Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul ok for Kitten?

Hi,
I'm in the process of switching my 5 month old kitten from Purina Pro Plan kitten to a better quality food. Right now i'm trying Wellness but he doesn't seem too fond of it. Next on my list to try was Chicken Soup...., though I'm a little concerned that it's an adult formula. I've sent an email to the company to find out if the formulation is kitten-ok, but I was wondering if anyone here used it for kittens and they're results.

Thanks in advance.

I've only fed it to adult cats. It is my opinion that kittens need a food specifically made as a kitten formula, since it has stuff in it adult food is lacking.

Nutro has a very good kitten food. That is what we fed our kittens and they have grown up healthy and strong. I switched all my cats to Nutro a few years ago and have had no health problems with any of them since making the switch.

Oh, I definitely prefer a kitten formula. In fact the reason I chose Wellness was because it had a kitten formula. The only reason I was coinsidering Chicken Soup was because it, like Wellness, is made of human grade materials, and I would prefer to give him a food that was human grade. But, it's only been three days of the Wellness so far and he may be starting to come around slowly. So I'll give it some more time, and if he doesn't come around I'll definitely consider Nutro.

The back of the Chicken Soup bag states that its formulated for "all life stages" and recommends free feeding to kittens but not too long ago someone else on the list had previously wondered if it was okay to feed kittens and called the company....if I remember correctly, the company Vet said she would'nt recommend it for kittens which is quite strange since considering the statement on the bag.

A five month old kitten should do fine on the food. If the kitten were 8 weeks or even 12 weeks than it would be a big NO. I feed my cats adult food at 5-6 months b/c they are with the adults and eat their food anyway. As long as it is a GOOD quality food (which I have heard it is) than I wouldnt be too concerned.

Thanks for the responses. I received an email back from the company stating the following:


Dear Lisha,

It is fine to feed the Adult Cat formula to kittens, especially to a
kitten
who is already 5 months old._ I personally prefer higher fat and protein
for
kittens, but this formula is appropriate for kittens._ We are working on
a
Chicken Soup for the Kitten Lover's Soul and hope to introduce the
product
this fall.

Sincerely,

Melissa Brookshire, DVM
Director of Veterinary Services
Diamond Pet Foods

I personally would stick with the "Wellness" kitten. Wellness is very highly respected in the pet food industry for their quality foods. If you talk to any feed store or knowledgable person about pet food.....chances are that you will get all positive reports on their foods. I have done alot of study on cat food over the last six months or so. It is my favorite pet topic. Many of todays newer "All natural pet foods" are measured against Wellness for quality. They are considered by many as being the one of the first that got this "healthy" natural food craze going 3 years ago. I feed my cat both Chicken Soup + Wellness + 2 others for variety daily. Are you mixing the food with what the kitten was eating before, or switching straight up? You should always start out with a 50%-50% then slowly go 60-40 then 70-30 etc,etc over a week to 10 days to avoid upset stomachs, and runny stools Hope I helped you. Good luck with what you decide.

I am the one who called the company. At first the woman I spoke to said it would be fine to feed my kitten. Then she said she would doublecheck-she came back on the phone and said it probably wouldn't be good to feed him. She said he should have a specific kitten formula. I think this company can't make up its mind...

For now, I'll definitely stick to the Wellness kitten. I'm acclimating him gradually to it; he should be eating pure Wellness hopefully by the weekend. I prefer Wellness for nutritional reasons, I just wasn't sure that Gambit, my kitten, liked it. Yet, he does seem to eat it, albeit not enthusiastically. Perhaps when he's a bit older I'll attempt to find a comparable food that he likes a bit more, or perhaps he'll learn to love Wellness.

Thanks for all of your help.

It's hard to go wrong with the Wellness You are paying for quality, and are getting it with this brand. Post a picture of your kitten sometime...we would love to see him.

I hope you are also feeding your kitty canned food. IMO canned is very important. I only use dry food as treats. Dry kibble is very high in carbohydrates, something cats don't need as they do need quality protien. It is just the nature of the beast that in order to make a dry kibble it has to be high in carbos. This is very hard on the kidneys and overall system of the cat, an obligate carnivore. I like Wellness canned, also Petguard, Natural Balance, and several others. Just read the labels and become familiar with what should and shouldn't be in there. By-products should not. The first few ingredients should be high quality meat protien sources.
JMHO

I've just recently started feeding him Wellness canned as well. Prior to that he got canned food mainly as a treat, because all of the advise I'd received indicated that it would be bad for his teeth. But after doing research and spending time at this site, I've realized my error, and he's now getting canned food daily. Still it amazes me how much variance in opinion there is with regard to proper diet.

I'll try to post more updated pictures next week, but until then here's a link to some pictures from a few of months ago: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/callmekit...Gambit&.view=t

I never feed my cat wet food. The only real reason for wet food is to add more water to a cats diet. Cats generally do not drink enough water which can cause dehydration, kidney problems, urinary tract problems and such. I feed mine dry only because it stays fresher longer and unquestionably higher in nutrition than canned foods. Canned food is bad for the cats teeth, but dry is not a whole lot better. I also gave my cats a Drinkwell Pet Fountain over a year ago which makes the cats drink more water. Remember that protein is only good if it is digestable. If the protein source is corn....for example..it is very hard for the cat to digest this cheap protein source and most of it ends up as extra stool droppings in the kitty litter box. High quality healthy foods such as Wellness and others don't use corn as a protein source. Corn can be listed in the first 3 ingredients on cheaper lower grade pet foods that you see in grocery stores. Just don't get me started on "by-products" and rendering plants I look at your kitty pictures. Gambit is a very handsome man in deed...I love the way he is marked.

Thanks for the info. I figured that wet food wasn't great for the teeth, but I am concerned about him drinking enough water. So the addition of the wet food was mainly to increase his moisture intake. I'd love to get him a fountain but unfortunately none of my floor level outlets are in an area that's not carpeted.

Gambit thanks you for the compliments. And he certainly has very unique markings.

Here is an intersting article regarding cat diets from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association....I've posted this link several times before but thought some of the newbies might like to read it.
http://home.earthlink.net/~jacm2/id1.html

Originally posted by Slave2_Ragdolls
I feed mine dry only because it stays fresher longer and unquestionably higher in nutrition than canned foods.

Click to expand...

What do you mean by unquestionably higher in nutrition than canned food? Do you mean on a per volume basis?

I don't believe Chicken Soup foods use "human grade" meats. One of the posters said it was a human grade food. Better check that, I'm sure it isn't. I would NOT feed this food to a kitten or a cat.

Just my opinion.

The AAFCO has NO defination of "Human Grade" so I would not be fooled by a bag that says this on it either. What is wrong with Chicken Soup? Why would you not feed a cat this food?

Abby and Cheeto(only when he got over 3lbs) both eat chicken soup and I could tell an immediate difference in them after I took them off of Kitten Chow. There many high quality foods out there, but this is available locally and they love it with a passion. So for the time being this is what they are getting

Yikes, please forgive me. I must have been thinking of another food! Yes, chicken soup IS an awesome food! I'm enjoying this bulletin board. Please, I BEG your forgiveness!

Joyce