what type of food should i feed my lil kitty?

as of right now i'm feeding her purina pro plan kitten canned food and elegant medleys fancy feast canned food,

my kitty kept throwing up the dry food so i just switched to all wet food
i just need some more suggestions on what type of food is healthy and better for my little kitty :]

I'm glad that you don't feed dry!!! Good for you

Most of the grain free wet is good. For example: EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct, Before Grain, Wellness, Wellness CORE, Back to Basics, Go! Natural, By Nature, and Pet Guard.

Have you considered feeding a raw diet? http://www.rawfedcats.org/nature.htm explains the basics of that option.

Typically vomiting dry food has nothing to do with the ingredients in the food, but simply the voraciousness of the eater, especially kittens as their eyes can be much bigger than their little tummies. Sometimes switching brands helps, but sometimes its just the fact that its not as tasty which resolves that issue (think of a kid inhaling mac&cheez but only nibbling on broccoli heh).

Wesley used to barf up high quality Wellness wet food (he loves wet food way more than dry), nothing wrong with the food, but he'd throw up and it was like... how did that much food even fit in you!

Personally, I don't believe that you can really overfeed a kitten before 8 months of age. As such, I'd feed wet 3x a day and would leave out a high quality dry food for free feeding 24x7 (Wellness Chicken and Rice is good, and the adult is virtually identical to the kitten branded one and is cheaper in the bigger bag).. Once realizing the food won't disappear, most tend to nibble small amounts rather than inhale it. If you still have a food crazed cat, you can just stuff a couple Slimcat food distributor balls (about $5 on amazon) which kittens find is fun to play with.

is raw food appropriate for a kitty thats only 1 month & a half?

i'll give the wellness chicken and rice a try, my kitty (ela) loves chicken, im not sure about the rice though..

& what does 'free feeding' mean? sowwy im a n00bie when it comes to cats

Free feeding is leaving food out for your cat(s) all day long. Either in dispensers or just plain bowls. Dry food, of course. Wet shouldn't just sit around for hours, let alone all day long.

Is she vomiting or regurgiatating? Regurgitation happens almost instantly after eating, vomiting later. You can stop this type of action usually by elevating the food plate so the throat relaxes, moving the water away from the food so the cat actually has to walk a bit of a distance before drinking. If they gobble food, they don't chew add water to that and swelling or bloating occurs. Bloating is uncomfortable so kitty throws up. Take a small jar and put about a cup of water in it and drop one dry kibble inside. Leave if for a few hours. Instead of dissolving- the whole kibble will swell. Think of that happening in kitty's stomach and then wonder why she vomits. Add to that kibble left out all day in a free feeding fashion that she has slobbered on- take bacteria floating in the air, finding that kibble and literally creating a small toxic bomb. Sometimes they vomit in self-defense other times it is a health issue.

Supply her with a bit of organic catnip, just a pinch before eating or give her some cat grass, elevate her food and feed on a plate not a bowl. Move the water and don't switch foods on her suddenly and see if any of this helps.

Good luck

Originally Posted by emil

is raw food appropriate for a kitty thats only 1 month & a half?

i'll give the wellness chicken and rice a try, my kitty (ela) loves chicken, im not sure about the rice though..

& what does 'free feeding' mean? sowwy im a n00bie when it comes to cats

Click to expand...

Yes Two of mine, Morey and Mitch, started at four weeks If you want any help figuring out what/how much to feed just ask!

You're from Seattle? I live near Bellingham, WA Have you been enjoying the crazy weather we are having lately To bad Seattle is still a ways away, I know all the best places to buy meat down here.

Originally Posted by emil

is raw food appropriate for a kitty thats only 1 month & a half?

i'll give the wellness chicken and rice a try, my kitty (ela) loves chicken, im not sure about the rice though..

& what does 'free feeding' mean? sowwy im a n00bie when it comes to cats

Click to expand...

Free feeding is leaving food out all day for them to graze on as needed. A cat will typically graze from 7 to 20 times a day if free fed.

Generally a cat that is throwing up dry is because the cat is woofing it down too fast. That is a generalization but it's usually the case.

You are looking for food suggestions so I'll tell you that my cats have done well on Nutro Max dry (which I free feed). I feed a 3oz can of wet to them (split 4 ways) 2 times daily. Their wet feedings are on a schedule. I mix up their wet food with Nutro Max and Nutro Natural Choice. My cats have all thrived on this diet. A decent premium food is what you want to feed and there are several on the market out there.

