Good Diet Plan for 3Mo Kitten?

rpanaligan16

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Hi,

I recently adopted a 3 month old kitten from the San Francisco Animal Control. I'm currently feeding him Nutro MAX dry kitten food (he has access to it 24/7) and Nutro MAX wet kitten food (3 times a week). I noticed that his feces is light-brown in color and kind of watery. He has a good appetite which makes me curious on why his poop is wet. Any suggestions?
 

jack31

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#1 has the kitten seen a vet since the adoption?

#2 how long have you had the kitten?

Leslie
 
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rpanaligan16

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Hi Leslie,

I've had the kitten for about one week. I haven't taken him to the vet yet but i'll definitely get to that sometime this week.
 

catattack1985

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Vet first.


But if nothing can be determined from that -- what was your cat eating at the shelter?? Diet changes can cause runny stools. If you're feeding something different (or even if the schedule changed, or amounts of wet/dry is different), it may be the cause... if that's the case, the problem should clear itself up in a few days to a week as the body adjusts. Are his stools still runny today?

He may also be allergic to something in Nutro MAX...

In any case, unless your vet says differently, I'd suggest feeding a higher quality food (Nutro MAX is a pretty low-quality food), and consider changing foods gradually to prevent stomach and digestive upset.

Keep us updated!
 
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rpanaligan16

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Originally Posted by catattack1985

Vet first.


But if nothing can be determined from that -- what was your cat eating at the shelter?? Diet changes can cause runny stools. If you're feeding something different (or even if the schedule changed, or amounts of wet/dry is different), it may be the cause... if that's the case, the problem should clear itself up in a few days to a week as the body adjusts. Are his stools still runny today?

He may also be allergic to something in Nutro MAX...

In any case, unless your vet says differently, I'd suggest feeding a higher quality food (Nutro MAX is a pretty low-quality food), and consider changing foods gradually to prevent stomach and digestive upset.

Keep us updated!
His foster mom gave him Royal Canin. What dry food brands do you guys/gals recommend and why? I'm not too familiar with the dry food brands. I appreciate all the replies so far!
 

catattack1985

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Originally Posted by rpanaligan16

His foster mom gave him Royal Canin. What dry food brands do you guys/gals recommend and why? I'm not too familiar with the dry food brands. I appreciate all the replies so far!
I don't recommend dry food for cats.


Read this article about Wet Food vs. Dry Food: http://www.littlebigcat.com/?action=...needcannedfood

Consider this online resource that compares and "rates" common pet food brands: http://www.petfoodratings.net (note: I don't always agree with the way the author rates the items, and I don't agree that cats need veggies & fruits in their diet -- but other than that, I feel for an intro into cat nutrition, it's a good starting point -- you'll at least become familiar with brands that are low-quality and brands that are high-quality.)

BUT, if your cat will only eat kibble, get a high-quality brand - Wellness, Natural Balance, Innova, Merrick are all considered 'high quality brands'. They're more expensive, but worth it. You can find them at Petco and other pet stores. You will not find them in supermarkets.

I recommend wet food for cats. Again, the above brands are all good choices. For a kitten, Wellness "Kitten Formula" is the best commercial food, IMO.
 

jack31

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Unless you are able to offer 5-6 meals of wet a day for a kitten I think that a diet of both dry and wet is a great place to start.

My 15 week old kitten gets 2-3 wet meals and is free fed dry.

The best brands aren't always affordable to everyone so lets talk about cost. Is Nutro brand the top of your price range for cost?

Leslie
 
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rpanaligan16

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I wouldn't mind spending a little more for dry food. I'm a little confused because the employee at Pet Food Express said to give, "no more than 3 servings of wet food a week because wet food is only a treat." What wet food brands do you guys/gals recommend?

Sorry, i'm a bit lost when it comes to Cat Nutrition.
 

catattack1985

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Originally Posted by rpanaligan16

I wouldn't mind spending a little more for dry food. I'm a little confused because the employee at Pet Food Express said to give, "no more than 3 servings of wet food a week because wet food is only a treat." What wet food brands do you guys/gals recommend?

Sorry, i'm a bit lost when it comes to Cat Nutrition.
I would not put that much weight into what the employee at the pet store said.

On the other hand, I would put a lot of weight into what a trusted vet says. I would put a lot of weight into articles upon articles that point to wet food. I would put a lot of weight into the fact that in the wild, a cat's natural diet is more akin to wet meat than dehydrated meat pellets.

See above sites for recommended wet food brands.

The only thing about kittens is they need to eat a lot, and frequently -- so as said, you'd need to feed 3-5 meals of wet per day. Unfortunately, most don't have time for this, so they opt to feed dry kibble while at work, away from home, etc.

Whatever you feed, it should be the highest quality possible.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Jack31

Unless you are able to offer 5-6 meals of wet a day for a kitten I think that a diet of both dry and wet is a great place to start.

My 15 week old kitten gets 2-3 wet meals and is free fed dry.

The best brands aren't always affordable to everyone so lets talk about cost. Is Nutro brand the top of your price range for cost?

