What to feed my ragdoll kittens, lost in a sea of brands and types!

My two ragdoll kittens, Iris and Maya, are nearing six months of age. I'm currently feeding them Purina One Kitten Formula as that is what their breeder recommended and prefers... She certainly knows her cats, but I still really want to find something even better for them. As one post I read stated there are three tiers of quality pet food: Grocery store (Meow Mix), Premium (Purina One, Science Diet), and Healthy (Wellness, Merrick, Drs Foster & Smith). I'd like to have my growing girls on the best food I can provide them. However I am incredibly intimidated by the responsibility and cost of a raw diet, and have been cautioned that if not prepared properly could give your cat food-born illnesses like salmonella. I would much prefer wet and/or dry food.

I have spent hours and hours reading reviews, forum posts, comparisons, opinion pieces. It seems everything I look at has cat owners who swear by that brand, and just as I am ready to make my decision I read someone who prefers another brand and why... and the search and frustration begins all over again! Think spinning around in a whirlpool in the ocean, or quick sand! 

For example.. tonight I started by looking at Wellness Core Grain Free Kitten Formula. I had almost bought this brand a few months ago on another of my cat food research sprees but was dissuaded by some forum post or another. Both the dry and the canned versions are at this moment sitting in my Amazon shopping cart! I chose to skim the reviews, research a bit more.. and I find myself reading a thread on this site comparing Wellness CORE to Merrick Before Grain- and the majority of replies recommended Merrick because it has a simpler ingredient list, lower carb content, fewer urinary tract issues. Alright! Time to look into Merrick BG. I then find that Merrick has chosen to rebrand their product into this Purrfect Bistro food... and it is not as good. What? I then look at Blue Buffalo food for awhile, then Tiki Cat Koolina Luau canned, Hound and Gatos canned, Orijen dry, Young Again dry, EVO, Petcurean GO! FIT + FREE Grain Free Chicken, Turkey + Duck Recipe or NOW FRESH Grain Free Kitten Food..... my head is spinning!

I know my question has probably been asked a thousand times before but at this point I'm at a loss of what to choose. It seems everyone likes something different. Who knows, maybe that means they're all great and I'm stressing out over this way more than I ought to I think that is partly because my perfect cat, Luna, passed away from kidney failure about 6 months ago. I still feel partly responsible and want to be certain I do everything in my power to have the healthiest cats I can now... She was dehydrated and I have read that the number one thing to help cats stay hydrated is to feed them wet food. However, my breeder said that it can be bad for their teeth, cause weight issues, etc etc and that ragdolls as a breed do not take well to it. She stressed to me more times than I can count how sensitive they are compared to other cats.

As per their breeder's instructions I currently have the two of them "free feeding" for their first year with food in their bowl at all times except to clean it. She feels growing kittens ought to have food available at all times, it prevents them from being hungry and then overeating. I also have been mixing a very minimal amount of coconut oil into their food to help keep their coats healthy. For their water I have ceramic bowls set around the house to drink from at their leisure, with one cat fountain that they just adore. The water bowl that I keep near their food I also supplement with Echinachea-Goldenseal extract and Probios powder. One of the kittens, Iris, gets mildly crusty eyes that I need to clean a few times a day and also sneezes occasionally. She suggested giving them L-Lysine and I found some treats with great reviews on Amazon, recommended 1-2 treats per day. But then I wonder about the fact that they're kittens and not full grown, do I give them half a treat per day?

Apologies for this post being miles long!

TL;DR: Two ragdoll kittens, confused cat-mommy, is there a simple answer to my question? What are the "best" brands for my little ones?

Also thought I could make note, my parents also have a very senior cat (Boomer, 17+ years old) who likes sneaking from my girls' bowl. I don't much mind, is it possible the higher fat etc content in the kitten food will actually prove better for him? He's always been slightly heavier, though never in an unhealthy manner, and he is definitely no longer in his prime.. losing weight, creaking joints. Is there such a thing as senior cat food? Is it really any different than regular cat food?

Figuring out the best diet for kitties can be a minefield and yes some people have very strong views with a fierce loyality to the diet they have chosen.

A wet food diet is the best.  I definitely don't like the idea of a cat even a kitten always having a full bowl of kibble.  Three meals of day of wet with a very small amount of kibble to nibble on between meals is fine.  The thing with kibble is it is so darn addictive and I like the idea of kittens getting used to the wet being their main food.

