Kitten Feeding Dilemma!!! Please Help!

I brought my first cat home about a week ago and she was approximately 8-10 weeks (not completely sure) when she arrived.  She was fully weened and the prior owners had been feeding her dollar store brand dry kitten food.  I have been temporarily feeding her the same thing as I've been learning more about cat and kitten food and wanted to make an informed decision before changing her food.  So far I have learned that wet is much better than dry.  Unfortunately, my town has only a Wal-Mart, Kroger, Dollar Store, and Tractor Supply that sells pet food and I don't really have access to premium wet food unless bought online. 

My main problem is that I work and it is unrealistic to leave wet cat food out all day for her as I've read it can be harmful if left out for over 2 hours.  I leave in the mornings at 7:00 and arrive back home in the evenings at around 5:30, on a good day!  I have located a cat/kitten food sold at Tractor Supply that seems to have good ingredients called 4health but it is dry. 

What do you recommend.  I don't have an abundance of money so buying the really high end wet food is not feasible.  Plus, I have the issue with being unable to give her fresh food during the day.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

I give my cats canned Friskies. . .it's fine, really. There are some less-than-premium ingredients, but it's still higher protein/lower carb than most kibbles. And it's wet! Which is a big deal for cats. Some store brand canned foods aren't too bad; check the ingredients (avoid added sugar and keep grains to a minimum). Feed a decent variety of flavors and brands to prevent her from getting dependent on one kind. Don't feed fish flavors too often. You can add a can of higher-quality food now and then, and it shouldn't break the bank.

I also leave the canned food out when I leave for work. . .who knows when the kitties finish eating it? But they haven't gotten sick yet. Not that I'm recommending that, mind you :lol3:. But it works for me.

Some tips for feeding canned food for long days away from home, safer than just leaving it out :tongue2::
Put a serving size in one of her regular feeding dishes and freeze it. Put it down when you leave for work, by the time it thaws it should be the right time for another meal.
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Get one of those automatic feeders with ice packs. This will keep the food fresh until the timer goes off.

If you want to keep some kibble around for snacks, 4Health isn't bad. Taste of the Wild would be better, though (the venison kind, not the fish kind). But try to make canned food the majority of her diet.

Biggest priority right now is to get her off the dollar store kibble! Cheap dry foods are basically flavored, vitaminized sawdust and are not conducive to her healthy growth.

And give her some meat now and then! Raw is fine, but if you're uncomfortable with that, cooked is fine, too. Any time you're preparing meat, give her a bit before you season it. The pure protein is good for her and I'm sure she'll enjoy it, too. Up to 15% of her diet can be "unbalanced" without any ill effects, so don't worry about that.

:nod: I would just qualify, the Friskies Pate varieties. The meaty chunks or gravy stuff is higher carb.

LDG said:

:nod: I would just qualify, the Friskies Pate varieties. The meaty chunks or gravy stuff is higher carb.

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I always forget that part! (because I only buy the 13-ounce cans and they only come in pate). Thanks for pointing it out.

They have about 53 different flavors of Friskies (OK, maybe not that many but it seems like it :tongue2 so you should be able to find a pate version your kitty likes.