HELP.. Kitten food eaten by both!

luv furbabies

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I have a 7 yr old female, Samantha and a 12 week old male, Levi... Sam (eats Friskies signature blend now) has always had a sensitive tummy, she throws up easy, if she eats too much, change in food, sometimes no reason at all, the vet thinks its just her overeating at times... ANYWAY, since we got the kitten, he has "kitten chow" and Samantha eats it often. The funny thing is that I have not seen her throw up when she has eaten it..

Is it bad for an adult, not fat, nor petite cat to eat kitten food??

The other problem is that the kitten, Levi, keeps eating the "big boy" food!! GRRR I am just getting frusterated at these two!!!
I just don't want either one to not get what they need.

I live on limited funds as do many of us, and can't buy expensive food, so if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Their bowls are already separated, and I only put 1/2 cup kitten food in the bowl 2-3x per day, depending on if Samantha (the older cat) eats it!!

Thanks for listening... Please help!!!

Melissa
 

sharky

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no kitten chow is all stage if memory serves.. ie designed for all to eat
 

hwc

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I wouldn't worry about it either way. The kitten chow won't hurt the older cat. It's just higher in calories.

Likewise, the adult wet food won't hurt the kitten. It's just lower in calories.
 

mimosa

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Actually, adult food is not recommended for kittens because it contains urine acidifiers that might hinder optimal skeletal development (also a very good reason to feed kitten food to a pregnant female).

When I still fed kibble I got two kittens, so this problem came up. I solved it by putting the adults' food on a cabinet that was too high for the kittens to reach, and I made a feeding cage for the kittens, a bench with a narrowed entrance only the kittens could fit through. I've also seen these made from wooden chests and big cardboard boxes.

Slightly grumpy Ernesto sitting on top of all that delicious kitten food he couldn't reach, and Flynn inside playing with his swishing tail:
 
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luv furbabies

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Oh, how cute is that pic!! Thanks for all the info on food!

I also have had to restrict meal times instead of free range bowls due to the babies VERY active bowls, EVERYWHERE!! He is a brat, he uses the box AND the bathroom carpets, AND the carpet, AND the chinchilla ash bath (that was in a small entrance thing!) HE is just a poopy boy! i hope doing what has been suggested here, to feed and be box watching after the meal will help...

(((Oh, GOOD boy,
he just used the "big boy box" ))) LOL kittens, what can ya do!! LOL

Melissa
 

twokatz

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My two are 2 1/2 and are still eating the kitten dry they were started on at the breeders. They also eat all stage dry and canned but when I try to take away the kitten dry and replace it they get worse intestinal trouble. If your adult does better on the kitten chow I wouldn't worry about it.
 

nekochan

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This is why I use Orijen, it is good for cats and kittens so I only need to buy one food and don't have to worry who is eating whose food!
 

hwc

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Originally Posted by Mimosa

Actually, adult food is not recommended for kittens because it contains urine acidifiers that might hinder optimal skeletal development (also a very good reason to feed kitten food to a pregnant female).
Good luck finding an assortment of "kitten" canned wet food in your average supermarket.

In a mixed household. I would feed kitten dry to all of them and whatever wet food I've settled on to all of them.

The only real downside to this approach is that the adult cat might get fat eating the kitten dry, so you might have to go to a controlled feed instead of leaving the dry out for snacking.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by hwc

Good luck finding an assortment of "kitten" canned wet food in your average supermarket.

In a mixed household. I would feed kitten dry to all of them and whatever wet food I've settled on to all of them.

The only real downside to this approach is that the adult cat might get fat eating the kitten dry, so you might have to go to a controlled feed instead of leaving the dry out for snacking.
Most cats need the extra protein and fat in the kitten dry and wt is not an issue...

FF has several kitten varietys
 

wyatturpsmom

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I have similar issues. My 14-year old is overweight and has been on a diet most of his life. Because of this, I don't use "free feeding" at all. Meal times are interesting, as everyone has their own dish and I get to stand their and monitor them all. The kitten wants "big boy" food an the Big Boy wants kitten food. Argh! There is a lot of moving going on in my kitchen.
 

littleraven7726

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Originally Posted by sharky

FF has several kitten varietys
Just a note...be careful with the FF Kitten wet. They put milk in it and it gave my kitten terrible intestinal trouble.
We switched her to the same all stages wet the guys' get (and some wet kitten foods without milk) and it straightened right up.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by littleraven7726

Just a note...be careful with the FF Kitten wet. They put milk in it and it gave my kitten terrible intestinal trouble.
We switched her to the same all stages wet the guys' get (and some wet kitten foods without milk) and it straightened right up.
thank you for the heads up ... obviously I did not read the labels
 
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luv furbabies

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i THINK i GOT THE idea now! I will not stress on my older kitty eating the kitten food, especially since her tummy seems to be doing well with it. The kitten will have NO access to adult food, cuz his tummy issues are pretty stinky and his aim for the box can be off like 2-10 FEET!!!