A high meat content wet without grains and a lot of fillers is best.  It really depends on your budget.  On the cheaper side the Fancy Feast Classics and some of the Friskies pates are pretty good.  On the high end foods like EVO, Hounds and Gatos, and Natures Variety Instinct are good.  There are others as well and what your kitties prefer is a huge part of it.  http://www.catinfo.org/  is a good web site written by a vet that explains the best diet and why it is the best.

l feel your pain    l was in your shoes about a year and a half ago when l decided to change what l was feeding my kitties.

Rather than give you my opinions on specific foods, l'll list a few of the considerations l made when choosing their foods, and you can formulate your own rotation of foods with your own opinions.

1/ Wet over dry. Water-depleted diets may contribute to urinary tract issues and chronic kidney problems.

2/ Cats should not eat fish with every meal. l look in the ingredients list of every food l buy because sometimes fish is hidden in the list, although it is not in the named flavour, eg. Poultry Platter.

3/ Some cans, mainly the small pop-tops, contain BPA. Some maunufacturers use large BPA cans too. l use this as a minor consideration since most large cans are BPA free, and l buy large cans when available, and freeze the leftovers.

4/ Carrageenan. Most canned foods contain carrageenan, so l do add the odd food that does not, even if it's of lesser quality.

5/ Raw. On the times l run out of homemade raw, l substitute with freeze-dried raw. l add extra water and the cats are willing to eat it that way.

6/ High meat protein, moderate fat, low carb. This is the framework "ratio" l look for.

There are a couple of hundred things you could look for   to help choose your cat foods. However, there is no perfect food. There are some good and some bad components to every food. This is part of the reason so many of us choose to use a wide rotation, so most shortfalls are covered, and the "bad stuff" isn't being ingested at every single meal.

Here is Dr. Pierson's list of canned cat foods, which really helped me with #6

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Definitely wet food over dry. That dry food keeps teeth clean is an absolute myth. Dry food also makes cats GAIN weight due to the high amount of carbs, not maintain a healthy weight as your breeder claims.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/health/does-dry-food-clean-the-teeth/

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-dry-food-is-bad-for-cats-and-dogs/

If you go to the link Andrya has provided, you'll find a big list of cat food and what the general percent of fat, carbs, and protein is. You want something that is 10% or below in carbs, high protein, and moderate fat. The protein should come from ANIMAL sources, NOT plant sources such as corn/wheat gluten or soy.

Have you thought about feeding raw using a premix? A premix is a mixture of supplements. You get the premix and mix it with a certain amount of meat to create a balanced meal. It does not remove the concern of bacteria, though, you still have to be careful about that.

The raw forum also includes homemade cooked food. If you're willing to put the time and effort into that, maybe that's what's right for you. Homemade is often considered the second highest level quality of feeding (#1 is raw).

Forgive me for laughing, but we are in a similar crazy boat!  Dandy is half ragdoll and about the same age.  The main difference is that when we first saw her, she was being fed Special Kitty dry and some kind of discount wet food that had no label and had the pop-tabs broken off.  When we picked her up, her dry food was from the Dollar Store.  We knew that anything was an improvement.

When she got Fancy Feast (we are far from Petco) she actually made yum-yum noises   I so wish I could have captured that.  Changing dry foods, if you decide to keep on part or all dry, needs to be done very gradually.  I actually found the best instructions on the Purina site.  We settled on Wellness Kitten Health (green bag) dry and are trying to feed mostly wet.  She only gets the dry at night.

I also lost a cat to urinary issues and that is why I am going through this too.  I had a fountain for her and Dandy likes to drink from it too.  Best of luck whatever you decide.  Some cats, like some people, seem to be naturally long-lived.  Dandy's "breeder" (obviously not the best cat person) had her old cat live to something like 20 when she was run over in the street.

One thing that has stuck with me is that it doesn't matter how good the food is if it isn't inside the cat

DianaMc said:

One thing that has stuck with me is that it doesn't matter how good the food is if it isn't inside the cat

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  Amen to that.

Can't say how grateful I am to all of you for the empathy and suggestions! I really appreciate your posts. If there is one consensus I've gotten from reading your responses is that wet food is the way to go, especially after reading the links provided by Raintyger. Not only is it healthier in pretty much every way, but I think it will make feeding a little bit simpler for me, and more enjoyable for the girls getting different flavors.. I do still have a number of questions though.

