Picking the Right Kitten Food

duckdodgers

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I have recently acquired a young kitten (she's about 8 weeks old currently- can't know for sure as I found her) and I am looking to get her a good start in life with a quality cat food.  I've had her for a couple of weeks now, and since I was attempting to find her a new home I bought the smallest bag of food that I could, some sort of Purina kitten food.  Long story short, no one wanted her so I ended up deciding to keep her.  Thus, due to the fact that kittens like to eat, she needs more food :D  My elderly cat is on a kidney management diet, and my other cat lives with my parents, so I have little control over what their options are.  This is the first time I'm really "making the decisions" with respect to all aspect of a kitten's life, so I need help!

I went to Petco yesterday to pick up supplies for her and after scratching my head between a few dry food brands (wellness, blue buffalo, innova, and perhaps a couple of others) I bought a bag of Wellness kitten food (not Wellness Core) and several cans of Wellness Core canned kitten food.  I generally feed dry food, but I like to give them some canned as well.  What do you think about the Wellness kitten food?  Is it a food that you would recommend?  Why or why not?  What about regular wellness vs Wellness Core?  What about the canned food?  I picked the core because that was the only wellness canned that they had in a kitten variety.  Is adult canned food suitable for supplementary feeding in a kitten, or should I stick with the variety that I have?  What other brands would you recommend that can be relatively easy to get a hold of?  

Having a kitty with kidney problems, I know that reducing the amount of protein is something that is done to manage the issue.  Is this something that should only be done once an issue has come up, or does a reduced amount of protein earlier in life help to prevent the issue?  The reason that I ask is because I have seen several foods around that advertise themselves as having high protein levels, but I am not sure if that is a good thing or if it could have consequences later.  My older kitty is doing fine now, but she's had a few rough spots and I'd like to prevent any problems for as long as possible in my new kitten.  Granted, at my cat's age of 16 problems are not necessarily avoidable, but I'd like to try!  

What about feeding canned food?  How much should they be fed?  I can't feed entirely canned, but I can try to increase the amount that they get if needed!

Also, sorry I haven't been around for a few years, but hi everyone!  Alafair and Jason are doing well, and new kitty Stella says hi!
 

Willowy

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Canned food is best; check out this site: www.catinfo.org

If you can't go all canned, try for as much canned food as you can, at least 50%. The increased moisture content can help to prevent a lot of trouble later in life (like you said, can't prevent everything at a certain age but it does help!). Get as wide a variety of canned food as possible--it's good to introduce kittens to a lot of different brands and flavors so they don't get imprinted on one kind for their whole lives. That can be a real problem if their brand gets recalled or discontinued, or if you have to switch brands for another reason! Most canned foods are "for all life stages", so don't worry about getting only kitten food.

Cats are obligate carnivores and need lots of animal protein. So don't try to limit protein in a healthy cat's diet. I really don't recommend dry food anymore so I don't have a favorite brand, but if forced to pick one I'd probably say Innova Prime turkey and chicken formula. Or Wysong Epigen but that probably costs more than canned food :tongue2:.
 
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duckdodgers

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Thanks for the site- I read a good portion of it and got some good info!  So basically, the higher the protein the better?  (I know, seems like kind of a duh revelation, but bear with me!)  So, if I understood the site right any canned food is better than a high quality dry food according to them.  While buying a quality dry food is less of an issue, feeding her mostly quality canned food could be prohibitively expensive.  From what I have read about canned food consumption, it would not be unreasonable for her to be eating half of a 6 oz can per day or more in addition to her dry food.  If I did the math right assuming her eventually eating half a can per day at $1.50 per can, then it would cost about $25 in addition to the dry food.  Would it be worth it to instead substitute a lower brand canned food for about 1/3 of the cost and feed her more of that?  What about moistening her dry food?  Is that something that can be done?

