Question on Kitten Food

tiberius709

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When we got our first kitten, we went to Petsmart and got Science Diet canned and dry food. We thought this was the best food, one reason for example being Vet Recommended.

I'm curious now as to what Vets recommend Science Diet? I just noticed when looking at the dry food that the first ingredient is "Chicken By-Product Meal." I also looked at the canned food and two of the top three ingredients are water and by-product AGAIN!

I am not saying anyone who feeds their kittens/cats this is wrong but I care too much about my little girls to be feeding them this.

I wanted to get people's advice on Blue Buffalo. I have read the contents of the food and it honestly makes me happy. I like seeing chicken, turkey, liver, etc being the first ingredient listed. And while I know that blueberries, cranberries, brown rice, etc isn't something they absolutely need, I like those being used I guess as fillers (not sure about that though) as opposed to things I don't know what the heck they are.

So anybody have any advice on Blue Buffalo? My only concern is that our kittens like both canned and dry food and I'm not sure they have a canned food for kittens?


ETA: I wanted to also add AvoDerm in there, any one know if this is a good food?
 
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tiberius709

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I wanted to add a question..

What's the difference between "Chicken Meal" and "Chicken By-Product Meal?"

I want to make sure we are feeding our kittens the best possible!
 

jack31

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A lot vets recommend science diet because they make money on it. Blue Buffalo is a quality food they have a couple different formulas, one is a grain free the wilderness formula and the others are not. You are right blueberries etc are unnecessary but aren't harmful.

The don't have a kitten specific canned but you can feed the canned to kittens its not a big deal.

As for the difference in chicken meal and chicken by product meal. Chicken meal is all muscle meat, chicken by product meal is going to have feet, beaks etc in it.

I'm not as familiar with avoderm. Sharky will come along and give you more details on both foods.

Leslie
 

goldenkitty45

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Vets recommend SD because they get kickback sales from it. They really don't know a lot about nutrition (most don't). They still believe that dry keeps a cat's teeth cleaned better.

We use (canned) - Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Nature's Choice, Max Cat and Iams. We have to use Royal Canin for Urinary in dry.

We also give raw chicken and hamburger about twice a week now.
 

kimberleigh

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Many vets recommend foods such as Science Diet because they get paid to. Many are taught in Science Diet labs for nutrition and recieve kickbacks for selling the food.

Blue Buffalo is a decent food. I personally wouldn't feed it, because I only feed grain free kibble. But that's a personal choice. It is MUCH better than Science Diet, I can tell you that much. They don't make a canned food that is specifically for kittens, but I wouldn't worry about it. It won't harm your kitten to eat them.

The difference between 'chicken meal' and 'chicken by product meal' is that chicken meal is dehydrated meat and chicken by product meal can be any part of the chicken, including feet, feathers, etc.

With AvoDerm, I really do not like how corn products are the second and fifth ingredient. I don't like to see any corn at all in my foods, never mind two and so high up in the list. That being said, their canned foods are decent and corn free.
 

auntie crazy

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Vets do make money off the food they sell from their offices, and veterinarian schools also receive money straight from the pet food companies.

Even so, I honestly believe most of the vets simply accept the Pet Food Industry's assurances (as do the vast majority of consumers) that they (the pet food companies) have been manufacturing this product for so long they are the experts. I can't countenance the theory that vets, who spend their lives patching up sick animals, would knowingly recommend, stock, sell and profit from a product that is so detrimental to the welfare of their patients.

Tiberius709, I feed raw, so I can't suggest one wet food over another, but transitioning your cats off dry is one of the best things you can do for your furfaces.


Oh, and kittens can actually eat the same thing adults do (you won't see any "kitten-type" mice running around in the wild). "Kitten", "Senior", "Indoor" - they're all just marketing ploys by the PFI.
 
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tiberius709

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Is it just me or is deciding the best food to give your kittens a hard decision?

I have heard people say a lot about grains in cat food, is this a big problem? I don't know anything about this so I'm trying to learn as I go here
.

Could you feed one brand of dry food but a different brand of canned food? Or should you stick with one brand for both?

I appreciate all of your guys' help, it's definitely helping me a lot!
 
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tiberius709

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Originally Posted by Auntie Crazy

Tiberius709, I feed raw, so I can't suggest one wet food over another, but transitioning your cats off dry is one of the best things you can do for your furfaces.


Oh, and kittens can actually eat the same thing adults do (you won't see any "kitten-type" mice running around in the wild). "Kitten", "Senior", "Indoor" - they're all just marketing ploys by the PFI.
Sorry for my own ignorance, but I have always been told that an all canned food diet was bad?

I always figured they had "kitten" vs "adult" because kittens needed extra nutrients! lol.. I feel stupid!

I've been learning a lot since I started coming here.
 

auntie crazy

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It is a very, very hard decision. It shouldn't be, but it is. :-( (This is why I feed raw.
)

Take a look at these different websites - they'll tell you everything you need to know about grains, carbs, and dry foods.

