Kitten diet - wanted to check

Hey guys!

So, Simon's now about 3.5mos old, and I wanted to be sure he's on a good diet right now.

When he got to us, he'd been a stray (he's been neutered, deflea'd, etc...the works), and was quite malnourished (you could feel his ribs easily, backbone, hips, shoulders, etc.), so I was feeding him unlimited Innova EVO dry food, and two cans of Iams wet kitten food a day (all of which he ate HEARTILY).

Now that he's filled out a bit, I've cut him back to one can a day, but still unlimited on the dry food.

I just wanted to check with y'all to see if this was appropriate to his age. I just want to be sure he's getting enough nutrition.

Thanks!

Rosie*

I think that, in the long run, you'd be much better off continuing, not reducing, the wet food in his diet.

If he were here, he would have free reign to all the wet he wanted. The Iams kitten is appropriate - I'd suggest you return to your former pattern.

Originally Posted by BLAISE

I think that, in the long run, you'd be much better off continuing, not reducing, the wet food in his diet.

If he were here, he would have free reign to all the wet he wanted. The Iams kitten is appropriate - I'd suggest you return to your former pattern.

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kitten wet is best ... personally for the $$ Iams is not a fave

I agree,
Sport eats Iams dry kitten food, and 1/2 a can of wet right now, but he is only 8 weeks old, but I am going to be increasing his wet food in the coming weeks. Wet food is not only very good for their digestive systems, but it is also very good for helping them develop a good coat.
Best of luck to you.
Peace ,
Rob & Sport

Originally Posted by sharky

kitten wet is best ... personally for the $$ Iams is not a fave

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Sharky, what would you put out there as suggestions as good wet food for a growing kitten? We might not be able to get the highest end food, but we are certainly open for suggestions!

We go a long way to making sure our animals are on the healthiest food available. Our two older kitties are on Innova EVO dry food for Hobbes' cystitis (they've never in their lives wanted wet food, but we'd be willing to try again...Hobbes seems more interested since seeing Simon wolf his down, lol). So, I'd like to try better, healthier things. Never know, they might change their dry food eatin' stubborn ways!

Thanks!

in the same price pt as Iams...

natural life
avoderm
nutro ( mine prefers natural choice)
eagle pack ( this comes in big all stage cans most areas 13 oz is 1.25 ish)
meow mix
by nature
natural balence

Originally Posted by sharky

in the same price pt as Iams...

natural life
avoderm
nutro ( mine prefers natural choice)
eagle pack ( this comes in big all stage cans most areas 13 oz is 1.25 ish)
meow mix
by nature
natural balence

Click to expand...

Is that your suggestion for kitten food, or are those also good choices for my two 4yo kitties?

(Just being sure...)

Also...how much should a grown 4yo kitty be eating in wet food daily? This is something that I've not really looked into, so it's kinda new turf for me...

And suggestions on how much wet food Simon (3.5mos) should be eating in wet food a day would be great, too!

Thanks so much for your help!!

most are all stage ... nutro and avoderm have kitten specific which are fine for the adults too IMHO ....

How much to all of them weigh??

Simon weighed 4.4lbs at the vet a couple weeks ago, but has put on weight since. I estimate him to be more like 5-5.5lbs right now...and very lean. I call him Long Legs Malone, hehe!

Sunny weighs about 18.5lbs, is overweight, but she's been losing for some time now (and now that we've moved into a house that has two stories, she's losing even more...those stairs are GREAT!).

Hobbes is about 17.5, with very little to lose. (He has a bit of abdomen extra, but that's it.)

They're siblings, and come from a line of kitties with very large frames...so despite how huge those weights sound, they're actually not too horrible. Sunny is short and stout, so her weight should be lower than Hobbes. I'm aiming for about 14-15lbs on her. Hobbes, we're aiming for about 17lbs, maybe 16 at the most.

Sunny and Hobbes have been on the Innova EVO for about a year now, I believe, and they get (both combined) 1 cup of it daily.

since the older ones are eating roughly 250 cal a piece( I think EVO is about 500 cal a cup_ )

each likely should get one 5.5 oz can a day ...

the baby likely needs double that

Ok, great. Thank you!

Now it's just a question of finding the type of wet food Sunny and Hobbes will actually eat! Will they be okay having that can of food each night and still having the dry food during the day (at least during the transition)? Basically my plan is to buy a few types of each brand over the next couple weeks, and seeing which one they'll actually eat (we've been rather unsuccessful with lesser-quality brands in the past, but that was before we considered we could get better brands for better prices at other places than regular pet store chains)...and then slowly switching them over to just wet food.

I'd LOVE for them all three to just be on wet food.

How to convince my snacking kitty, Hobbes, that he won't die if he eats just a can a day, though?

I usually feed kittens up to about 4 or 5 months old (depending on their size/type) all they want - then start cutting back to 2 meals a day. Since your kitten had a rough start, you might want to continue kitten food and free feed another month or two - then cut back to 2-3 meals and by the time he's 6-7 months old he should be on 2 meals a day.