Kitten dry food with large kibbles?

northernglow · Nov 26, 2012

I'd like to switch few of my cats on kitten dry food, but the one I usually use (Applaws) has too small kibbles for one of the cats who just swallows them without chewing and ends up puking. 2 of them eat wet food too, but one will only eat dry, 2 are intact and one is neutered but not prone to weight gaining.

Any good brand suggestions? None are allergic to anything, but I'd prefer grain free. Notice that I'm in Finland, but here is a webstore where I usually buy cat foods from (it's in English) so you can see what brands are available for sure: http://www.zooplus.com/shop/cats/dry_cat_food

GoldyCat · Nov 26, 2012

I wonder if something with a different shape might help. I've tried quite a few different dry foods and don't recall that any of them had large kibbles. The kitties do seem to eat the little round ones faster, and with less chewing. I don't know if that will help you, though. All of the grain-free ones I've used have been round kibbles, some bigger than others but not by much. I'd like to know if you find something that works because I also have one kitty who does the "scarf and barf" thing.

cat person · Nov 27, 2012

I am not sure, if, you can get Evo dry food. I don't see it, on, the link you provided. But, if you can, it works great. I use the Chicken and Turkey formula. Anyway, this, is a link for you to look at, if, you wish:http://www.evopet.com/products/1441.

I used to use, Orijen, for all my cats. The only reason, I stopped using it, was, it was getting too expensive. Anyway, the Orijen formula dry food, I used was: http://ww.orijen.ca/orijen/products/catkitten.aspx.

These, are the only two foods, I could feed to my pure domestics and foundation Savannahs. Please note, Taste of the Wild, the Rocky Mountain Feline formula worked well, for, my pure domestics. So, that might be another one, for, you to look at. Website, is as follows:http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/cats/dry_food/rocky_mountain_feline_formula/.

northernglow · Nov 28, 2012

They eat Taste of the Wild at the moment but I haven't seen kitten version of it. Evo is not available here unfortunately.

Orijen seems to have changed since I last tried it, but again, I can't find the kitten stuff anywhere.

Acana used to have a decent kitten dry, but they stopped making it few years ago. It was differently shaped too, which was good.

I should probably add that one of the cats has long fur ('Persian like' texture), and it stays in better condition with kitten foods (she's the one refusing to eat anything but dry food and is intact).

cat person · Nov 28, 2012

NorthernGlow said:
They eat Taste of the Wild at the moment but I haven't seen kitten version of it.

I thought, Taste of the Wild, was, formulated for all life stages. Many breeders, in the USA, feed that, to there kittens.

Evo is not available here unfortunately.

That, is very very very unfortunate, in my humble opinion.

Orijen seems to have changed since I last tried it, but again, I can't find the kitten stuff anywhere.

I am pretty sure that, Orijen, like Evo is formulated for all life stages. But, don't quote me on that.

Acana used to have a decent kitten dry, but they stopped making it few years ago. It was differently shaped too, which was good.

I should probably add that one of the cats has long fur ('Persian like' texture), and it stays in better condition with kitten foods (she's the one refusing to eat anything but dry food and is intact).

I am sorry, about, your dry food dilemma. I wish, I could be more helpful

.

otto · Nov 28, 2012

Wellness kitten kibble are huge. Or they used to be. One time I was taking care of a friend's kitten and she was feeding the baby Wellness kitten. The pieces were so big the kitten could hardly eat them. I crushed them for her, (but also brought my own canned food and fed her that. It just goes against my grain to feed kibble, even to someone else's cat. :lol3

PS I didn't check the store, before posting, so I don't know if they carry it. Hope they do, if you think it will help.

just mike · Nov 30, 2012

This has been an interesting topic in the industry for a long time. Nutro makes the kitten kibble of smallish medium size. According to our researchers, the shape of the kibble didn't make any difference except to the humans buying it. Nutro doesn't do any of the cute fish shapes, etc. any longer. Cats typically don't chew their kibble anyway. They *will* crunch it, or swallow it whole. You can check out the size of the Nutro Natural Choice or the Nutro Max Cat kibble at http://www.nutro.com/natural-pet-food/natural-cat-food.aspx for nutritional information. It's guaranteed also, if you buy a bag and the kibble is too large, or small, take it back for a full refund.

duckdodgers · Nov 30, 2012

otto said:
Wellness kitten kibble are huge. Or they used to be. One time I was taking care of a friend's kitten and she was feeding the baby Wellness kitten. The pieces were so big the kitten could hardly eat them. I crushed them for her, (but also brought my own canned food and fed her that. It just goes against my grain to feed kibble, even to someone else's cat.

)
PS I didn't check the store, before posting, so I don't know if they carry it. Hope they do, if you think it will help.

I am currently feeding Wellness kitten, and the kibbles seem to be relatively small. Not overly small, but what one would expect from a kitten food.

NutroMike said:
This has been an interesting topic in the industry for a long time. Nutro makes the kitten kibble of smallish medium size. According to our researchers, the shape of the kibble didn't make any difference except to the humans buying it. Nutro doesn't do any of the cute fish shapes, etc. any longer. Cats typically don't chew their kibble anyway. They *will* crunch it, or swallow it whole. You can check out the size of the Nutro Natural Choice or the Nutro Max Cat kibble at http://www.nutro.com/natural-pet-food/natural-cat-food.aspx for nutritional information. It's guaranteed also, if you buy a bag and the kibble is too large, or small, take it back for a full refund.

