I've taken in a 6 month old kitten who has a funny little disposition but what I'm wondering about is what would be best to feed him. He's an indoors cat and the food that was given to us was the IAMS indoor kitten brand. Now is this good for him (haven't had a problem and we've had him for two weeks) or should I switch him to something different. Also, if it makes a difference, for a kitten he's not very active instead of playing with the toys we got him he lays in my chair with me and naps. Is that a normal thing?
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Cat food question, please don't kill me.
- Thread starter stonedtwilight
- Start Date
We won't kill you - we'll advise you on better nutrition
Iams USED to be good till they changed to a cheaper formula. Science Diet is worse then Iams (even if the vets sell it).
Higher quality foods are Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Innova, Royal Canin, Chicken Soup, or Max Cat.
But IMO the ideal diet is 1/2 dry and 1/2 canned foods. Not all dry. They really do better on a moist/canned food rather then all dry. So I would buy a better brand and also give some canned food. Just mix the two dry together and that way you can change food gradually.
Iams USED to be good till they changed to a cheaper formula. Science Diet is worse then Iams (even if the vets sell it).
Higher quality foods are Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Innova, Royal Canin, Chicken Soup, or Max Cat.
But IMO the ideal diet is 1/2 dry and 1/2 canned foods. Not all dry. They really do better on a moist/canned food rather then all dry. So I would buy a better brand and also give some canned food. Just mix the two dry together and that way you can change food gradually.
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- #3
I'll have to see if I can find any of those around here. Do you know if their sold in Canada? Also, about the wet.. He HATES wet, will mixing it with dry make a difference?
If you can afford to do it, try buying some different brands and flavors of wet food. My Cindy is fussy, but I've found several brands / flavors that she likes and it was worth it. Also if you search around on this site you'll find tons of information on what is good and why. I've gotten a wonderful education from this site.
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You got some good advice there!! I use authority and it's the same price as iams, since iams is not cheap there is really no reason why you should keep it...
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- #6
I'll write all this down and go look for it tonight while I'm out.
Thank you all for your help.
Thank you all for your help.
If you decided to try new foods, take your time switching them out. Mix some of the new stuff with the old stuff and change the ratio over a week or two.
Cats don't do well when you suddenly switch them to something new.
Cats don't do well when you suddenly switch them to something new.
Yes, good advice from the others. For dry food you need to change it gradually so kitty doesn't get diarrhea. Just keep adding a bit more of the new food to the old food over a period of a week to 10 days by which time you should be completely on the new food.
Wet food - I tried at least 10 different brands before I found one our cats would eat so don't give up. Get one can of a number of brands and when you find one they will eat, that's a keeper. Our Bijou and Mika will only eat 2 flavours of Merricks - Thanksgiving Day Dinner and Granny's Pot Pie but at least they are eating wet twice a day which is good for them.
Wet food - I tried at least 10 different brands before I found one our cats would eat so don't give up. Get one can of a number of brands and when you find one they will eat, that's a keeper. Our Bijou and Mika will only eat 2 flavours of Merricks - Thanksgiving Day Dinner and Granny's Pot Pie but at least they are eating wet twice a day which is good for them.
I would be concerned about his lack of energy. At 6 months he should be a little maniac! I'm not sure just feeding a less than great food explains this.
Where did you get him?
Have you ask your vet about this?
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- #10
We can't get him in to our vet until next week so I'll see what she says then.
We got him form our landlord who found him in an (supposed to be empty) apartment, we figure he was there for three days unattenuated. Might be why he's not playing yet but we're not to sure. He sticks to me like glue most days. But tonight after I posted I hauled out the balls with bells in them and boom, there he went.
I'm hoping I can find the food to change it over, I'll check the pet stores tomorrow.
Thank you everyone!
We got him form our landlord who found him in an (supposed to be empty) apartment, we figure he was there for three days unattenuated. Might be why he's not playing yet but we're not to sure. He sticks to me like glue most days. But tonight after I posted I hauled out the balls with bells in them and boom, there he went.
I'm hoping I can find the food to change it over, I'll check the pet stores tomorrow.
Thank you everyone!
Awww....poor little guy. Definitely a good idea to get him to the vet to make sure that he's fine. Bad things can happen when a kitty goes without food, although if he is eating OK, he is probably fine in that regard. However, if someone just left him there, there is a good chance that he hasn't received vet care at all since he was born. He'll likely need to be dewormed (easy) and neutered.
As for foods, you can get pretty much any of the brands that people will mention here in Canada, but they will be more difficult to find. I am guessing more difficult in NB (depending on where you are) than here in Ontario. If you're on a budget, and you have a Petsmart, Authority would be a good place to start. If you have a Costco, you could try their Kirkland brand (although, I'm not sure that it's suitable for kittens). Chances are your local pet store will have some of the more premium kinds (Wellness, etc). Both my local pet stores in town carry Nutro foods, so that might be a good option to find in your area.
Good luck! And good for you for taking this little guy in and giving him a home!
I just checked my bag and it says good for all life stages
also most companies give a store locator option on their websites to help you find their products. However, i would always call ahead to make sure they have what your considering since some areas vary with what they sell.
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- #13
Oh he does need to be fixed, but we were told our locale SPCA might be able to help out with that. We have dewormed him and he also is flee-less and mite-less. Hes doing good on that front hes just really clingly and adores hours of affection, which is good for me too since I love to give him attention.
Awesome, again thank you and I will check that out.Originally Posted by followedbydolls
I just checked my bag and it says good for all life stages
also most companies give a store locator option on their websites to help you find their products. However, i would always call ahead to make sure they have what your considering since some areas vary with what they sell.
