Cat food vs. Kitten food

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH
Hello all. 

I have two cats: Noodles is almost 3, and Popcorn is 12 weeks.

The question I have is regarding their food. I normally feed one can of wet food per day, and leave kibble in the bowl all day. I know that cats and kittens eat different foods, but my cats only eat together and they like to switch bowls a lot during meal time. So, I'm wondering if my 3 year old cat should eat the kitten food, or should the kitten eat cat food? I've tried separating them during meal time and they will always run to the other one's food no matter how far away (my apartment is very small though.) 

Any advice?

On another note, I've been researching cat food varieties, and I'm headed to the store soon to buy Nature's Variety Instinct. Any comments on this brand? Or recommendations on a better brand?


Thanks!!!
 

Willowy

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
31,886
Purraise
28,287
Location
South Dakota
Dry food or wet food? I don't use kitten food, except for kitten Fancy Feast for very small kittens. In general, kitten food is higher in fat and calories than adult food. But most decent cat foods are all-life-stage and so are fine for young ones. Don't use a "senior", "indoor", or "light" formula, though.

I should say that I do sometimes get dry kitten food for the adult cats, because the kitten formula of any given food is usually better quality than the adult food, for the same price. For instance, if I have to buy Purina ONE, I get the kitten version.
 
Last edited:

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
I was told if you don't know whether the cat is over or under one year, give it kitten food because adults can eat that, but kittens can't eat adult food.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH
I'm using both wet and dry food for them. What are your reasons for saying not to use an indoor formula?

I should also mention that my older cat is very thin. She weighs 7lbs. (which I don't know if thats normal for her age) but her sides below her rib cage curve in a lot. She has always been this way no matter how much I feed her, she just wont gain weight. She's not overly active either, so I was thinking maybe the kitten food would allow her to put some meat on her bones?
 

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
I'm using both wet and dry food for them. What are your reasons for saying not to use an indoor formula?

I should also mention that my older cat is very thin. She weighs 7lbs. (which I don't know if thats normal for her age) but her sides below her rib cage curve in a lot. She has always been this way no matter how much I feed her, she just wont gain weight. She's not overly active either, so I was thinking maybe the kitten food would allow her to put some meat on her bones?
Show us a picture of her. She could be a small breed (some are supposed to only weigb 7 pounds) or the runt of the litter but if a cat is eating a lot and always underweight anyway, there could be a medical reason (especially in older cats).

Some cat foods are marketed as Indoor Formula for one reason: to make people who keep their cats inside 24/7 buy them. They are junk. Do feral cats eat grains? Of course not. But there are tons of them in bags labeled "Indoor Cat."

I noticed you live near where I used to. I lived in Westerville most of my life - almost 35 years - before moving to Florida in December.
 
Last edited:
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH


This is Noodles smiling for the camera!



and here's baby Popcorn too! :)

As far as cat foods go, I always read the ingredient list to make sure meats are the majority at the top of the list. Do you guys think Noodles looks too skinny? She usually doesn't let me take pictures of her, so this is the best I could get! They just went to the vet yesterday, but she didn't say anything about her weight besides that she was 7lbs.
 
Last edited:

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
Noodles looks fine to me.


I hope you are buying REAL meat, not "meat byproducts" or "meal meal." LDG started a thread about that here to explain why they are bad.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH
Yes real meat. I've recently been researching cat food after a mishap with the old wet food (meow mix) which I found a large, sharp bone in. I have since switched to Nature's Variety wet and kibble, and Natural Source kibble and wet for the Kitten (since Nature's variety doesn't make a kitten formula.)

I'm glad you think Noodles looks fine! She doesn't act sickly or anything, she's just really skinny. I was thinking she might be crossed with siamese? She was a barn kitten that I took in as a baby, so I have no idea what kind she is, but she has sort of a pointy face and slender body.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH
I noticed you live near where I used to. I lived in Westerville most of my life - almost 35 years - before moving to Florida in December.
 I just noticed this part of your last post. I live pretty close to Westerville! Also, funny fact, my parent's just moved down to Treasure Island (which I think is near Gainsville?) How's the hurricane coming along? My dad sent me some pictures- it looks pretty bad! Stay safe!
 

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
I just noticed this part of your last post. I live pretty close to Westerville! Also, funny fact, my parents just moved down to Treasure Island (which I think is near Gainsville?) How's the hurricane coming along? My dad sent me some pictures - it looks pretty bad! Stay safe!
What hurricane? Gainesville is two hours northeast of Tampa, two hours north of Orlando, and 90 minutes southwest of Jacksonville. When a storm system moves toward northern Florida, all I get is several consecutive days of rain. I have no idea where Treasure Island is.

Now back to the topic . . .
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH
I see. Treasure Island is on the gulf coast by Tampa.

Anyhow, I see that my original reply has finally appeared. Do you think she looks part siamese? She also has a sensitive stomach which is another reason I started buying the higher quality food... and she had tapeworm (which is fixed now, thank goodness) that might be a reason that she's so skinny. I don't know much about tapeworms but what I do know isn't pleasant. 


So, for the original question on this thread: I think I'm going to feed them both kitten food for a while and continue to try to get them to eat in separate places. As long as it isn't BAD for Noodles to eat kitten food at 3yrs old. 
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

arison09

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
9
Purraise
1
Location
Columbus, OH
Kittens should have twice the amount of food as adult cats, is that right? Does that go for wet and dry food?
 

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
I don't know how much more kittens need to eat, but the type of food also matters. Raw-fed cats don't need to eat as much as kibble-fed cats, no matter how old they are.
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
On another note, I've been researching cat food varieties, and I'm headed to the store soon to buy Nature's Variety Instinct. Any comments on this brand? Or recommendations on a better brand?

Thanks!!!
Hi! :wavey: I think Nature's Variety is one of the best canned foods you can feed your kitties. It is one of the VERY few that has no carageenan in it, and for a number of reasons, that's an ingredient I think should be avoided. If you'll be using the kibble as well, it's also one of the better ones (meaning low carbohydrates). It does have peas and carrots in it (the canned), but they're easy to pick out (and I recommend doing so). Cats don't need peas and carrots. They lack the digestive enzymes to derive any nutritional value from carrots anyway.

As to your kitty being 7 pounds, she may just be a wee kitty! My flowerbelle weighs 7.5 pounds now (and she's 9 this year). But for most of her life she weighed just under or just over 7 pounds. If your vet didn't say anything, I would imagine she's at a good weight for her frame! Most of us think cats look too thin when they're at their ideal weight. Given that 60% of cats in this country are overweight, and 40% are obese, I suspect we just think normal cats look skinny. :(
 

emilymaywilcha

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,338
Purraise
29
Location
Gainesville, Florida
Laurie, why do some cats look smaller than they are? Patricia has always been skinny, but she weighs 10 pounds. I would never guess that weight if I did not know her.
 

orientalslave

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 23, 2012
Messages
3,425
Purraise
114
Location
Scotland
Balance of bone, muscle and other stuff, and their coats. People thought my Havana was skinny until I let them hold him when they realised he was a muscular and very solid cat.
 

catnamedpanda

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
1,405
Purraise
58
Balance of bone, muscle and other stuff, and their coats. People thought my Havana was skinny until I let them hold him when they realised he was a muscular and very solid cat.
My Chip looks skinny, but he is just pure muscle. He is smaller looking compared to his brothers, but he is the heaviest.
 
Top