Transitioning from Kitten Food to Cat Food

Hi,

My cat is about a year old.  I've been feeding her kitten food since I got her (which was at about the 7 week mark).  I'm starting to transition her from kitten food to cat food.  I'm asking if A) this is is a good time to transition her and B) if the "kitten food vs cat food" question is even a real question.  A worker at a pet store that I visited said it was basically a marketing trick.  Is there any validity to this or am I fretting over nothing?

No, there is a difference of ingredients in kitten vs cat, as they do have different needs, slightly.

It's a good time to get her over to regular adult cat food, just do it gradually, over a couple weeks time.

A few days of 25% mixed with 75% of her current, then add more, and more.

This will keep her from getting an upset system.

catwoman707 said:

 
No, there is a difference of ingredients in kitten vs cat, as they do have different needs, slightly.

It's a good time to get her over to regular adult cat food, just do it gradually, over a couple weeks time.

A few days of 25% mixed with 75% of her current, then add more, and more.

This will keep her from getting an upset system.

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Catwoman, that's great advice! This is exactly what I was going to suggest.

As for the difference between cat and kitten food, it's pretty huge. Kitten food has a much higher calcium content, more protein, and a LOT more fat. Cats generally still grow a lot throughout the whole first year, so they can use all the extra nutrients. Once your cat gets past the first year though the extra fat can cause them to become overweight.