain-free wet foods (not supermarket brands, probably not boxstore brands). I am using some Wellness types and some Eagle Pack.

What you really should be looking for is food that is as close as possible to the cats' natural food. Have a read of the following...while it might be considered "cute", there is an underlying message: any food should mirror the mouse. http://www.catnutrition.org/catkins.html High protein and fat, very low carbohydrate, near zero grain.

One benefit (of the many) of a wet food is very healthy teeth.

If you find that you must use a dry food, then Orijen would be my only recommendation. Zero grain, high protein and fat.

Aim for mostly wet, if you must, provide limited amounts of dry food for periods when you're not available to provide a wet meal.

Having said all of the above, find out what the cats have been/are eating...and make any change very SLOWLY.

(you referenced Natura brands....there is a great deal of concerned discussion of these brands going on here
http://itchmoforums.com/index.php?topic=1028.0
We in Canada have been duped by our Media-NOT into believing that all pet foods are now safe. Some reading through those forums would suggest otherwise. If you want to stay on top of things, I'd suggest you tune in there regularly. You can also receive free email notification of future recalls by signing up here http://www.itchmo.com/itchmos-pet-sa...rt-email-list/ )

Well since I'm a medstudent I'm gone mornings and come back only during the evening...

Is it suitable to have a bowl of dry orijen food out 24/7, and mornings when I leave put in some wet food, and when I come back home at the evening also put some wet food out ?

For wetfood can't I just buy dry food and add water to them ???

Wet food is best but also a combo on the 2 (wet and dry) is fine. The thing with just putting water down is alot of cats do not have a high thrist drive so some will not drink alot during the day. Espeically from a bowl just sitting out. A bit of wet helps make sure they get water in. I recently (a few months back) bought a pet fountain and saw my cat drinking way more from that then he ever did from any bowl I ever put out.

I also have a Siamese mix. I do fed a grain-free dry. I would fed Orijen but do not have it readily available for a good price around me. But it is excellent food. I looked at the Royal Canin Siamese formula but I was not impressed with the ingredients in it and the price. I currently fed TimberWolf Organics Serengeti because I can get that for a great price and its grain free. But as I said Orijen is a good food.

For wet I would recommend Wellness (grain-free varieties), Eagle Pack, Evo canned (grain-free).

Originally Posted by TigerLord

Well since I'm a medstudent I'm gone mornings and come back only during the evening...

Is it suitable to have a bowl of dry orijen food out 24/7, and mornings when I leave put in some wet food, and when I come back home at the evening also put some wet food out ?

For wetfood can't I just buy dry food and add water to them ???

Click to expand...

I feed wet in the morning and evening and leave dry food out all the time for him to snack on when I'm gone or sleeping.

Dry food has more bacteria so you don't want to add water to it and leave that out because they can get sick from it. Right now I'm feeding California Natural dry and Merricks wet. He didn't like the Innova or evo and I haven't tried orijen. Not sure I can get it here but I have heard it is a very good food.

Congrats on your kitties!

Edit: more details

I was gonna buy a few Orijen bags and 4 bowls (2 per kittens).

Leave two bowls out with dry orijen all the time, and morning mix orijen grain with water and put it out, and when Im back in the evening change the wet grain for fresh ones (even if not finished) and ebfore I go to bed remove the wet food bowl.

I also have a pet fountain already!

Honestly I really would NOT mix the dry kibble with water. Just pick up a few small cans of wet for them.

I was told Evo food and anything http://www.naturapet.com/
showcased here has been the subject of alerting discussions.

Eagle Pack is available at the same store where Orijen is being sold, but Orijen doesnt have kitten food...

Royal Canin does, but I was told by someone here the ingredients arent impressive...

so whats the best food for kitten???

Originally Posted by TigerLord

I was told Evo food and anything http://www.naturapet.com/
showcased here has been the subject of alerting discussions.

Eagle Pack is available at the same store where Orijen is being sold, but Orijen doesnt have kitten food...

Royal Canin does, but I was told by someone here the ingredients arent impressive...

so whats the best food for kitten???

Click to expand...

Orijen is a good all stages food much like Evo. Orijen is ok for a kitten. Eagle Pack wet is good for kittens, I don't like EP dry because its grainy.

I was told Evo food and anything http://www.naturapet.com/
showcased here has been the subject of alerting discussions.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by the above quoted part?

Blaise (2nd post) said all Natura Brands had raised concerns lately, and Evo IS a Natura brand.

Orijen is a all stage ... Normally all stage is nothing more than adult food with a new label since it falls under certain% ages for a kitten... BUT with a NO grain the all stage is HIGH protein Moderate to High fat which is PERFECT for a kitten...

NO NO dont add water to dry and leave.. if you add water make sure that food is consumed within 30 minutes as it will spoil...

Eagle pack wet I like and use ... the dry s are getting better but for the price there are MANY good foods ...

Royal canin is a SOlid food but it is hard to compare no grain to grain containing ...RC also is usually more money than simliar foods

Natura( parent company of EVO) gave multiple answers to one question during the recall... I still use some of there stuff but DO NOT trust the company much as a whole...

Ok so we have established that Orijen is excellent dry food regardless of age, and Eagle Pack is good wet food...

You're mixing me up with all that grain and no grain talk

Originally Posted by TigerLord

Ok so we have established that Orijen is excellent dry food regardless of age, and Eagle Pack is good wet food...

You're mixing me up with all that grain and no grain talk

Click to expand...

yeah that would be the pt ... not the confusing part