Feeding only dry food??

I never put the partial cans of food into anything else. I cover it as soon as I have taken out what I feed them, and put it right into the fridge. The only time I threw anything away was when I didn't cover the can and it got shoved back behind things. It still smelled okay, but it was quite dried out.  Remember, feral cats eat out of dumpsters that don't get emptied for up to a week.

Oh, let us know how it goes!

And I'm with catspaw. :nod: If they like it, I can't imagine you'll have to throw any away. Just cover it well with saran wrap. You can always mix in a little warm water before serving again so it's not fridge cold.

Hi there and a continued thank you to all that are replying. I am very happy with this site and everyone here. Everyone is so helpful and kind I only imagined if they like the wet food I would be wasting at the beginning because I am only going to be giving them a tsp the fist day, then 2 the next day and three the next day. Should I be feeding the amounts it's says on the can? A note about the print on the cans. Do they expect you to have a magnifying glass! The print is so small! If not how much. They were born in April, 2013 but I would have to check what they weigh again ( I am guessing I can step on the scale then hold them to find their weight?)  As I am switching dry food I am considering waiting another day for them to get use to that change before introducing the wet food but who knows in the morning I might change my mind. On a dry food note, they have finished the 1/2 cup each( I put 1/2 cup until gone then add the other half) by the late evening so is it over feeding if I give I put more in before I go to bed? It's more than the recommended on the package.I feel like I did when I started my son at 6 months on rice cereal, excited but also nervous, LOL! I have a feeling the the extremely playful one and the smaller one of the two sisters is going to like the wet food. Not sure what I think the bigger one will think. It shall be interested.They sure don't lack in energy as i am typing this they are chasing and playing with one another, late evening is when they start to play!

Have a good night and I am sure I will have lots more questions and will keep you updated!

P.S. I got two cans of wellness and two cans of blue Wilderness both kitten formula. Is it okay to switch brands after feeding one brand especially when I am just starting to try them on wet canned food. I got two different brands cause I read somewhere on here that it's not good to keep with the same brand too long incase of recall or if I couldn't find the brand. But I read somewhere that switching the brand is bad as it causes diareha? I can easily try one brand if that is the case. Probably the one I can get at a pet store in my city. One of them I can only get at Pet Smart which is 20 minutes away. 

So I changed the dry food. Only had a bit of the old left so could only mix a but In. Changing to better quality I hope. One kitten is okay with the change but the other is having issues. I think she nibbled a bit but I notice she goes to the bowel, sniffs and then walks away. It does smell a lot different. How long can I give her to see if she will take to the new food, I don't want to make her sick. She wS born in April and she was on Science Diet. If I have to end up switching back to that I will. How long is safe to see?

Dry food transitions should be done slowly. Done too fast and they could get loose stools or diarrhea. Feed their old dry with a tiny bit of the new mixed in, slowly increasing the new into the old over a period of two weeks is recommended, until it's just completely the new dry, though I have done it over the course of 1 week and mine tolerated this. Switching around wet foods is less of an issue, and your right, you want them to be on a variety of brands and proteins.

Oh dear so now what as most of their bowl is the new stuff?? I do have a new bag of the stuff they were on but I was going to take that back. I had a little tiny bit left in another bag but not enough to transition for a week or two. So I guess I will be opening the new bag of what they were on and start transitioning slower? I feel so bad! I hope I haven't caused in needed stress to my kittens!

As for the wet I have only found chicken flavours for kittens. Will that be okay until they turn one? Oh and what is the ratio for new and old food for the transition?

