Kitten Food Questions

blueangel479

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The people I got Smokey and Blue from told me to feed them adult cat food. They said their vet told them this because they have adult cats in the house and knew they would not be able to keep the foods separate... However, everything I have read says that kittens need kitten food. Furthermore, they are getting gas and diarrhea... which I really think is caused by the food. (Is that possible?) The kittens are 4 months old and currently being fed Purina Cat Chow. I know on the bag it says "For Cats of All Ages" but that still isn't "Kitten Food." Am I right in switching to kitten food or should I leave the food as is? If it is the right thing, what are the best dry kitten foods? There are so many out there... it is really confusing....


Thanks.
 

louse76

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Zero is 7 (though he's big and the vet says he's more like 8) months old. I went to the vet today and asked about this. She said that it would be fine to start feeding him adult food now.

But regardless, if you change food, you want to change it gradually. Therefore you want to mix a small portion in, then slightly larger then slightly larger, until eventually the new food is all that is there. My vet told me that.
 

jili

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My kittens have had some bleeding in their bowel movements, so among a few other things my vet has encouraged me to move them to an adult cat food (they're 5 months).

Maybe you might want to consider moving them to a different kind of food altogether--maybe one of the more premium brands (Nutro, Iams,etc that have a higher meat content and use less grain fillers) and maybe you might have less problems w/gas and diarrhea.

My kittens were on Iams kitten formula and we were having some problems w/diarrhea also. We haven't had that problem since they've been on the Nutro.
 

newtocats

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My kitten loved nutro natural care. It is not going to do your kitten any harm that you gave it cat food, but your should switch it to a kitten formula immediatly. Kittens require more fat, protein, vitamins and minerals that are in "kitten formulas" rather than in cat foods.

Also, it is important to feed your kitten a premium brand like Nutro, Science Diet or Iams. Not only do they have much higher quality ingredients, each bag is the exact replication of a specific recipe. With grocery brands (non-premium brands), each bag is made up of different things to fill the nutrition requirements. That is not a good thing.

Feeding your kitten a premium brand also reduces the amount that they eat because they are filling their nutrient levels much faster than eating a "cheaper" food. This also reduces the amount of stool your kitten produces and makes healthier, harder and darker stools that are easier to clean up. Less stomach gas too.

If you are confused about what brands are premium, visit your local PetSmart or Petco. "Authority" cat food at PetsMart is also a good economically premium brand own by PetsMart. A good general, beginning list of premium foods include Nutro, Science diet, Eukanuba, Authority and Nature's Recipe. See what your kitten likes and thrives on.

Again, I can't stress enough how important a kitten formula is for your little one. It gives him/her every advantage of developing into it's full potential by providing the right amount of nutrition for every cell in his/her body.

Good luck and let us know how your kitten is doing! Would love to see some pics!

Take care, hoped this helped...and sorry so long!!

Kara
 
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blueangel479

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Thanks everyone.. I asked the vet and someone at Petco and both said the adult cat food could definitely be causing the diarrhea. So we switched to Purina One Growth and Development for now. Almost immediately the diarrhea went away, and haven't seen it since

They seem much more energetic now as well. Is Purina a bad brand?
 

lovemypets

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I feed my cats and kittens a combination of adult (usually Whiskas) and kitty food since they all eat out of the same dish. I have used Purina Kitty Chow for awhile, with any new kitties we get. It may not be a premium brand, but our cats like it and they are healthy.

I do supplement their diet with cat treats. They love this one, especially: Mark & Chappell Treat-Ums Cat Treats,
Cranberry flavor. (I get it at PetSmart.) It helps with urinary tract health. There are a ton of other treats that target specific health concerns, if you think your cats may need them. (Then there are ones just for fun. -like catnip bubbles)
 

chelle

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Alley tends to eat Patches food all the time,she won't eat her
kitten food,she's almost 4 months old now and Patches is
3 years old.no sense buying her food that she won't eat
 
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