SO, now my next question for you cat lovin people, How many times a day do I put down the food bowl of dry kitten chow and for how long on each feeding. Remember my goal is to be in control of the times food goes in SO I will be watching and reprogramming where his OUT GOINGS are to be deposited!! SEE?? I just want some peeeeace.. LOL

I thank you, my family thanks you, as does our furnishings, now, the kitten, I don't think he has found a "happy place" yet to figure out what the &£*% is going on in his world!! LOL


Melissa
 

mimosa

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Originally Posted by hwc

Good luck finding an assortment of "kitten" canned wet food in your average supermarket.
.
I actually meant dry food, most wet foods don't include the acidifiers, although some brands like Hills do, just read the label and stay away from foods containing chemicals you don't know, especially DL-methionine for kittens.

And regarding the variety of wet kitten foods; I have several different ones in my closet right now, grainfree at that. But you couldn't know i'm running a wet food comparison test on a Dutch cat forum and have about 150 varieties of grainfree wet foods on hand to test
I pay special attention to the supermarket brands there as some people seem to make decisions based more on fancy brand names than on the actual ingredient list.
 

littleraven7726

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Originally Posted by Luv Furbabies

SO, now my next question for you cat lovin people, How many times a day do I put down the food bowl of dry kitten chow and for how long on each feeding.
My kitten is 7 months old, I put down her bowl of kitten food 2-3 times a day and let her eat as much as she wants. Then when she's done I pick it up and put it away. She has access to the dry food (adult but not diet or indoor) and wet food they all get between kitten food feedings. She's a good weight for her age now. We found her when she was about 5 months and she was under 3 lbs!
Now she has a sleek shiny coat and is all kinds of sassy.
 

hwc

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Originally Posted by Mimosa

I actually meant dry food, most wet foods don't include the acidifiers, although some brands like Hills do, just read the label and stay away from foods containing chemicals you don't know, especially DL-methionine for kittens.
I thought that's what you meant!

Just to recap for clarity, if you have a mixed cat and kitty household, you can feed them all the same stuff:

a) the kitten dry food of your choice
b) the wet food (kitten or cat) of your choice

We have been feeding our two kitties primarily wet food (four times a day) with a large variety of brands and flavors, some of which they like better than others. We have been free-feeding kitten dry food for in between meal snacks, left out to nibble.

At six months old, they appear to be backing off the voracious appetites for wet food, sometimes leaving it in their bowls. I'm seeing this as perhaps a sign that it's time to back off from four feedings a day to three.
 

sharky

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YES that is normally considered okay
 
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luv furbabies

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Thanks everyone for the great advice...


I am currently giving them both the kitten chow, but I can't leave it out because the baby has developed an avoidance to the litter box?? I don't know why, this is really bad at night. So, I make sure that I take the bowls up about 9 or 10 and TAKE him to the potty box OFTEN!! I swear, he is harder to train than my 2 kids were!!

Funny, everytime I DO put him in the box, he will go, even if it is just a little to make me happy and "let him out" LOL


I don't use wet food for 2 reasons, 1) money and 2) my older cat isn't FAT, but she isn't small either.

I hope to regulate both of their tummies. The older one hasn't thrown up since she has been eating kitten chow, who knows! Maybe this will be the answer for us all!!!


We lost our adult furbabie, Tom
just over a month ago, (thus the kitten) we sure do miss him, but it's odd, the baby kinda does some of the things that he did?!? I think it's Tom's way of saying "hi".

 

sakura

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Have you ever fed Sam something of higher quality than Friskies? That might help with her tummy issues. Friskies is poor quality dry food.

I like Natural Balance Ultra for an all-life-stages dry food. I wouldn't leave it out all the time with the older cat. You can usually free-feed kittens but you don't have to. I would just feed the kitten a little extra in its own room if you can, in addition to eating with the other cat.
 
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luv furbabies

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I will look and see about the other food.
Since I have stopped free feeding them they are DRIVING ME NUTS!!! At 4am they both think they are being starved and bounce on me like TIGGER!!
I don't know if I am feeding them too little or too much. Samantha has always been free fed, and she is 7 yrs old, so I am sure she is confused. But with the poo-poo head baby, I don't know what else to do!!

It's like 130am now and they just came and got me, (I last put food down about 6pm)

I need help!
What is a good schedule for them??

If I'm not putting food down or up, I am shoving this kitten into the litter box to potty!! Sheesh, he is harder to train than BOTH my kids were!! LOL

I really appreciate all the great advice here, I would probably have found him a new home by now if it wasn't for you all!!!!


Thanks, Melissa, Samantha and Levi
 
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