Leslie
Agreed .... Nutro max IMHO is a decent to good food .. ie premium with too much grain...IMHO max is = to most Royal canin formulas for about half the $$

Originally Posted by rpanaligan16

I wouldn't mind spending a little more for dry food. I'm a little confused because the employee at Pet Food Express said to give, "no more than 3 servings of wet food a week because wet food is only a treat." What wet food brands do you guys/gals recommend?

Sorry, i'm a bit lost when it comes to Cat Nutrition.
Wet food is QUITE good for your cat as it closely mimics natural preys moisture and macro nutrients ... Common vet thought today is roughly 5.5 oz a week, but this is a slow coming thing and is similar to our RDAs ... The RDA will keep you alive but may not be optimal to thrive....

Wet food TRY it all .. Go to the pet store and buy say two cans of all the premiums you can afford...

MOST of us with decades of nutrition experience have realized what is best on paper is often not a reality... ie give kitty the best you can afford and KITTY will eat ... If this is some wet and some dry ( IMHO 50/50 works well for most cats and most budgets
) so be it with proper care you will likely have your kitty for 15-20 yrs ( when I was younger this was 10-13 yrs )
 

jack31

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Many are under the understanding that wet should only be a treat but that isn't true as stated.

I agree a high quality dry and wet is good. One thing I might add is that the higher quality foods are more calorie dense thus you feed less so the food lasts longer. I haven't fed wellness products. I have fed Nutro but didn't like the corn in it. I have to feed 4 cats so cost is a factor. I feed Diamond naturals dry which has no corn or by products and feed higher quality wets since wet makes up the biggest part of the diet.

Leslie
 

ping

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I defer to the resident food gurus such as Sharky on this one. She has a lot more experience in the field then I do. But I agree with the thought to go with the highest quality you can comfortably afford with both the wet and dry food and what kitty will actually eat. I always give wet food in the morning anf evening with dry food inbetween. It is a balance that has worked for use. Plus look into getting a cat fountain. I have found the cats around here have a better water intake with the fountain then with just a still bowl on the floor.

I have rotated a lot of different brands of wet around here but three that they really like is Natural Balance, Meow Mix cups, and Eagle Pack (you can get 12-13oz cans with this brand). For dry I go with the best quality I can afford locally and one that the cats eat. Right now that is a brand called Exclusive that the cats love and I think is better than the stuff at the grocery store.
 
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rpanaligan16

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Hello,

We're about halfway through the bag of Nutro MAX. It's time to pick a new dry food brand


What dry food brand do you guys/gals recommend? I'd prefer to buy from a pet store such as Pet Food Express or PetsMart. I was thinking Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul.
 

fattykitty

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I wouldn't recommend buying from Petsmart-the animals are sourced from the rabbit, turtle, or parakeet (etc) version of puppy mills and I don't support that.


Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's soul is a pretty decent brand-but they best would be a grain-free food like Innova Evo or Taste of the Wild. However, it's much better than Nutro.
 

sharky

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IMHO chicken soup is good and solid but it has a MUCH higher % of grain than the nutro ...

I agree with grain frees though it is NOT always a better food for your cat/// case in pt my house 5 cats on grain free wet and dry did well except some uti and ph issues ... I use a LOW priced mid level premium( kirkland) with low to NO grain wets and presto NO ISSUES and surprisingly better softer coats

I would rather you find a good wet food that you can afford ( daily ) with a solid dry ( with or without grains ) you can afford....

Chicken soup and Nutro Max IMHO are = in quality both are TOO grainy for me ...

Do you have any small stores ??? Can you find California natural ( has grains but is a simple and SOLID formula in the original)

IMHO multiple grains in a dry food can make alot more issue s if any appear later ....
 

white cat lover

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A loose translation of what sharky just said, chicken soup & Nutro MAX can be considered pricey for the amount of grains in them. There are better foods out there in the similar price range.

You have to watch prices on some foods, for most Taste of the Wild grain free runs about $25 for the 15ish lb bag. I can get it for $18 for the same size bag, as I get it from a small local place. For me, Chicken Soup is $45 for the 15ish lb bag around here, now....which is a lot more expensive than other places.

However, IMO, if you are shopping in Petsmart, their Authority brand is pretty good for a decent price. You'll find if you have a Costco, the Kirkland dry food is also a mid-range for a good price. Both of those, IMO, are comparable to Max.
 

sakura

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Chicken Soup isn't bad, I feed the canned Chicken Soup


Have you looked at Natural Balance? It's relatively affordable and they have it at Petco. Their dry food is all-life-stages, they don't have a kitten-specific food like I think Chicken Soup does.

When my cat, Chloe, was a kitten, she ate the Nutro Natural Kitten dry food for a while (it's what her foster mom fed her and I could find it easily), plus Nutro Max Kitten wet food. I eventually switched her to Wellness Kitten dry food (but also kept her eating Nutro kitten wet food).

I don't know what you settled on with the wet v. dry thing, but I'd leave dry food for the kitten out at all times and feed it 3 oz of wet food a day. As it gets older, switch to 2 meals of 3oz of wet food a day with only a few pieces of dry a day as a treat.
 

sweetkara

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When my Luke was a kitten I gave him unlimited wellness kitten dry and fed him wet food about 3 times a day.
 
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