Is friskies okay for my kitten to eat?

So I just recently bought a Birman kitten (birmese/maincoon) he is six weeks old and he didn't look too good when i got him. His owner had been feeding him 9 lives pate. The first food I bought for him was ever pets 4 meal variety pack with chunks of food in it. I was chopping it up so it was like a pate and it just didn't seem to be doing him well. Yesterday I went and bought friskes pate poultry favorites pack and drayke ate it quite well. This morning I fed him it and he seems to be doing well. Is friskes okay to feed him? It's more in my price range and he seems happy so far. Is there any specific reason that this shouldn't Be fed to him?

Friskies and Nine Lives are "basic" foods, not the highest quality and not the greatest nutrition. It has a basic level of feline nutrition-- so it's better than feeding "human food" exclusively. But there are some better foods out there that aren't AS expensive. Nutrition is one area where it is worth investing more in order to see better returns on the investment. I recommend getting the best food you can afford, even if it means trimming a little bit from some other discretionary expense. I also understand how budgets can be tight. But trust me when I say that you will likely come out ahead in the long run with fewer health issues down the line if you start off with the best nutrition you can manage to get into your kitty. What you may save now with inexpensive and "lower shelf" food, you may spend later-- and then some-- with issues related to that diet later on. The goal her eis to get your kitten off to a good start nutritionally, and keep him well fed all his life with the best food you can provide. This isn't said to "guilt" you in anyway-- but too often I've seen people cut corners on nutrition and then the cat has things like diabetes, stones, and obesity because the diet isn't well suited for them... it's not good stuff that keeps them healthy. But it is still better than having a hungry and homeless kitty. But ONLY for a short term until things get better for the family and the kitty.

That said... Have you looked at Purina Pro Plan? This is a fairly decent retail food that's not terribly expensive, but it seems to be a bit higher quality than the other two. It's not much more pricey than Fancy Feast or even the other basics. But the ingredients are a lot better.

Also, I hope that your kitten is getting canned food. A totally dry diet isn't good for cats, because they don't tend to drink adequately. Dry-only diets have been linked to urinary issues, diabetes and obesity. Many dry diets are mainly grain based, including GMO corn. Cats aren't cows. They eat meat, not grain.

I also hope you feed a kitten-specific diet. Kittens need much more nutrition per size than adult cats. They need more calories (energy) and more of certain nutrients. Kitten foods address these things, while adult foods are formulated for the needs of adult cats beyond simply the caloric values. Many foods are listed as "all life stages", but I think it's better to feed a kitten diet to a kitten, especially one that young.

Congrats on your new baby, and here's to a lifetime of good health and purry kisses!

~Mackie

PS: A Birman is not a cross between a Maine Coon and a Burmese. It is a separate breed of its own. I hope you can post a photo of your new one as we LOVE cute little kitten pics here.. and check out this article from the CFA on the Birman breed.

http://cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsAB/Birman.aspx

Very good advice ^

I feed my Himalayan kitten Purina One kitten chow, it's adorable and has very good ingridents. Although I don't know how your baby would do on dry since he seems to be a picky eater.

I got him off of craigslist. I didn't really think he was a Birman because when I googled Birman it barely looked like him. But when I looked up Burmese Maine coon mix it looked like him. I paid a pricy fee too. He is super cute though.

I second the recommendation of Purina One.  I compared the ingredient/nutrient list of Purina One dry and ProPlan dry and they are quite similar.  In fact, Purina One Kitten Formula has a much higher protein content than other kibble.

As for the wet stuff, the bottom line is that high quality wet food costs more.  That being said, Friskies wet is part of my cat's rotating menu, but I closely read the labels and I am quite picky about the flavors I buy for her.  And yes, I toss in the low budget 9 Lives on occasion.  When she gets 9 lives wet I add a chopped boiled egg to the wet food and she eats it right up.  The egg makes up for the relatively low animal protein source in 9 Lives.  Eggs are inexpensive and I first got the idea to supplement the basic wet food with an egg when I cleaned out my refrigerator and was about to toss away some eggs that had been in the **** for over a month.

My gal prefers kibble.  I give her wet canned food on about three days during the week.