Kitten/young cat nutrition - fixing the past?

Hi all,

I just read something that said kittens need special kitten food when they are under a year for proper nutrition and had a moment of panic.

I have two rescues, one who was between 12-16 weeks when I got him and the other who was barely 8 weeks. I thought "kitten food" was just for the teeny guys, and now I am concerned that they haven't been getting proper nutrition all this time. One just hit the year mark (roughly) and the other is about 7 mos.

1. Am I freaking out over nothing?
2. Are there steps I can take to supplement their diets now?
3. Can I fix this if they are deficient?

Both guys have gotten clean bills of health from the vet, but we're talking physical/visual exams, and neuter/hernia repair on the little one.

They eat Nature's Instinct rabbit medallions and Pure Protein kibble. It is the only stuff I have found that doesn't upset their digestion, although my big guy still has slight digestive problems and a floppy tummy pooch despite being super active.

Thank you!!!

The only "special food" a growing kitten needs is kitten food, dry or canned. Kitten food just has a higher amount of vitamins and minerals and calories than adult food. Kittens can eat adult food (most adult foods are labeled as "for all life stages"), they just need more of it to meet their nutritional needs. Raw diets are a bit trickier since there isn't any commercial brand that is specifically for kittens and many homemade recipes are for geared towards adults. As long as you feed a good brand that is for "all life stages" or use a good raw recipe, a kitten will be just fine. Around 6 months of age or so you can switch completely to adult food. Some people like to feed kitten food until a year old but it's mostly preference, IMO.

Both your 1 year old and 7 month old can eat the same food. The NV  Instinct frozen raw medallions are fine to feed My 5 year old Aby has eaten that same raw food with no supplementation since he was weaned and he's grown up just fine

Your cats are not nutritionally deficient on the current diet nor do you need to supplement with anything at all. So don't worry

Some people don't like feeding dry and raw food because of possible digestive issues but if the dry is only a small amount, it's fine. Freeze dried raw would be a better option. NV makes freeze dried raw for cats.

Many neutered  and spayed cats have the floppy tummy pouch It's totally normal.

Thank you!!! Yes, I feed them the freeze dried raw kibble. I would switch to the medallions and frozen bites only, but I do travel for work and want them to be able to have access to food. My vet also recommended some crunchy food for tooth/gum help, and I already spend way more on their food than on mine, so splitting the frozen raw with kibble keeps me from going totally broke! Haha.

I wondered about the flappy pooch due to surgery, but since my younger kitty is still pretty lean and bony (but growing and getting heavier by the day) I wondered if there was something wrong. I feel better now. =)

My guys say thanks too!

Glad I was helpful

Dry food really doesn't clean a cat's teeth no matter what the vet says. Many vets aren't taught much about dental health and hygiene in vet school A few crunches of dry food isn't going to remove plaque and food particles, not even dental dry food. The only way to keep a cat's teeth clean is ideally to brush it with pet toothpaste regulary I brush my Aby's teeth daily (the breed is prone to dental problems) and my other cat's teeth every other day (she won't tolerate any more than that). I use CET pet toothpaste. Some raw feeders give raw  gizzards and bones to theri cats for dental health purposes. Short of toothbrushing, you can try dental rinses (won't remove stuck food particles, though) and dental chews (the CET ones are good. Feline Greenies and others are no different from dry food IMO).

My Aby is skinny and super active but still has the tummy pouch I'm not sure why the tummy pouch happens after neuter / spay but it's nothing to worry about.

Your cats look like they could be twins

Yes...everyone made so much fun of me when I brought the smaller guy home! I originally planned to get a darker cat, but I made a huge mistake when I picked him up. He was super teeny (~3.5-4 lbs or so) and curled right up against my collarbone and started purring. The lady who runs the cat rescue had just gotten him the night before, and he was a little bit of a mess! Smelly, rough fur, crusty ears, hernia, and not yet neutered. Now he's king of the house, and my bigger guy - who is a big chicken - defers to him. He is pretty active and pretty spastic but my threats to ship him off somewhere else (usually after he has knocked something over) are a bunch of hot air.

I'm not sure either of them would let me near them with a toothbrush. I will have to check the dental chews, thank you for the recommendation!