When to start feeding a kitten adult food?

My vet told me after I had Midnight neutered that I should start him on adult food because once they get neutered they tend to gain weight faster. He is like 6 months old now.

I just adopted a kitten on Sunday and he's about 5 months old.

I've been feeding them this one food in a green back, something Naturals Plus Vitamins and Minerals. But I want to switch them to Purina Pro Plan chicken and rice. I'm going to the petMacy's (Petsmart) today after work to buy it.

But I'm wondering when does a kitten become an adult that is ready for adult food? Should I be feeding them kitten food still, even though my vet said that after neutering they should be fed adult?

I also divide 1 can of Fancy Feast between the 2 of them every night. They love that stuff! I buy the variety pack with chicken, turkey and beef flavors. And I put the L-Lysine in there so they get their proper dose.

I've owned many cats over the year and NONE of them were on kitten food for a full year like the packages tell you. And NONE of them were overwweight.

IMO unless the kittens is sick or has problems with weight, there is really no need to keep the average size cat on kitten food longer then 4-5 months. After that they are put on adult food and maintain their weight and growth as normal.

With earlier spay/neuter (3-4 months old) kittens will gain too much weight if kept on kitten food for a year. I only keep my kittens on kitten food for no more then the first 4-5 months and they are fine.

I learned the hard way that once a cat is spayed or neutered they should be eating adult cat food. Otherwise, they put on too much weight and get "spay sway".

Originally Posted by ConsumerKitty

I learned the hard way that once a cat is spayed or neutered they should be eating adult cat food. Otherwise, they put on too much weight and get "spay sway".

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Anyone know why they start gaining weight on kitten food after the spay/neuter? Just curious.

I have never kept a kitten on kitten food past the 5-6 month mark. When I was younger, we always started to switch our kittens to an adult food once they were spayed or neutered (usually around 4-5 months of age). And, when I fostered for a while a couple of years ago, the kittens were introduced to adult food by the time they hit 6 months. In some cases (ie. when I had an ill kitten), they were kept on kitten food for a little while longer. But, still, as soon as they were back on track, they went to an adult diet.

My kitten, Finnegan, is presently just under 5 months. He was neutered about 2 weeks ago. I kept him on his kitten food for about 3 days after his neuter and then started switching him over to adult food. As of today, he's eating about 50% kitten food and 50% adult food. And, by the time next weekend rolls around, my goal is to have him on a 75/25 mix. My hope is that he'll be on 100% adult food by the second week of March. That will put him just over 5 months of age.

Unless there is an issue with the health or growth of a kitten, there's really no reason to feed them a kitten-only diet past the 5-6 month mark.

I will say I think different...

Kitten foods are normally only 5-10% higher in calories but the dispersal of said calories is more toward protein and fat ... Most cat s are still physically growing to 18-24 months ... thus unless you are feeding a All stage No grain food I would feed kitten till at least 18 months...

Sharky, your point of view on this issue is interesting. Thank you for sharing. While I am of the category that feeds a grain free, all-life-stage dry food, and despite not planning on having any other kittens in the home for quite some time, I'm going to do some research and discuss this with my vet.

All of my prior experiences have been with pulling a kitten off of kitten food at 5-6 months of age. Numerous vets and shelters have also informed me to do the same. But, now reading what you've shared, I can see the validity of your opinion. It is something I'll take another look at, when the time comes, down the road.

For reference, I'm feeding my cats (and introducing to Finn) Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula (Venison and Smoked Salmon). I do, however, also feed wet food and that is not a grain free variety -- my cats turn their noses up at the grain free wet foods. I continue to feed Finnegan wet food varieties specifically formulated for kittens, but I don't do so exclusively. I choose to only because he is finicky where wet food is concerned. But, all of my cats do eat wet food and that comes to about 75% of their daily diet.

I stand by my opinion that, under most circumstances, it is okay to feed a 5 or 6 month old kitten adult food. But, I suppose, as with most things feline, the jury is still out on the best plan of action .

Originally Posted by Alison Joy

Sharky, your point of view on this issue is interesting. Thank you for sharing. While I am of the category that feeds a grain free, all-life-stage dry food, and despite not planning on having any other kittens in the home for quite some time, I'm going to do some research and discuss this with my vet.

All of my prior experiences have been with pulling a kitten off of kitten food at 5-6 months of age. Numerous vets and shelters have also informed me to do the same. But, now reading what you've shared, I can see the validity of your opinion. It is something I'll take another look at, when the time comes, down the road.

For reference, I'm feeding my cats (and introducing to Finn) Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula (Venison and Smoked Salmon). I do, however, also feed wet food and that is not a grain free variety -- my cats turn their noses up at the grain free wet foods. I continue to feed Finnegan wet food varieties specifically formulated for kittens, but I don't do so exclusively. I choose to only because he is finicky where wet food is concerned. But, all of my cats do eat wet food and that comes to about 75% of their daily diet.

I stand by my opinion that, under most circumstances, it is okay to feed a 5 or 6 month old kitten adult food. But, I suppose, as with most things feline, the jury is still out on the best plan of action

.

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SO so Very true.... It was not till 5 years ago I changed from the age old 12 months thinking

Originally Posted by sharky

I will say I think different...

