Is it OK to feed a kitten normal cat food?

I have a cat that is about 15 months old, and she eats Whiska's cat food.

A few weeks ago we got a new kitten, we thought they could keep each other company during the days while we were at work.

They get on great, and even use the same litter tray, even though we have put two out, they sleep together.... its all fantastic.

But the problem comes when they eat together.

We got the kitten kitten food, and he ate it at first, he couldn't get to the normal cat food because we made sure it was out of his reach.

Anyway, he has grown to the point where he can get anywhere the big cat can get now, so feeding them seperately is impossible.

We've tried everything, but he is adament that he wants the normal cat food, leaving his bowl untouched throughout the day.

So he's eating half of the big cats food, and leaving all of his own.

Im considering getting just adult food from now on, but I am looking for advice.

Is this ok to do?

Im guessing the adult cat food is richer? Maybe?

He is now about 5 months old.

Thanks

No the kitten food is richer.

It is not harmful to try a little adult food, but is is not enough as the main course.

A problem is, whiskas is not really first grade food.

You can use adult only, but it must be first grade.

Orijen perhaps, or something like that, with high content of animal proteins and fat.

Possibly wet food is another try. It is easier to make decent wet food than decent dry food.
Thus, even wiskas wet food is decent

good luck!


ps Welcome to the Forums!

Like StefanZ said, Whiskas adult food isn't really rich enough for a 5 month old kitten. It might be better to feed your adult cat in a different room until the kitten is old enough to eat adult food as well.

I am currently feeding a mix of Authority Brand Hairball formula and Wellness Indoor Formula to my cats ages 14 down to 4 months. The wellness is for "all life stages" while the Authority is from ages 1-7.

Another answer, kitten food is not poisonous for the adult. If he plays much - he probably does together with his pal, he will burn the excessive calories anyway.
So you can simply stick to the kitten food thorough, if you wish.

The only problem is perhaps, kitten food may cost more. But high quality cat food does also costs more...

I agree with StefanZ, it would be ok to let the older cat eat some kitten food for a little while so that you can be sure the kitten is getting the nutrition he needs. I would also recommend doing a little research on cat nutrition, and find a better quality of cat/kitten food.

I had the exact same situation with my two cats, who are almost the same ages as yours. Only the older cat, Zoey, didn't want to eat her food, but wanted to eat Behr's, and Behr would willingly eat both adult and kitten food before I moved Zoey's out of his reach. Although of course it wasn't long before he could jump that far

I wanted to try supervising them while they ate, but when they were both on dry food it was hard for me to not leave it out all day when I was at work so they could munch as they wished. So I figured I'd incorporate a mostly wet diet, where they would likely eat it all at once which I could easily supervise. That worked great for a while - Behr had his kitten food, and Zoey had her adult food, and in between, I mixed the adult and kitten dry food together. With the wet food, I found they were having less of the dry so I didn't think it would do much harm.

However, Behr eventually figured out Zoey was getting different food than he was and he started to completely ignore his own food and go try to eat hers, which she didn't appreciate lol. When I couldn't figure out how to get him to eat only his own food, I compromised again, giving him a bit of the adult wet food mixed in with the kitten wet food, while Zoey gets just the adult. So far it all seems okay. The vet says Behr is gaining weight at a good pace, and Zoey hasn't gained more than a pound since this all began.

I feed them Wellness for both dry and wet food. I hope this is helpful. I think it's fine to give your kitten adult food as long as you can find a way to give her kitten food, too.

Maybe you could try a cat food that is for all life stages and then give the kitten a high quality can of kitten wet food?

Five months old is pretty big already. If the kitten is eating the adult food, it might not be ideal, but it's not a disaster.

Wet food is usually more nutritious anyway. But you could switch to a more protein-rich food and give it to both cats, and give the kitten as much as it wants to eat. Maybe you could add some treats that the kitten would like--you know, like a little bowl of KMR. Just so long as that kitten continues to grow, I wouldn't worry!

Originally Posted by Callista

some treats that the kitten would like--you know, like a little bowl of KMR.

Click to expand...

or goat-milk, if you can get it where you live. Goat milk is also good for people, even people sensitive to common milk. So when your kitten has got his, your family can take the rest of the milk-box!