1. Phasing them from dry food to wet. I plan to continue feeding dry for some of this transitional time between the different types of food. Perhaps a mix of Wellness CORE kittens and/or Blue Healthy Growth Kitten Dry Cat Food into their Purina One. Then the first wet food I introduce to them would be the wet version of the same Wellness CORE kitten food... then slowly introducing some of the other brands I've chosen: Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free canned, Tiki Cat Gourmet Whole Food, EVO 95%, Hound and Gatos, Blue Healthy Gourmet Flaked Entrees, and Fancy Feast Classics. I am a little bit confused as to why its so important to carefully phase in one type of dry to the other, and its okay to give a wide variety of wet food as a part of a balanced diet. Do cats generally just respond differently to them?

2. Kitten food vs cat food. Many of the brands suggested don't really have a specific kitten formula other than Fancy Feast's Kitten Tender Turkey Feast. Is the idea of kitten-specific food more of a gimmick than anything? Would I be better off buying the FF Kitten or the Classics? How should I adjust what I'd feed to a kitten as opposed to an adult other than portion? Kittens seem to have greater nutritional needs than adult cats, so wouldn't I want to stick with kitten formulas until they're 12 months?

3. Stella and Chewy's. Opinions? Are they considered raw? I am intrigued by the premix + meat suggestion... I will have to spend some time looking at the raw forum to learn more about it. It just seems like such a big undertaking to my less-informed self right now. Perhaps learning a bit more about it will change my views.

4. How to continue supplementing coconut oil in their meals with wet food... do I continue it at all? Just mix in with the wet like I do now with dry? What's you're take on the L-Lysine treats?   Is the exact thing I would buy.

Thanks again for all of the responses! DianaMC, I came across your own thread on here and found it quite helpful. Makes me smile knowing I've got someone out there in pretty much the exact same boat as me! I decided against Weruva for now given its lower calorie content, perhaps when they are older... although the entree and sides method lauraG suggested is definitely intriguing. Andrya thank you so much for the simple list of 6 most important things. As you said with all the hundreds of considerations out there being used to justify one brand or the other it can get very overwhelming. Denice, your initial suggestions helped me feel confident in those foods I had already been looking at, and that catinfo site is an amazing resource.

I also thought I should put out a link to this site I found: http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/  Seems to have a lot of thought put into it and is updated very regularly.

AvANGELAvA said:

 
Can't say how grateful I am to all of you for the empathy and suggestions! I really appreciate your posts. If there is one consensus I've gotten from reading your responses is that wet food is the way to go, especially after reading the links provided by Raintyger. Not only is it healthier in pretty much every way, but I think it will make feeding a little bit simpler for me, and more enjoyable for the girls getting different flavors.. I do still have a number of questions though.

1. Phasing them from dry food to wet. I plan to continue feeding dry for some of this transitional time between the different types of food. Perhaps a mix of Wellness CORE kittens and/or Blue Healthy Growth Kitten Dry Cat Food into their Purina One. Then the first wet food I introduce to them would be the wet version of the same Wellness CORE kitten food... then slowly introducing some of the other brands I've chosen: Nature's Variety Instinct Grain-Free canned, Tiki Cat Gourmet Whole Food, EVO 95%, Hound and Gatos, Blue Healthy Gourmet Flaked Entrees, and Fancy Feast Classics. I am a little bit confused as to why its so important to carefully phase in one type of dry to the other, and its okay to give a wide variety of wet food as a part of a balanced diet. Do cats generally just respond differently to them?

2. Kitten food vs cat food. Many of the brands suggested don't really have a specific kitten formula other than Fancy Feast's Kitten Tender Turkey Feast. Is the idea of kitten-specific food more of a gimmick than anything? Would I be better off buying the FF Kitten or the Classics? How should I adjust what I'd feed to a kitten as opposed to an adult other than portion? Kittens seem to have greater nutritional needs than adult cats, so wouldn't I want to stick with kitten formulas until they're 12 months?

3. Stella and Chewy's. Opinions? Are they considered raw? I am intrigued by the premix + meat suggestion... I will have to spend some time looking at the raw forum to learn more about it. It just seems like such a big undertaking to my less-informed self right now. Perhaps learning a bit more about it will change my views.

4. How to continue supplementing coconut oil in their meals with wet food... do I continue it at all? Just mix in with the wet like I do now with dry? What's you're take on the L-Lysine treats?   Is the exact thing I would buy.

Thanks again for all of the responses! DianaMC, I came across your own thread on here and found it quite helpful. Makes me smile knowing I've got someone out there in pretty much the exact same boat as me! I decided against Weruva for now given its lower calorie content, perhaps when they are older... although the entree and sides method lauraG suggested is definitely intriguing. Andrya thank you so much for the simple list of 6 most important things. As you said with all the hundreds of considerations out there being used to justify one brand or the other it can get very overwhelming. Denice, your initial suggestions helped me feel confident in those foods I had already been looking at, and that catinfo site is an amazing resource.

