I'm new and need advice on what to feed my cat and kitten....

Hi I'm new and have 1 cat that is 10 months named Roger and is a she and a kitten that is about 6 to 7 weeks is a boy and we named him Trouble.Here is a little back ground on them both before I ask my questions on there nutrition.The cat we got from a lady that was having to move and could not take her.Her daughter found her and her brother in the park last year in august and took them home.She had both cats fixed in January and a vet check and there shots.The male cat I was told got out of the house and got to close to there outside dogs and was killed.I did call the vet to verify and she has been spayed and has had her shots and check up for this year.The kitten I was fostering him and his 5 other brothers and sisters hoping to find them all homes.But sadly all of them but him passed away.They were really to young to be taken from the mother.My neighbors husband which is a christian or says he is.Told me that if I wanted them I had better get them and keep them over here. Or he was going to take them off and drop them or hit them in the head or put a bullet between there eyes.So My husband and I went over and they already had them in a box ready to go.So I brought them home and had been giving them wet food and bottle feeding some of the smaller ones he was the bigger one of all the kittens is why I guess he made it.He is adjusting well without his siblings and getting along well with the cat too.

The cat is eating meow mix hard food and the kitten is eating a kibble kitten food that is mixed with a wet food.Both is same brand ever pet from the dollar store.I know that is not good for him and after reading alot of the threads here I am changing there food tomorrow.I am leaning more towards the Friskies.We should be able to afford it with our budget.I know with the cat it will be her body weight as to how much wet she will eat a day.I'm not so sure how much to feed the kitten I know he weighs under a pound.I also know when buying the Friskies to buy the one that says pate.But what about dry food also?I will buy the Friskies brand there is different kinds and do they really need the dry?What kind of dry should I feed them?

One other question I have is...What causes UTI'S  and diabetes in cat's?The reason I ask is because my grandmother had about 9 cats and one of them had diabetes and another had gotten an UTI.When she took them to the vet he told her it was there diet she had them on.I was wondering what I need to do to keep this from happening to them?

Thanks in advance.....

They don't need dry food. Canned Friskies will be just fine. If you want to feed a little bit of dry food (it is a lot cheaper than canned), I would recommend Purina Cat Chow Naturals. It's not expensive (costs the same as regular Cat Chow), but is much better than Meow Mix or a dollar store brand. If you can't find that, dry Friskies or Cat Chow would be an OK choice. Try to feed at least 50% of their diet as canned food for their entire lives. The extra moisture can help to prevent urinary problems.

Angel1437 said:

One other question I have is...What causes UTI'S  and diabetes in cat's?The reason I ask is because my grandmother had about 9 cats and one of them had diabetes and another had gotten an UTI.When she took them to the vet he told her it was there diet she had them on.I was wondering what I need to do to keep this from happening to them?

Thanks in advance.....

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As Willowy pointed out, the higher moisture content in canned food helps keep the urine dilute, so feeding 100% canned food and no dry food can go a long way to helping prevent those bladder and urinary problems. :nod:

As to the issue of diabetes, what causes the problem is carbohydrates. Cats are obligate carnivores. This means they are designed by evolution to eat meat, bones and organs. And that's it. In the wild, cats don't eat corn, peas, carrots, or all those lovely things we see so pretty on the labels. But it's cheaper for pet food manufacturers to use corn, soy, peas or carrots than meat in the food. So our cats eat a lot of stuff that they are not "designed" to eat. And the main one that causes problems is carbohydrates. Cats do not digest them very well, and it stresses their systems. (BTW, when managing diabetes in people, the main concern is managing carbohydrates. :nod: ).

So if you feed a diet that is low in carbohydrates, that will help prevent diabetes in your cats. The Friskies Pate is lower in carbohydrates than most kibble, and it is lower in carbohydrates than the Friskies gravies. It's still actually relatively high in carbohydrates for a canned food (at 13%). Cats actually have zero nutritional requirement for carbohydrates. I don't know if you can afford the Fancy Feast Classic cans - they are more expensive to feed than the Friskies Pates. But they are about 6.8% carbohydrates, where the Friskies pate's are around 13% carbohydrates.

Hope that helps!