Kitten foods are normally only 5-10% higher in calories but the dispersal of said calories is more toward protein and fat ... Most cat s are still physically growing to 18-24 months ... thus unless you are feeding a All stage No grain food I would feed kitten till at least 18 months...

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I think the same thing for dry food but don't worry so much about canned.

Quick hyjack of this topic:

I started working at another dairy (have been for only three days) and their are three six month old kittens at that specific barn. Actually having the opposite problem with them - trying to get them onto a an ALF food...as they have gotten Meow Mix dry adult original their whole lives

Already I am mixing evo into their dry and giving them 15 ounces of wet a day and just hoping that they won't have any problems from getting an unappropriate dry up to this point.

Would they have been negativily affected from getting Meow Mix their first six months? They look quite small for their age...though I'm guessing that soon they will really start growing

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

I think the same thing for dry food but don't worry so much about canned.

Quick hyjack of this topic:

I started working at another dairy (have been for only three days) and their are three six month old kittens at that specific barn. Actually having the opposite problem with them - trying to get them onto a an ALF food...as they have gotten Meow Mix dry adult original their whole lives

Already I am mixing evo into their dry and giving them 15 ounces of wet a day and just hoping that they won't have any problems from getting an unappropriate dry up to this point.

Would they have been negativily affected from getting Meow Mix their first six months? They look quite small for their age...though I'm guessing that soon they will really start growing

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Not likely... as Most "farm" cats are supplementing their own diets( often this starts with the mom cat bringing home a prey item similiar to a mother lion or even bird)

Most likely they have not been wormed( by six months most "house" cats have been wormed 3 times .... Imho feed them a moderate to high protein and high fat food ( evo fits but there are more reasonable priced ones... I would hold off on wet since it is LOW calorie in comparision to a good solid dry for now they need the calories to make up for what they may have missed


No I too do not worry alot about a adult canned thou most kitten canned is roughly 20% higher in protein and fat than adult

Thanks for posting your thoughts, everyone. I don't think I've ever fed any kittens the kitten food much past 6 months but I wanted to hear what others had to say.

Sharky - please don't ever get a Cornish or Devon Rex, Oriental or Siamese - they all have aa refined body and if they are on kitten food longer then 4-5 months old (max) they will be VERY fat cats.

My Cornish kittens were never fed kitten food past 4 months old (I showed them one time at 4 months and got chewed out by other breeders because they had fat tummies)! These breeds are only 5-7 lbs when full grown, so feeding them kitten food for a long time hurts them!

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Sharky - please don't ever get a Cornish or Devon Rex, Oriental or Siamese - they all have aa refined body and if they are on kitten food longer then 4-5 months old (max) they will be VERY fat cats.

My Cornish kittens were never fed kitten food past 4 months old (I showed them one time at 4 months and got chewed out by other breeders because they had fat tummies)! These breeds are only 5-7 lbs when full grown, so feeding them kitten food for a long time hurts them!

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I have had oriental and Siamese ... They were NOT fat I assure you but they also were not indoor only ... they were on kitten food till 12 ish months old and Never fat... Note Orientals and Siamese do normally get larger than a Rex ... 8-12 lbs normally ...

Rexes are only 5-7 pounds when grown. You must have not have had the modern/show types

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Rexes are only 5-7 pounds when grown. You must have not have had the modern/show types

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I was not talking about rexes... though the one I know eats like a horse and is thin and 8 years old.. she is medically fine but eats double the recommended for her wt about 7 lbs ..

Originally Posted by sharky

I will say I think different...

Kitten foods are normally only 5-10% higher in calories but the dispersal of said calories is more toward protein and fat ... Most cat s are still physically growing to 18-24 months ... thus unless you are feeding a All stage No grain food I would feed kitten till at least 18 months...

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I wholeheartedly agree!

I kept Quincy on kitten food until he was 10 months, he still grew so much (in body not getting fat) between 5 and 10 months, and then he went onto all stages no grain.

As far as smaller cats, they need less food per kg of weight, but I still think they should be on a kitten food for the nutrient levels - just don't overfeed them

Originally Posted by fisheater

Anyone know why they start gaining weight on kitten food after the spay/neuter? Just curious.

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They're usually more prone to gaining weight on any food after neutering, because their metabolism drops by around 30%.

you never actually have to stop feeding kitten formula, but you do have to decrease the amount you feed. And you can't free feed. Kitten formula has a higher protein percentage than most adult formulas actually making it BETTER to keep weight down.

The higher fat and protein content in kitten food are also essential for brain and muscle development... So IMO, if the concern is that the food is 10-15% higher in calories, it is an easy fix to cut down the feeding qty by 10-15%... But the nutrients, the fat and the protein they are getting from the kitten food are very important for a healthy future...

Originally Posted by merrytreecats

They're usually more prone to gaining weight on any food after neutering, because their metabolism drops by around 30%.

you never actually have to stop feeding kitten formula, but you do have to decrease the amount you feed. And you can't free feed. Kitten formula has a higher protein percentage than most adult formulas actually making it BETTER to keep weight down.

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For the highlight ... This for 95% of foods is true... If you read the bag the AFFCO statement says usually ... for growth and maintenance or for all life stages... VERY VERY few say for growth only...

I have free feed but I measure free feed a kitten food for over 3 yrs