So many choices how do you choose

Hi all, three weeks ago I adopted a 12 week (more or less) old kitten (that's him posted as my avatar). He previous owner was feeding him Purina kitten chow nurture but I really want to have him on a holistic or organics diet. I am not the best researcher in the world but managed to come across a few choices. I never really thought about wet food but read that dry food is not the best thing for cats in the long run when used alone and the it should be mixed with wet or wet should be used solely. I found the Wellness canned grain free kitten food which Smokey seems to like but he doesn't like the Wellness Core kitten food that I tried to mix with it. I was thinking about trying the Blue buffalo for kitten to mix with the wellness wet. Has anyone tried this combo or have any organic/holistic suggestions? Also any Wet/dry suggestions for 13 years old cat? Thanks in advance.

Welcome to The Cat Site.  And good for you for wanting to feed a good quality food to your cat.

In my opinion, food sold as a food for kittens is really a marketing tool.  Any 'all stage' cat food is okay, it doesn't have to be specifically for kittens.  And I also believe wet food is far superior to dry food; some people say the worst wet food is better than the best dry food.

You really shouldn't mix wet food with dry food, it has to do with how each are digested.

Wellness is a good canned cat food, as is Blue Buffalo wet food, especially the wilderness kind (less carbs, more protein). 

You mention 'organic' or 'holistic'; that terms means different things to different people.  If you want something really natural, look for a limited ingredient wet food, with as few additives as possible.  I fed raw, and you can go as organic/holistic as you want (i.e., organic, grass fed chicken).  You do know of course, cats can not be fed a vegetarian diet.  It would be like removing stripes from a zebra.

Here is an article about food for cats.  This site is also very good; it is written by a vet.

Let us know how it goes.  Cute cat by the way!

As Ritz mentioned, holistic or organic has different meanings for different people when it comes to cat food. Cats are obligate carnivores who need meat to survive. They have no nutritional needs for carbs. So, feeding a species-appropriate diet is the most "holistic" diet. You can also choose to go "organic" with grass-fed organically raised animals. Cats need a high animal protein / moderate fat / low to no carb diet. They do not need grains, starches, fruits or veggies. This is a comparison chart of common canned/pouched/raw) commercial foods available in the US on a comparable basis. http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

You can use it to find the right food for your cat (i.e.one that meets your budget and that your cat will eat). Good luck on finding a great food for your kitten. It sounds like he will have a great life with you.

Ritz said:

In my opinion, food sold as a food for kittens is really a marketing tool.  Any 'all stage' cat food is okay, it doesn't have to be specifically for kittens.

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This label is surely necessary in the cheaper dry food, where big cereals fill up is the norm.  This is the only way to assure the kitten gets something almost decent.  ("For active cats" is too a little better).

In high quality food, wet and even dry, this kitten label doesnt has the same importance.

Still, there are good quality foods with high contain of animal and animal proteins, but low in fat.

Kittens needs lotsa fat too.   So look up.

But I agree with Ritz, a good quality all round food with enough with fat too, like Orijen, should be ok for kittens too.  So althoug I saw Orijen has also a kitten variation, this is not absolutely necessary.

And as said, if the cat eats wet, go for wet as main course.

vball91 said:

Cats need a high animal protein / moderate fat / low to no carb diet. They do not need grains, starches, fruits or veggies.

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These holistics foods do typically contain different "interesting" veggies, berries and fruits.  Who does sound interesting, but it is realy more interesting for us human buyers than for our cats.

That said, they arent bad in itself. IF you by any reason must use dry food, it is surely better to give them this holistic food with all these veggies and fruits, than some standard dry food with lotsa of cereals like wheat and wheat gluten as fill upp.

Because dry does need carbs to held the kibble together.  So better to have something which maybe perhaps is somewhat useful, than something we know is useless and harmful in the long run.

I myself Im believer in such holistic dry foods, as my cats dont like wet. Sorrowfully but they as best lick a little.

There is although a peculiar trap here.  There are brands, whose dry holistic is OK as far dry goes, but their wet holistic is - exactly the same, essentially being this dry mixed up with water.  Which product is of course totally ridicolous.

Which brand?  It is in much try and seek.  I mean, it happens cats cant stand some brand, even throw it up, but manage well another brand.  While your neigbours cats  are vice versa.

So lets be happy there are something to choose among.  

Actually, I've heard that antioxidants are very good for cats, and a lot of the berries, etc. that are added to the holistic foods are usually there for their antioxidant property, not just to look good to humans.
 

Oh my goodness, thank you all for your thoughts and advice it will definitely come in handy. I did see that food chart but to be honest it was all Greek to me. I wish this site was around when my Midnight was a kitten maybe it would have helped me keep him healthier so he could avoid some of the issues he's having now. They think he may be anemic and have kidney disease. I took him for blood test today and will hopefully know something soon. :'( Thanks again for the warm welcome and the information.

Just give him the regular canned wellness then   No need to overthink it. All the brands you mention are great so whether you feed one of them, or a combination doesn't make a difference.  As long as they all fall under 10-15% carbohydrate(on a dry matter basis) it's all good.