I know this isn't a hubby vent site but we sure do have different views on caring for our kittens! I did some reading about transitioning to different dry food and as a member mentioned to me its best done slowly. It even says so on the package of new stuff. So I tell him this and I get an earful of stop worrying and don't open the new bag we have of the old. I explained the new and old have very different smell and the littlest kitten is sniffing and walking away. He said give it time. He wants me to take the unopened bag back. I feel 20 bucks who cares if its less stressful on our kittens. Errr I am giving it a day and if they are not happily eating the new and do more sniffing then eating then I am opening the new bag of the stuff they have always been on. Sorry kind of a vent!

newkittyowner said:

I know this isn't a hubby vent site but we sure do have different views on caring for our kittens! I did some reading about transitioning to different dry food and as a member mentioned to me its best done slowly. It even says so on the package of new stuff. So I tell him this and I get an earful of stop worrying and don't open the new bag we have of the old. I explained the new and old have very different smell and the littlest kitten is sniffing and walking away. He said give it time. He wants me to take the unopened bag back. I feel 20 bucks who cares if its less stressful on our kittens. Errr I am giving it a day and if they are not happily eating the new and do more sniffing then eating then I am opening the new bag of the stuff they have always been on. Sorry kind of a vent!

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Vent away.   You may have to just take care of them yourself and not say a word about what or how your doing it. Just do it. I at times find myself just yesing my SO about some stuff and then do things my way without him being any the wiser.

Oh on another note my kittens litter is clumping litter. If they get diareha will I be able to tell or will if just clump and look the same? I ask so I can keep an eye on them regarding the new dry food.
I hope I don't sound too paranoid about caring for my kittens but I love them so much and want the best for them which I don't think my hubby has the same level of love for them. I am doing all the care and research and I think I am starting to drive him nuts ! I won't stop caring though!

You should have no trouble seeing any loose stools, even with clumping litter.

I am giving it today to see if they are okay on the new hard food but if I don't see them eat much or keep sniffing the new and walking away then I am opening the new bag of the old food they were on. Your right I think I need to just do what I want to and care for them as hubby has little to no interest in that part. I think he thought it would be nice to have them and he could just put a bowel of hard food down and top up and be done. That is not how I think not ever will! I got to stop caring what he thinks but when it comes to money he watches ever penny. I think in the time we have had them he has only scooped the litter Once and that was because I asked him to! Don't know how he thought that these kittens would be cheap to care for! Thanks everyone!

newkittyowner said:

I know this isn't a hubby vent site but we sure do have different views on caring for our kittens! I did some reading about transitioning to different dry food and as a member mentioned to me its best done slowly. It even says so on the package of new stuff. So I tell him this and I get an earful of stop worrying and don't open the new bag we have of the old. I explained the new and old have very different smell and the littlest kitten is sniffing and walking away. He said give it time. He wants me to take the unopened bag back. I feel 20 bucks who cares if its less stressful on our kittens. Errr I am giving it a day and if they are not happily eating the new and do more sniffing then eating then I am opening the new bag of the stuff they have always been on. Sorry kind of a vent!

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Well, if he wants to swap a 20 buck food bag for HUGE $ vet bills when the kitties gets sick - let him pay. Good food + good care = happy kitty with better health.

newkittyowner said:

Oh on another note my kittens litter is clumping litter. If they get diareha will I be able to tell or will if just clump and look the same? I ask so I can keep an eye on them regarding the new dry food.
I hope I don't sound too paranoid about caring for my kittens but I love them so much and want the best for them which I don't think my hubby has the same level of love for them. I am doing all the care and research and I think I am starting to drive him nuts ! I won't stop caring though!

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Katluver4life said:

You should have no trouble seeing any loose stools, even with clumping litter.

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Believe Katluver4life  - YOU WILL KNOW.  

newkittyowner said:

I am giving it today to see if they are okay on the new hard food but if I don't see them eat much or keep sniffing the new and walking away then I am opening the new bag of the old food they were on. Your right I think I need to just do what I want to and care for them as hubby has little to no interest in that part. I think he thought it would be nice to have them and he could just put a bowel of hard food down and top up and be done. That is not how I think not ever will! I got to stop caring what he thinks but when it comes to money he watches ever penny. I think in the time we have had them he has only scooped the litter Once and that was because I asked him to! Don't know how he thought that these kittens would be cheap to care for! Thanks everyone!

