New cat daddy lost in cat food land

About a month ago a pregnant momma showed up on my doorstep. I of course took her in and now I have momma and 5 kittens. They just turned 3 weeks on 8/29. Before this I've never had a cat much less a momma and kittens. I have been feeding the momma (Callie) Royal Canin Mother and Babycat, and a can of Royal Canin Kitten Intensive once and sometimes twice a day. Is there a better alternative to what I'm feeding her? It's really straining on my finances but I don't want to short her or the kittens on any nutrition. I need all you cat gurus to please help me with some info. I took all of them to the vet on 8/29 and she said they were all looking healthy but told me I should be using Science Diet. Is that true? What do you good people recommend on feeding them that won't completely break me. I'm starting to get tired of bologna sandwiches and ramen noodles lol.

I don't have experience with mommas and young kittens, but from what I've seen in other threads the Royal Canin is a good option. There's no reason to switch to Hills. Most vets sell either Hills or Royal Canin, and are naturally biased towards the brand they sell when it comes to recommendations. I've also seen Purina Kitten Chow suggested as a good option by others (who have far more experience than I do) in the threads here.

Hopefully some others will chime in with suggestions too.

Thank you for taking this family in. The world needs more people like you.

I don't personally like Science Diet foods my family has had a lot of cats develop kidney disease on it ! Sounds like your currently feeding great food but I understand if you can't afford it. I currently feed my adult cats Purina Beyond dry food and Friskies canned. I'm no cat food expert and it's what I can afford. If I were you I would try Purina Kitten Chow dry for Momma and babies maybe some Fancy Feast or Friskies canned. Good luck

I know a lot of shelters use Purina One or Iams dry food and Friskies wet. I originally used both but now just feed Friskies wet exclusively. The one thing I don't like about Purina for example is the corn in it which seems to be in all non grain free foods. As for Science Diet yeah vets always seem to push it the vet my dog saw when I was a kid did the same and this was around 20 years ago.

Fancy Feast Classic (canned) is good and reasonably priced.  There is also Fancy Feast Kitten.  About 63 cents for a 3 oz can.  Look for foods w/ meat as the first ingredient.  Mom needs protein.  Kitten foods are recommended for her while nursing so  she gets the extra vitamins and nutrients and passed them on to her kittens.

If you have a Big Lots near you they sell Cat food.  I've seen Fancy Feast and I think Friskies, and Meow Mix.  They also carry dry foods.

You can buy good food for less on-line.  I've seen Chewy.com recommended by many.

Purina kitten chow and either Fancy Feast or Friskies wet food will be fine. The kittens will transition between 4-6 weeks to solids and will need kitten chow and wet food too, so it's important you feed them what you can afford, because you'll be buying more not less!

Those are absolutely beautiful kittens .

sarthur2 said:

Purina kitten chow and either Fancy Feast or Friskies wet food will be fine. The kittens will transition between 4-6 weeks to solids and will need kitten chow and wet food too, so it's important you feed them what you can afford, because you'll be buying more not less!

Those are absolutely beautiful kittens .

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So I bought some Sheba wet food. It's a 6 pack, 3 are chicken and 3 are beef. I feed her a can of chicken last night and everything seemed fine. This morning I gave her beef and left out some dry (Royal Canin mother and babycat) to snack on while I was at work. When I got home she had diarrhea for what seems like probably all day and had thrown up by her litter box. None of the dry food had even been touched. Is Sheba a bad food, is it the chicken or beef that might have done it, or??? It makes me scared and nervous, especially being all new to cats and kittens. I hope she has been able to feed them but I don't know how to tell. Any help and other info is always greatly appreciated.

It sounds like the food switch has upset her tummy. You may want to put her back on what she was eating before while she's nursing, until the kittens begin to wean.

And I guess no one mentioned that when you do switch foods, it needs to be gradual. You mix a little of the new in with the old initially, gradually adding in more of the new food each day. Not each feeding. Each day or two. This way the cat doesn't get sick, and if they do, it's during the process and you're either going too fast or the food doesn't agree with them, so you make decisions along the way. Sorry we did not tell you this.

I'm sorry your kitty was sick today. Sheba is not bad. Your cat's system is sensitive and accustomed to Royal Canin.

Are the babies nursing now? Do they seem content?

Ok thank you. I will just keep her on the RC for a while longer and start to slowly change her over to something I can more easily afford. She seems to be doing fine right now so I'll take that as a good sign. You people are a savior to me and Callie thanks you all also.

They are still nursing at this point. They just turned 3 weeks this past Saturday. They are being playful with each other and aren't making any noise.

I was just making sure they ate well enough today since Callie was ill. Sounds like they're good to go - not starving .

It seems they are doing OK. She has been a really good momma. Hopefully her tummy will get straightened back out pretty quick. She's not very playful like she normally is.

Awww. Poor gal. You could try giving her a scrambled egg. Cats usually like eggs, and it's easy on the tummy.

If her diarrhea continues a little canned pumpkin helps. Cats love pumpkin and it's good for diarrhea.

Will you be able to get more RC kitten tomorrow?

Luckily I work about a mile from a Petco and will grab more RC wet food for her tomorrow. I had meant to get some yesterday and forgot so I stopped by the Dollar General close to my house and just grabbed some Sheba. Would it be ok to go ahead and give her a spoonful of canned pumpkin? I always keep some in my pantry (I love pumpkin pies) lol. I'll grab some more eggs tomorrow also.

Sure!

I am sure you know, but don't use the sweetened pumpkin - it must be the natural one.

I wasn't for sure, but I did use the natural pumpkin. Luckily that's what I already had on hand. Callie and the kittens are doing so great now.