When did Nutro supposedly stop this "cute fish shapes" thing? Jason (my parents' cat) eats nutro max, and if I recall correctly the kibbles are fish shaped with a hole in the middle and really flat. I understand that the shape of the kibble does not matter in the slightest, but I like to be sure that the right info is out there/ that my cats are getting the correct food. Btw, he isn't being fed an old bag. It is an in-date bag that I purchased last week.

just mike · Dec 1, 2012

DuckDodgers said:
I am currently feeding Wellness kitten, and the kibbles seem to be relatively small. Not overly small, but what one would expect from a kitten food.

When did Nutro supposedly stop this "cute fish shapes" thing? Jason (my parents' cat) eats nutro max, and if I recall correctly the kibbles are fish shaped with a hole in the middle and really flat. I understand that the shape of the kibble does not matter in the slightest, but I like to be sure that the right info is out there/ that my cats are getting the correct food. Btw, he isn't being fed an old bag. It is an in-date bag that I purchased last week.

I can't recall any of the Nutro Max Cat having a fish shaped kibble in the the last couple to maybe 3 years. There is a hole in the middle for a reason, so the cat will crunch it easier but I don't think there are any fish shaped kibble formulas out there. Now, when I think fish shaped kibble, I think in terms of the kibble shapes found in Meow Mix and Friskies. The kibble for Max Cat is flatter with a hole in it for easier crunching but that's about it. There is really no reason to have a lot of fancy shapes in kibble, which you already seem to know.

northernglow · Dec 2, 2012

We don't have Wellness here, or Nutro.

I've noticed that kibble shape does matter, at least with the cat who I mentioned swallowing them whole, the others crunch their food. He eats round and slightly angled tiny kibbles like that, he'll even swallow Oral Hygiene kibbles which are huge (but round). However he doesn't do that with kibbles shaped like these (like Acana Kitten was):

cutcaster-photo-100658141-Dry-cat-food.jpg

northernglow
Dec 2, 2012

just mike · Dec 5, 2012

Hmmm... I'm now curious about this kibble size and shape thing. Not about your cat, about the pet food industry as a whole. I don't see how the shape of the kibble would make a difference in how a cat would ingest it. Size yes, shape, no. Now I have to research this issue a bit. Interesting topic.

jcat · Dec 6, 2012

DuckDodgers said:
When did Nutro supposedly stop this "cute fish shapes" thing? Jason (my parents' cat) eats nutro max, and if I recall correctly the kibbles are fish shaped with a hole in the middle and really flat. I understand that the shape of the kibble does not matter in the slightest, but I like to be sure that the right info is out there/ that my cats are getting the correct food. Btw, he isn't being fed an old bag. It is an in-date bag that I purchased last week.

NutroMike said:
I can't recall any of the Nutro Max Cat having a fish shaped kibble in the the last couple to maybe 3 years. There is a hole in the middle for a reason, so the cat will crunch it easier but I don't think there are any fish shaped kibble formulas out there. Now, when I think fish shaped kibble, I think in terms of the kibble shapes found in Meow Mix and Friskies. The kibble for Max Cat is flatter with a hole in it for easier crunching but that's about it. There is really no reason to have a lot of fancy shapes in kibble, which you already seem to know.

At the risk of going too much off topic, another TCS member sent Jamie a bag of Nutro Max Cat Adult Salmon Flavor from the U.S. last month (as Northern Glow said, we can't get Nutro cat food in Europe any more, though the dog food is sold). The kibble is "fish shaped", though I've always thought it looked more like a dog or cat head, or maybe a teddy bear's, since the "fish tail" looks like ears.

Royal Canin supposedly thinks the kibble's shape plays a role, because it offers Royal Canin Exigent 35/30 - Savour Sensation with two different shapes. It's almost certainly just a sales gimmick.

I don't know of any kitten food with large kibble in Europe. It would be a huge help if online retailers showed pictures of the kibble.

Willowy · Dec 6, 2012

Actually, the pet food industry has done a ton of studies on kibble shape and cats opinions of the shape. Apparently cats like the flat round shape best. I'll try to find the study that I saw later.

missymotus · Dec 6, 2012

Willowy said:
Actually, the pet food industry has done a ton of studies on kibble shape and cats opinions of the shape. Apparently cats like the flat round shape best. I'll try to find the study that I saw later.

Have heard this too.

Also the breed specific formulas. like RC Persian is shaped to be easier for their face shape to easily eat. RC Maine Coon biscuits are larger, since they're a larger cat with a bigger head/mouth.

just mike · Dec 8, 2012

missymotus said:
Have heard this too.

Also the breed specific formulas. like RC Persian is shaped to be easier for their face shape to easily eat. RC Maine Coon biscuits are larger, since they're a larger cat with a bigger head/mouth.

Waltham did a study on this before our new line came out last year. I can't get my hands on the study but Nutro did reduce the kibble size by about 24%. It was determined that cats will refuse food based on size, smell and taste of kibble... there were other things but can not recall them all. That is when Nutro went to basic kibble shapes in smaller sizes. I should have made my post more clear earlier. The cat doesn't care if the the kibble is shaped like a fish LOL! But some humans might buy kibble because of the fish shapes etc.

I think most companies have gone this route with their cat foods but I might be wrong on that. I'll be interested in reading the studies if they are posted here.

Willowy · Dec 8, 2012

I just Googled "kibble shape" and came up with a bunch. But some are PDFs and I can't figure out how to link to a PDF from my phone. . .but anyone who wants to see can Google it too

.

minka · Dec 8, 2012

I think a better solution to this (instead of trying who knows how many types of foods), you could try raising the bowl, giving smaller portions sizes or getting a slow-eating bowl instead.
:nod:

Kitten dry food with large kibbles?

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