As far as the raw diet goes; I can offer no opinions or advice on feeding a raw diet. I have no experience with it. I do believe there is a raw forum on thecatsite that deals exclusively with this type of diet. Best of luck and congrats on your new kitty!

Originally Posted by furryfriends50

Yes

Two of mine, Morey and Mitch, started at four weeks

If you want any help figuring out what/how much to feed just ask!

You're from Seattle? I live near Bellingham, WA

Have you been enjoying the crazy weather we are having lately

To bad Seattle is still a ways away, I know all the best places to buy meat down here.

Click to expand...

i'll start with raw food when she hits 2 months, but how should i go about feeding her raw food? and of course how much should i feed my kitty?

yep! i'm from seattle,
yeah the weather is crazy, that's washington for you haha but it's nice this morning
i know the pike place market sells fish, should i feed fish to my kitty?

Originally Posted by NutroMike

Free feeding is leaving food out all day for them to graze on as needed. A cat will typically graze from 7 to 20 times a day if free fed.

Generally a cat that is throwing up dry is because the cat is woofing it down too fast. That is a generalization but it's usually the case.

You are looking for food suggestions so I'll tell you that my cats have done well on Nutro Max dry (which I free feed). I feed a 3oz can of wet to them (split 4 ways) 2 times daily. Their wet feedings are on a schedule. I mix up their wet food with Nutro Max and Nutro Natural Choice. My cats have all thrived on this diet. A decent premium food is what you want to feed and there are several on the market out there.

As far as the raw diet goes; I can offer no opinions or advice on feeding a raw diet. I have no experience with it. I do believe there is a raw forum on thecatsite that deals exclusively with this type of diet. Best of luck and congrats on your new kitty!

Click to expand...

thanks for the clarification on 'free feeding'
next time i'm at the pet store i'll look into nutro max & nutro natural choice
thanks!

& How often should i feed my kitty ?

Kittens, at least mine, are allowed to eat all they want at 3-5 meals a day. No food is left for them in between feedings, because from what I have found, that is actually hard on their bodies.

Here is what I do. I portion the food up into ziplocs and put 20 oz in each ziploc. This is what I do per ziploc:

12 ounces meat (beef heart, beef, chicken heart, chicken gizzards, chicken meat, pork, pork heart, pork tongue, turkey, etc. Any meat from an herbivorous animal.

6 ounces bone-in chicken (I buy whole chickens from the grocery store, cut them up, and smash the bigger bone pieces with a hammer, so that kittens can easily eat it)

1 oz liver (from any herbivourus animal...sorry, I am a bad speller!)

1 oz "other secreting organ (thymus, pancreas, reproductive organs, kidney, brain)

--------------------
You would be suprised how big of pieces kittens can tackle. Personally, when Morey and Mitch were around a month old, they were able to eat pieces of meat that were twice as big as their heads.

Fish: I very rarely feed fish. Mine get a sardine each week, for the omega-3 content. Else, I use salmon oil capsules, meant for people, and give the cats 1-2 of those each week.

I'll post more info later Not much time right now...

I'm glad that it is nice out today! Wednesday night, I was feeding calves outside, and came home drenched. Thursday it was hailing for a while when I was outside feeding calves. Hopefully, it stays nice out, so I don't have to deal with rain/hail tonight while working!

I just want to throw out an opinion from someone who is NOT paid to advertise Nutro...

Personally I feel it's toxic waste and wouldn't feed it to my worst enemies pet. I wouldn't feed it to a starving stray on the street even. While my experience isn't their cat food, Nutro nearly killed my dog. I put her on the food and she became extremely lethargic, she started having explosive bloody diarrhea and vomiting up blood. Quite a bit of $$$ later, come to find out it was the food making her sick. After speaking with other pet owners I discovered it was happening with a LOT of animals. If you google "Nutro reviews" you'll see that this food is responsible for killing HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of pets. It's caused many cases of kidney and liver damage/failure. I would NOT feed their food.

JME. Never again.

Originally Posted by Ke$ha

I just want to throw out an opinion from someone who is NOT paid to advertise Nutro...

Personally I feel it's toxic waste and wouldn't feed it to my worst enemies pet. I wouldn't feed it to a starving stray on the street even. While my experience isn't their cat food, Nutro nearly killed my dog. I put her on the food and she became extremely lethargic, she started having explosive bloody diarrhea and vomiting up blood. Quite a bit of $$$ later, come to find out it was the food making her sick. After speaking with other pet owners I discovered it was happening with a LOT of animals. If you google "Nutro reviews" you'll see that this food is responsible for killing HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of pets. It's caused many cases of kidney and liver damage/failure. I would NOT feed their food.

