Kiiten food --> adult food....when?

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thechangingman

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Hi all,

i have a Maine Coon ( 13 months ) and a Norwegian Forest Cat ( 7 months ) and was wondering if its ok to start giving them adult food soon?

currently i give them a mix of both adult and kitten, wet and dry but they're not that fond of the kitten stuff given its mainly available in chicken!!

Only reason i'm asking is given they're slow maturers i wasnt sure when it was ok!

TIA,
 
rosiemac

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Yes they'll be fine to eat adult. Mine stopped eating kitten kibbles at around 9-10 month's, but Jack was much younger. I did sneak a few kitten kibbles in with his wet food though
 
rang_27

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I don't know about those specific breeds, but my vet had me switch them to adult food as soon as they were fixed. Her concern was that many fixed animals put weight on fast and she did not want them to become overweight. So my boys were around 5 months when they went on adult & Maggie was 6 month. You might want to inquire with someone who knows more about breed specific recommendations because you are right both of those breeds are slow to mature.
 
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thechangingman

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Cheers guys,

the 7 month old is due to get fixed this week so i'll see if the vet has any pearls!

Then again...they'll probably just recommend Science Plan


Loki, the Maine Coon is getting quite big but i think its more breed than gorb lol
 
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Yeah, our vet recommended getting them off kitten food when they were fixed. We had them on adult dry and kitten wet until the boys got done about two months ago. Now they are on all adult (currently about 8-9 months...former ferals so not fully sure what the age is!).

I would ask your vet or your vet tech when you take the 7 month old to get fixed.
 
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goldenkitty45

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This is my take on when to change over from kitten to adult.

For spayed/neutered kittens/cats and in good health.

Small breeds (about 5-6 lbs when full grown) - change to adult foods around 4-5 months old; otherwise, they will be fat cats very quickly.

Medium breeds (7-12 lbs when grown) - change to adult foods around 5-6 months old.

Large breeds (over 13 lbs when grown - change to adult foods around 10-12 months old.

So your Maine Coon could be on adult foods now, the Wegie should be on kitten food till 10-12 months old, then change.
 
zorana_dragonky

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My little Siamese kitties would be Medium, right GoldenKitty?
I was planning on getting them switched about a month after their spay/neuter, which will be at 4 or 5 months, or so. This seems about right.
 
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thechangingman

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Cheers for the sound advice!

Heres a pic or 2 to keep you amused!

First one is Fenrir the Wegie, second is both Loki & Fenrir chillin' on the radiator bed!




 
sharky

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I have the decenting opinion ... I had a med size 4YEAR old on kitten... I advise you to look at % of protein , fat in kitten and adult you will find on ave it is 5-10% calorie difference... SOME are now feeding no grain food these have protein and fat HIGHER than most kitten ...
 
tutti_bella

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They can go on an adult food diet by the time they are 6 months old. Most people though, prefer to switch when the kittens turn a year old.
 
abymummy

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In all honesty it depends on the cat itself...their condition will tell you when it's time to change to Adult food. Majority of my 1-2.5 year old Abys are still on a semi-kitten diet (I mix the kibbles) due to the fact that they are super high energy and any sort of weight gain is minimal! In fact, due to some comments from judges, I think I may have to put all my show cats BACK on kitten food!
 
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The whole idea behind special kitten food for kittens is flawed. You don't need to feed your kitten special kitten food, as long as whatever food you are feeding has sufficient protein, fat, etc. to meet the animal's need. Many high quality adult food is better than kitten food.
 
sharky

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Originally Posted by plar

The whole idea behind special kitten food for kittens is flawed. You don't need to feed your kitten special kitten food, as long as whatever food you are feeding has sufficient protein, fat, etc. to meet the animal's need. Many high quality adult food is better than kitten food.
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Flawed NO ... are there all stage foods that are good yes ... but on ave even premium all stages have less nutrients in macro and micro for a growing kitten ... if you actually sit and read up youll find most kitten food s are better for adult s too as they have less carb s
 
laureen227

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Originally Posted by sharky

Flawed NO ... are there all stage foods that are good yes ... but on ave even premium all stages have less nutrients in macro and micro for a growing kitten ... if you actually sit and read up youll find most kitten food s are better for adult s too as they have less carb s
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i know if i'm in a bind where i simply MUST buy a non-premium brand, reading the labels tells me that kitten food almost always has a protein source as the 1st ingredient. most off-brand adult foods have a grain as the 1st ingredient.
 
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