I also thought I should put out a link to this site I found: http://www.naturalcatcareblog.com/2010/12/the-7-best-natural-commercial-cat-foods-so-far/  Seems to have a lot of thought put into it and is updated very regularly.

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1. Cats react differently to dry food. Their digestive systems are a bit sensitive, so quick changes can bring on diarrhea. This isn't the case with wet food, though. With most cats you can switch pretty freely without penalties.

2. Kitten food is richer and more nutrient dense. I haven't had too many kittens, so I don't know when exactly to stop with the kitten food. The last time I just kept my kitten on it until 1 year, but I've heard much shorter cutoff dates.

3. Stella and Chewy's is a very well respected brand. They have small sample packets at some stores, go get some and try them out on your kitty. Mine didn't like rehydrated food, so I just gave the Stella & Chewy's as a dehydrated treat. I used TCFeline when feeding with a premix. They have a trial pack. It's pretty easy, you just put it in a food processor with deboned meat to make a balanced meal. Takes all the work away of buying a bunch of supplements and figuring out how to properly prepare nutritionally balanced meals. I've heard some members refer to the TCFeline as "kitty crack," due to its high taste appeal with kitties.

http://tcfeline.com/

Another popular supplement is Alnutrin. They have samples, too.

http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/alnutrin_supplements.html

4. Just mix the coconut oil in their food. Most cats are supposed to like coconut oil, so you can even try having them lick it off your fingers if it'll stay solid long enough.

People more knowledgeable than I will come along, but maybe I can help with a couple of points.

I have read and been told that an abrupt change in dry food can cause intestinal upsets such as diarrhea.  I have no reason to doubt this and some reasons to believe it.  Apparently they are not as sensitive to most of the changes in wet foods although there's always the odd exception. Once you've had an animal with the runs in the house, you do try to avoid it.

Yes, the kittens need more calories so the kitten foods are higher.  The FF one I saw had milk in it so I thought it might be for very tiny kittens.  I've never seen much about it.  Weruva would be a better buy in the larger cans and perhaps Dandy's reaction is not typical.  She really does seem hungrier after she eats it, even if we give her other food too.  She's been eating like crazy lately and I wonder if we're going to have our first fat cat.  Just to clarify, this is the Weruva with gravy; I think someone said their other line (Cats in the Kitchen) had more meat. 

 Re kitten vs cat food.    You mentioned that many of the brands discussed don't have a separate " kitten food"  .  However many of them are approved for all life stages.   That means they have to meet the more stringent requirements for feline growth ( kittens!) and reproduction ( pregnant and nursing queens) .     Personally,  I  feed my kittens , adult cats ( both neutered and whole incl pregnant / lactating)  " all life stages"  food .  

The  type of cat food where there is the biggest difference is in the lower to lower- mid quality kibble.    That's because the regular cat food of that type is usually too low in animal protein for a growing kitten and much of it is filled with cheap plant-based ingredients  ( often grains)  that cats don't need.   The balance of macronutrients is far from ideal for adult cats and definitely not adequate for growing kittens.     So they make a separate kitten food.

In canned food,  there's usually far less difference in the adult and kitten food ,  and kittens usually do fine on the regular food even if it does not specifically say kittens or " all life stages" .  Actually I would tell someone    trying to feed kittens on a budget, that I would rather see them feed Fancy Feast Classic or even Friskies pate as most of the diet than a grocery store dry kitten food.  

But to be extra certain,  you can check to see if it says on the label that it meets levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages .  ( this is a US  thing,  but it sounds like that's where you are. )

 BTW,  here is a chart on Dr Pierson's site with nutrient info for many canned and commercial raw cat foods.   http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

The Weruva said it was for adult cats.  Perhaps that means it does not meet the kitten requirements?  I did not mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with this company, just that my cat can eat more of this food than I could afford to feed her!  I suspect it might be a good choice for a cat that needed to limit calories and was finicky.

Some foods are indeed labeled for all lifestages and I appreciate the explanation for that.  I didn't know what it really meant.

   Thanks Diana,  I didn't remember what the Weruva cans said.   but I thought it possible it might be  for adults /  maintenance.  