A note in advance - all these sites are raw proponents. If that's not something you're comfortable with, you will still do your cats a world of good by ditching the dry. :-)

catinfo.org

catnutrition.org

rawfedcats.org
 

kimberleigh

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Different people have different views on grain free kibble. I, personally, do not think that cats need any grains in their diet what so ever. But that's me.

You can definately feed two different brands! I feed 3 different brands of food currently, plus raw. I always have a variety and feel that different sources have different nutrients. I always rotate brands, no big deal.

Canned food is much much healthier than dry kibble. Many cats do not get the proper amount of moisture in their diet. It is a very very common problem, which causes issues like crystals, which can get costly at the vets. Canned is also less processed, usually contain less fillers/grains and higher in protein/moisture. All in all, it is superior to kibble. But of course canned food is more expensive, so it's not always an option for everyone to feed solely canned. I feed kibble, canend and raw, personally.

How old is your kitten? You could just start him/her off on adult food or an all life stages food.
 

sharky

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I also agree canned is of greater benefit to MOST cats ...

I talked to my vet who is a rare one with a companion animal nutrition degree ... she said BY PRODUCTS over Grains all the time...

I feed a bit of everything and unlike many new to cats have done this for a few decades and the youngest I have lost a cat was 14 the ave age is 18.... Many on here with FAR more experience feed similarly


IMHO Feed the best food you can afford and the cat will eat...

Most of the Avoderms are grain free with starches .... BB is a solid food but has grain and veggies...
 

skimble

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You are doing a good thing by starting your kitten on good nutritional food. The Blue Buffalo you are referring to may be this one http://www.bluebuff.com/products/cat...ness-cat.shtml and it is considered a "grain free" food. Blue Buffalo Wilderness is also an all life stage food so it is for kittens and adults. They also have canned food in both the Wilderness grain free and the regular Blue Buffalo.

There are many others and you may be limited by what you have available in your area, cost and what food your kitten does the best on. Check your local feed/seed type stores as they usually carry some of the grain free foods.

Many say it is good to offer different canned brands, proteins and texture of food to help avoid having a picky eater. A few of mine have turned out picky despite my efforts.


Best to you and your kitten.
 
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tiberius709

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What exactly do grains and vegetables do to your cat? I understand corn is hard to digest?

I've looked up grain-free food and it's a bit out of my price range. I wouldn't honestly want to spend any more than like $1.29 per can of wet food. Unless anyone has a cheaper suggestion?

I am pretty sure we are going to switch to Blue Buffalo.

I've looked into the raw diet but it would not work out for us even though I love the idea.
 

furryfriends50

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buy the bigger cans of the grainfree you want to feed because it ends up being much cheaper. blue buffalo wilderness canned is expensive...maybe try wellness or evo (i think those both come in 13 oz cans).

cats just don't utilize/digest properly foods other than meat. for example veggies/fruits are what end up in the litterbox!
 
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tiberius709

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I have a question..

Let's say I were to get different brands/types of canned food.

Let's say, Welness, Blue Buffalo, Avoderm, just to throw 3 out there.

Do I introduce the Wellness, then the BB, then Avoderm? Do I switch it up days?

Then when they are used to the different brands/types, do I feed Avoderm one day, BB the next, and so on?

This is so confusing to me! lol
 

auntie crazy

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Originally Posted by tiberius709

What exactly do grains and vegetables do to your cat? I understand corn is hard to digest? ...
Take a look at the sites I sent you - it'll give all the info you need to know about the detrimental affects of dry food.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by tiberius709

I have a question..

Let's say I were to get different brands/types of canned food.

Let's say, Welness, Blue Buffalo, Avoderm, just to throw 3 out there.

Do I introduce the Wellness, then the BB, then Avoderm? Do I switch it up days?

You could... In the beginning I often use different flavors of one brand then intro another ... Not like dry with day s of mix over just open a new flavor or brand and try

Then when they are used to the different brands/types, do I feed Avoderm one day, BB the next, and so on?

This is so confusing to me! lol
Wet food you can usually just start a new brand or flavor without worry ... some cats need half and half switching

As for the grains ... EVEN the Merck vet manual states there is NO biological need for dogs or cats to have Carbs which most grain are HIGH in .... Yes for the most part the cats do digest the fats and proteins of grains but MEAT is FAR FAR better /// take the egg for example it is 100% digestible to a cat while corn or grd corn is only 30-50%... white rice up to 90% protein but it is not 90% protein
...

Veggies through over a decade of researching IMHO a small amount is good ... ie 3-10% total diet
 
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tiberius709

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Well we ended up getting Blue Buffalo dry and canned. We have started the process of switching them over.

We also got Nutro Natural Choice canned food (or something like that..) I liked the ingredients (and the price) and wanted to know what you guys thought of it?

I just didn't do much research into Nutro.
 

sharky

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I have feed Nutro with good results in the passed ... the canned is in my rotation currently when I get to a store that carries it
 
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