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Just keep reminding him what the vet bills will be if kitties get sick.     Not so much as to scare him off and try to move kitties to a new home   but keep plugging away for your furbabies' health.  

Oh, and don't let him do that topping up the bowl thing. Biscuits get bugs and mold too.   

Keep doing what you're doing and give those little kittens lots of love.  We're with you....  

Looks like they are okay on the new hard food which is good to see. I am still keeping a eye on the littlest one though to make sure but I think she is eating. I know hard good is not the best and I will get them on the wet at least once a day if not two. But I feel happier giving them a grain free hard food than the one they were on.
When I give them the wet food in the morning I won't know when they have ate last because they have a bit of dry food out during the night. So do I just put the wet down when I get up and given them half hour to an hour to eat it? I have three oz cans 2 of one brand and two of another. I am wanting to get them use to both brands but is that a bad thing to do when introducing wet food they have never had? I am going to go a tsp at a time but not sure how much I should end up giving them, follow the can guidelines? It talks about weighing the kittens to see how much I should feed but really should I need to?
I will leave it at that for now. I am sure there are more questions another time.

Hi,

This morning when I got up I opened a can of thee Wellness kitten and on two seprate plates I gave our two kitties one tsp each to try them out. They ate it happily but the little one after several seconds went over to her sisters plate to eat hers. I can tell the littles of the two likes the wet food more. The bigger of the two ate some but not as much. There is still some on her plate and she has choosing to eat the hard. The little one took some more bites of her sisters wet food. I think for a first try it was good! I think I will keep to 1tsp in the morning for a bit to see how they do on that. I plan to still provide dry food for them. They have both since the wet food are eating the dry food.

Oh when I switch to a different brand to give them variety I don't do it like I would if I was trying to get them off a certain food do I ? Not sure how I would go about that as I only have two cans of each brand right now. I think they are all chicken protein, I didn't see any other flavours but chicken in the kitten wet.

newkittyowner said:

Hi,

This morning when I got up I opened a can of thee Wellness kitten and on two seprate plates I gave our two kitties one tsp each to try them out. They ate it happily but the little one after several seconds went over to her sisters plate to eat hers. ....................

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 I'm so pleased they're both eating the new food, and even more so that your little kit is increasing her intake without competition! Paws crossed they both get on well with the change.

newkittyowner said:

Oh when I switch to a different brand to give them variety I don't do it like I would if I was trying to get them off a certain food do I ? Not sure how I would go about that as I only have two cans of each brand right now. I think they are all chicken protein, I didn't see any other flavours but chicken in the kitten wet.

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Once my kittens got beyond about 5 months and I felt OK about what they were OK eating (no intolerance or allergies) I used to swap around between a couple of varieties when ever I needed to, and if the better stuff was on offer they'd get it more often then I'd swap back when I needed . Don't know if it's recommended or not but it's never given me problems. I always think some variety in proteins etc is good and it's mostly the additives I worry about when chopping and changing.

Could the kittens run into stomach problems if I switch brands like diareah and upset stomach? So I should wait a few months and just have them on the one brand and then do a switch of brands? That wouldn't confuse them to switch back and forth? I think I am a bit lost as to how to go about switch between brands and flavours. 

You can feed different flavors/brands of canned food as often as you want. Most cats don't have a problem changing canned food flavors, and you want them to get used to a variety of tastes while they're still young.

If I have to refrigerate cat food, I usually stick the can inside a plastic baggie or cover it with saran wrap. If it's a larger amount of food than I think they'll eat in a day, I will find a plastic covered container to keep the wet cat food in, so it will last longer in the refrigerator, and not have the metallic taste it gets when sitting in a can. You can warm it a little via microwave (just a few seconds, depending on how much you are warming) before feeding. I find kittens are less finicky than grown cats, probably because they burn up a lot of calories running and playing. Sounds like you're having fun with them. Enjoy!