JME. Never again.

Click to expand...

I am SO glad that the cat shelter is out of Nutro - they bought 20-30 of the large bags, because it was on sale, and never plan on doing that one again. Cleaning litterboxes was a nightmare...cats were shedding way worse...way more cats were throwing up...it was horrible. They finally used the rest of it up a week ago and bought TOTW dry instead. The cats are already doing better!

Originally Posted by emil

as of right now i'm feeding her purina pro plan kitten canned food and elegant medleys fancy feast canned food,

my kitty kept throwing up the dry food so i just switched to all wet food
i just need some more suggestions on what type of food is healthy and better for my little kitty :]

Click to expand...

Seems like there are bazillions of choices out there these days. I feed a mix of wet foods. I mostly feed Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Natural Choice canned foods. Sometimes I'll mix it up with other brands. My cats do well on the Nutro but sometimes a little variety keeps them on their toes The Nutro products are guaranteed as well. If you buy it and the kitty doesn't like it; take the unused portion back for a full refund. Whatever choice you make in wet foods, try to make sure it is of good quality with good ingredients. Ultimately you will do what your budget dictates and what you feel comfortable with.

I read this the other day and still haven't quite figured out how to respond to it..

First of all i'm sorry that you went through that with your dog. Yet the toxic waste comment i find a bit much, i have nutro here both cat and dog and have so for years, it's a part of my rotation.

No one food works great for everyone i totally get that but i find your statements going a bit to far, my pets are certainly not fed toxic waste and none of them are dead from it either... and i have no doubt there are others here who feed the brand as well.

I don't work for nutro either google can be useful but you cannot believe everything you read on the internet.

Originally Posted by Ke$ha

I just want to throw out an opinion from someone who is NOT paid to advertise Nutro...

Personally I feel it's toxic waste and wouldn't feed it to my worst enemies pet. I wouldn't feed it to a starving stray on the street even. While my experience isn't their cat food, Nutro nearly killed my dog. I put her on the food and she became extremely lethargic, she started having explosive bloody diarrhea and vomiting up blood. Quite a bit of $$$ later, come to find out it was the food making her sick. After speaking with other pet owners I discovered it was happening with a LOT of animals. If you google "Nutro reviews" you'll see that this food is responsible for killing HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of pets. It's caused many cases of kidney and liver damage/failure. I would NOT feed their food.

JME. Never again.

Click to expand...

You obviously haven't read the Nutro reviews or anything... http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

And one could argue i could find similar statements for quite a number of foods.

As i said I FEED nutro, my cats are not ill, nor have any issues what-so- ever and my dogs use there grain free in there rotation again ZERO issues.

Unless i have missed a massive recall and pull of the products i will continue to use what works for my pets.

I to have been through the big mess of recalls back a few years ago so i know the fears out there, i know the concerns but while i won't deny the internet can be useful i refuse to believe everything put out there, one doesn't always know the entire circumstances.

Of coarse everyone has a choice to use what they feel comfortable with, were all trying to do what is best for our pets.

Originally Posted by Minka

You obviously haven't read the Nutro reviews or anything... http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by followedbydolls

And one could argue i could find similar statements for quite a number of foods.

Click to expand...

Oh really? Try googling "Merrick (or Before Grain) complaints". Or "Evo complaints". Or "By Nature complaints".
Let me know if you find anything.

I did not say ALL foods and i have no interest in running a google on every brand out there all i was saying was complaints are out there for a number of foods, there will always be both negative and positive feedback on products..

You(general you) have to evaluate the merits of them, obviously you do not feel comfortable feeding a nutro brand product and that is fine but since i do i will not stand by and listen to it being equated to as 'toxic waste'

It works for pets and is in my rotation and unless a recall is launched for the products i will continue to.

Originally Posted by Minka

Oh really? Try googling "Merrick (or Before Grain) complaints". Or "Evo complaints". Or "By Nature complaints".
Let me know if you find anything.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by Minka

You obviously haven't read the Nutro reviews or anything... http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

Click to expand...

On that website, every pet food had a list of complaints - people only go onto those sorts of websites when they have something to complain about.

Maybe some people have had bad experiences with Nutro, but a lot of people do consider them a good food.

You have to decide what works best for you, and maybe just agree to disagree on some points.