It's about half the calories of some others that are higher in fat.   ( for example Wellness chicken is at least twice as many calories as Weruva Paw Licken Chicken and that is all due to the different amounts of fat because both are low in carbs.  So the Weruva is a  good choice if you're trying to feed cats fewer calories but make sure they get  a diet high in animal protein   ( and you don't feel like making your own food) .

 I didn't take it that you were suggesting anything wrong with the company.      Maybe Dandy just really LIKES the Weruva!   so she wants MORE of it!    LOL ,  it is probably since it IS lower calorie.  so eating a can of that is like eating 1/2 or  2/3  of the same size can of some other foods. 

But I know my Sammy  (very food motivated!), when he eats a kind of food he loves,  he begs for more! .   If I let him just have as much as he wanted,   I'm afraid he'd be enormous.  

My adult rescue cat Boo Berry loves Stella and Chewy's. The others do not. At all. He also likes Primal Raw freeze dried. The others do not. At all.   The Stella and Chewy's has a pleasant smelling broth when you mix it with water. It asks for warm water so I heat more than 1/4 cup of water (not quite 1/2 cup) for 1/2 cup of the nuggets. Then I mash it all together to get a good soup going on with the broth. Of course, I must break apart  then sprinkle Life Essentials freeze dried chicken on top of it because I did it once. If he finishes it all he gets a "good boy" pinch of super cat nip! He has this little bark/meow--short, staccato and loud meows---when the water is heating.  The Primal freeze dried doesn't take as much water and doesn't seem as meaty to me.

I suppose you can do what everyone else does and buy a small fortune of different kinds to see what they like. Its good to mix it up so that they get exposure to lots of different kinds (within reason as to quality) and then see what they enjoy. As with most cats, they samples will go over like gangbusters but once you get a whole case of the food that makes a difference---they won't touch it. (Cat Law).

Hi... I'll be getting my Ragdoll in a week and the breeder just feeds raw, now It concerns me about the kitty dragging the raw through the house and spreading ecoli, but I did find a raw that is completely balanced and it comes in chicken,turkey,lamb,and I believe more. It's called instinct raw by Natures [something]Does any one know about this product I know it's expensive but I don't want to prepare something and do it wrong .This food is frozen and you take out the amount you need and that's it...........Scotty

OH I forgot it comes in lamb as well I don't think lamb carries ecoli???????????

Nature's Variety is a widely available and well respected brand. They also treat the raw food to remove bacteria yet preserve as much nutrients as possible.

Wow great to know!  I think that is great and i'll put my Mi-ki and Maltese on as well

E.coli is a bacteria commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded animals.  Poor handling of any meat could contaminate it but it is generally killed by sufficiently high temps.  This is usually fecal contamination which is why you really want your waiter/waitress to wash their hands. Food can also be contaminated by cross-contamination such as preparing a salad on a surface that was used to prepare meat and wasn't sanitized.  That was a lot more than you wanted to know, I bet.

Lamb isn't immune from e. coli.  I'll guess we don't hear much about it because people in the U.S. don't eat much lamb.  E. coli is much more likely in ground meat than, say, a roast.

Hi...well to my dismay I knew all that, but thanx any way, what I didn't know was lamb is included. Common sense will tell me that cross contamination will put it right on the lamb. It doesn't answer the ? Raw will most likely be carried out of the dish and into your house and contaminate it. although someone answered by telling me that ecoli is destroyed by freezing or dehydrating ??? not sure how but makes me feel better because I don't want to take home a kitty that won't eat 

Scotty Parno said:

 
Hi...well to my dismay I knew all that, but thanx any way, what I didn't know was lamb is included. Common sense will tell me that cross contamination will put it right on the lamb. It doesn't answer the ? Raw will most likely be carried out of the dish and into your house and contaminate it. although someone answered by telling me that ecoli is destroyed by freezing or dehydrating ??? not sure how but makes me feel better because I don't want to take home a kitty that won't eat 

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I guess I wasn't clear - sorry.  Lamb, a warm-blooded animal, would have the e. coli bacteria in its own intestines/feces, just like cows, birds, people, etc. I don't know how they treat it to kill the bacteria either but to be safe I'd wash my hands anyway.  Raw meat shouldn't automatically be contaminated unless it's been mishandled; i.e., a t-bone should have no contact with intestinal contents.  Anyway, lamb is included because they are warm-blooded little devils , but tasty.

I was curious about the Nature's Variety and looked it up.  Here is their Q&A link and they advise that you use the basic raw meat handling precautions (my words). It seems responsible.

http://www.naturesvariety.com/learning/raw/QandA