When do I switch them to adult food?

I have 3 kittens who are on a high quality kitten food. They are 8 and 7 months old. The boys are both 14 lbs and the girl is about 6 lbs. 

I gave them adult kibble before and all life stages, but they ate A LOT more of it - at least double. Together they are eating 3 cups a day. With the two boys they are getting a bit chunky. I can feel their ribs still, but not as well as before. I have about one month left of kitten food, should I start mixing in adult or wait longer? 

You didn't mention what kind of cats or what brand you're feeding, but as long as there are no dental problems and their mouth/jaw can handle the larger kibble, my vet recommends switching to regular cat food at about 8 months.

Dry food is already calorie dense. One cup will usually put you in the 500-600 calorie range which is double what a typical 8-10lb. cat needs, unless they're very active. Kitten food is usually higher in protein, fat and calories which is why my vet recommends getting away from it before the weight problems start.

Personally, I haven't done a whole lot of comparisons between kitten & cat dry foods, but from what I have seen, the nutritional differences are typically minimal. Minimal enough to make me think that the "kitten" are "senior" labels are just a way to get you to spend a couple extra bucks.

You could start transitioning now if you wanted to, or you could wait a couple more weeks. I've done it in a week, but every cat is different. The litterbox will let you know.

At 7 and 8 months, you can start feeding them adult food. However, I would look for a high quality all-stages food, preferably wet food. Kitten food is higher in animal protein and fat, which is actually better for all cats, being obligate carnivores. Dry foods are generally too high in carbs for cats. Protein and fat are more satisfying to cats, which is probably why they are eating more of the adult food (more carbs, less satisfying). Here are some good articles on choosing species-appropriate food for your cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

http://www.catinfo.org/

ProCat said:

 
You didn't mention what kind of cats or what brand you're feeding, but as long as there are no dental problems and their mouth/jaw can handle the larger kibble, my vet recommends switching to regular cat food at about 8 months.

Dry food is already calorie dense. One cup will usually put you in the 500-600 calorie range which is double what a typical 8-10lb. cat needs, unless they're very active. Kitten food is usually higher in protein, fat and calories which is why my vet recommends getting away from it before the weight problems start.

Personally, I haven't done a whole lot of comparisons between kitten & cat dry foods, but from what I have seen, the nutritional differences are typically minimal. Minimal enough to make me think that the "kitten" are "senior" labels are just a way to get you to spend a couple extra bucks.

You could start transitioning now if you wanted to, or you could wait a couple more weeks. I've done it in a week, but every cat is different. The litterbox will let you know.

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They get a mixture between Go! Fit & Free (GF Chicken, Turkey & Duck) and Nutrition First Kitten (it's the same price as adult).

They don't have a weight problem yet, but I think it could happen soon. The boys, especially the one, are starting to put on a little extra weight around the belly. I can feel the ribs, but have noticed they are a bit chunkier. I want to keep them healthy weights. According to the bags, as a group they should be getting 2 cups. The girl eats a lot less than the boys. It's hard to feel them separately because they are all grazers even with wet food. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vball91  
 
At 7 and 8 months, you can start feeding them adult food. However, I would look for a high quality all-stages food, preferably wet food. Kitten food is higher in animal protein and fat, which is actually better for all cats, being obligate carnivores. Dry foods are generally too high in carbs for cats. Protein and fat are more satisfying to cats, which is probably why they are eating more of the adult food (more carbs, less satisfying). Here are some good articles on choosing species-appropriate food for your cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/choosing-the-right-food-for-your-cat

http://www.catinfo.org/

I always feed high quality foods. The only options for us are dry or wet. We can't have raw meat sitting around, out in the open. Especially being all over the floor, then transferring from the cats onto other things. We have a member of the family with a compromised immune system, as well as one of our dogs (who use to eat raw). 

When we first got the kittens we only fed wet (simply nourish and go, and tried other brands), because I know it's better for them. But it gives two of them runny, explosive poops no matter the brand, type, how much or how little they get or how often I keep them on it.  So that makes wet not really an option. They drink a lot of water, they are all water cats and if we leave the taps dripping for them and their fountain on they drink a lot. 

If they are already starting to get "chunky", and you continue to free feed, my guess is that they will soon be overweight.  It happened to me with one of my boys.  As a kitten he was what I called "chunky" and everyone told me "you can't overfeed him, he's a growing kitten".  Well, I continued on as I was doing, free feeding everyone, and he continued to be the same little piggy who switched from kitten food to a good quality adult food, and at his One Year vet visit we were told he needed to lose FOUR lbs .  And it's been a battle ever since.    We tried feeding the highest protein, lowest carb kibble we could find, but the problem was that since every grazed, he could nibble out of everybody's bowl and never lost any weight.  The only answer was to get them all on scheduled feedings, and, for us, switch them all to raw.  I know you said that won't work for you,  and it doesn't work for everyone.  Two of mine are back on canned now, but my piggy is still on raw, and even though he is still slightly pudgy, I don't worry about him getting diabetes or other health issues because I know that at least he isn't eating any carbs (and his Vet agreed that as long as he's eating raw we don't need to worry about trying to get him to lose any more, since he's eating so healthy) 

So, bottom line, at 14 lbs and only 8 months, unless your boys are large breeds, I would think they might be eating a little too much at this point.  Our Vet said at 8 months they could be switched over to adult food, so if you have enough kitten food for a month, I would probably start the slow transition.  As ProCat mentioned, the litterbox will tell you if your are transitioning a little too fast.

As far as transitioning them to scheduled feedings, maybe this thread will be helpful:  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264675/...ties-to-timed-meals-and-new-food#post_3408209