Also, my older cat is free fed her dry food.  I know people always recommend against it, but that's how it's always been done for 16 years.  She's happy with it, it works, and she is not overweight in the slightest.  Nowadays even if you try the "if you don't eat it, it gets picked up" method she would just not eat enough.  If the cats ever graduate to the point that they can be left together without me hovering over them, then how would I keep Stella from eating Alafair's food?  Seeing as how we've never had two cats sharing the same indoor space, this is an issue that I've never had to face.  
 

bluebo

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Here's a chart that lists the protein/fat/carbohydrate ratio in many canned foods- http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf
High protein and low carbohydrates is what you are looking for! :nod:
My cat LOVES Merrick! Like dive right in and licks the plate clean!
Is raw an option for you? I have been considering it for my cat....
 
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duckdodgers

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Here's a chart that lists the protein/fat/carbohydrate ratio in many canned foods- http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf
High protein and low carbohydrates is what you are looking for!

My cat LOVES Merrick! Like dive right in and licks the plate clean!
Is raw an option for you? I have been considering it for my cat....
Thanks!  

Raw is not really an option for me.  I have very limited freezer space, I occasionally go out of town for a couple of days and have to leave dry food out, and I bring the cats with me when I go to my parents' house.  Carrying an ice chest full of frozen meat really isn't a viable option in my situation, though I did give it some thought!
 

bluebo

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Thanks!  

Raw is not really an option for me.  I have very limited freezer space, I occasionally go out of town for a couple of days and have to leave dry food out, and I bring the cats with me when I go to my parents' house.  Carrying an ice chest full of frozen meat really isn't a viable option in my situation, though I did give it some thought!
I understand. I have my own hesitations concerning raw.
About feeding a lower quality wet- a low quality wet is better then a high quality kibble.
Fancy Feast isn't so bad. Natural Balance is pretty affordable. Remember: larger cans equals more savings. You can buy a large can of Evo and it should last a while and costs less per oz then say a 3 oz can.
I would say that with any commercial brand cat food watch for recalls but particularly with companies like Purina, Mars, and Waltham.
 

just mike

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A wet diet or at least a majority wet diet is preferred by most if possible.  Sometimes for various reasons an all wet, or even partial wet diet is not possible but sounds like wet is a viable option for you.  My cats are on a 90% wet to a 10% dry diet.  The dry is for grazing and is measured daily so they do not get too much of it.  My cats have all done very well on Nutro products.  There are 2 different lines of Nutro cat food, Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Natural Choice.  The Nutro Max is the more budget conscious of the 2 lines.  You can check them out at http://www.nutro.com/natural-pet-food/natural-cat-food.aspx.  The best advice I can give you is to pick the very best nutrition that fits into your budget. Best of luck to you!  Sounds like you're on the right track!
 
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duckdodgers

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A wet diet or at least a majority wet diet is preferred by most if possible.  Sometimes for various reasons an all wet, or even partial wet diet is not possible but sounds like wet is a viable option for you.  My cats are on a 90% wet to a 10% dry diet.  The dry is for grazing and is measured daily so they do not get too much of it.  My cats have all done very well on Nutro products.  There are 2 different lines of Nutro cat food, Nutro Max Cat and Nutro Natural Choice.  The Nutro Max is the more budget conscious of the 2 lines.  You can check them out at http://www.nutro.com/natural-pet-food/natural-cat-food.aspx.  The best advice I can give you is to pick the very best nutrition that fits into your budget. Best of luck to you!  Sounds like you're on the right track!
Entirely wet is not possible for a couple of reasons (I could go into detail, but it's not really relevant), but I am trying to give them some every evening.  I guess I'll be going to the store and picking out a variety of moderately priced cans and take it from there
 

jlc20m

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my kitten (who's 4 months now) is doing well on wellness kitten (wet) and wellness kitten health (dry). she's eating 95% wet and 5% dry. it's a brand that i trust. i supplement with wellness healthy indulgence (chicken varieties) and weruva (chicken varieties).

jlc20m
 

just mike

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Entirely wet is not possible for a couple of reasons (I could go into detail, but it's not really relevant), but I am trying to give them some every evening.  I guess I'll be going to the store and picking out a variety of moderately priced cans and take it from there
Then go with the best wet for your budget.  Best of luck to you and feel free to PM me if you have an questions!
 
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duckdodgers

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Then go with the best wet for your budget.  Best of luck to you and feel free to PM me if you have an questions!
Thanks!  I bought a variety yesterday and am trying to give them some every evening.  Both kitties seem to enjoy it!
 
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