Switching Cat Food

Kiwi (11 weeks) is currently eating Iams for Kittens dry food whenever she wants it (free feeding??) and 1/2 a can of Iams for Kittens wet food every evening. I only started her on this food because it was the only 'name brand' food available in the tiny town I live in.

I happened to be in the city today, and thought I'd stop by the pet store to see just what is available for cat food, and man! it was overwhelming. I can't believe how many choices there are out there!!!

Anyway since I know absolutely nothing about cat nutrition (other than the awesome stuff I have learned on here...) I decided to ask the lady at the pet store for some advice. She seemed to be quite opposed to the food I am using, and said that she personally would never offer her cats anything but Wellness Core. She gave me some samples to take home for Kiwi to try. Well tonight I gave her a few pieces of kibble as a treat, and she went CRAZY for it. Now I am wondering if I should give her that food instead of the one I am using.. ????

Now since this lady works in a pet store I will assume she knows a thing or two about cat food, but is the Iams really all that awful to feed my little Kiwi?? Pet store lady said that they spend all their money on advertising, and none of it on developing proper nutrition for cats!!! yikes!! I am so confused. And now I am scared that I am 'ruining' my kitten by using the 'wrong' food. This lady was quite 'forceful' with her opinions. (To put it politely) I left there discouraged and worried.....

I guess what it comes down to is this... Was I fed a powerful sales pitch (because of the obvious difference in price) or am I truly poisoning my kitten????

Iams is not the worst kitten food out there, nor is it the best. The big difference is that Wellness Core is a grain-free food. It's also for all stages, so you can feed it to both kittens and full-grown cats.

I have gone through at least half a dozen different cat and kitten foods in the last few months trying to find the best one for my kitties. Of course, the one they like the best is the "junk food" with the highest grain content, which I did buy because of the advertising.

My kitties do like Wellness Core, but I got a sample of Taste of The Wild (another grain-free all-stages food) and they went crazy over that.

I haven't kept any of the packaging so can't give you specifics. Look at the suggested serving sizes and you may find that you actually feed less of the Core. That at least partially balances out the cost difference. Some people on this site will also tell you that they have had far fewer medical problems with cats eating grain-free, so lower vet bills.

I forgot to say, if you do decide to change food you need to do it gradually. So don't throw out your supply of Iams. Mix a small amount of the new food in with the old, gradually increasing the mix over a week or two until you're feeding only the new food.

Of course, kitty may have her own ideas. When I first got Shareena she was being fed Meow Mix L'il Kibbles, probably because it was the cheapest thing her owner could buy. I went to four different stores in my small town before I found one that carried it, in 1# packages only! I decided to go with something that was more readily available and tried mixing it about 1/4 new with 3/4 old food. Shareena very carefully went through the bowl and picked out all of the new food, leaving the old food sitting there. So much for a gradual changeover.

Iams dry used to be good. Most breeders fed it till they changed their formula to something cheaper. Now we feed Royal Canin dry. I would try RC, Natural Balance, Max Cat or the Wellness (do a gradual change on the dry food).

We also feed canned for one meal - Max Cat, Iams Beef, and Natural Balance.

It can be crazy and overwhemlming, finding out about cat food, really!

Try to keep it all in perspective. If you told the pet store lady you were feeding, say, grocery store brand full of corn food, she would be impressed if you switched to Iams. But since you are feeding Iams already, most cat people will assume you want to feed better all the time. I think its a great food if thats the best food your cats will eat.

I used to feed Science Diet, and now I feed Innova's EVO. Huge difference! But no one can judge your food choice as long as you are doing the best you can