Wet Kitten Food Confusion

jasper95 · Jul 5, 2016

Hey everyone! I've become very overwhelmed and confused by what wet food to feed my cat after some health issues and questionable vet recommendations.

My 11 week-old kitten Jasper was eating some sort of Friskies chunks in gravy wet food at his foster home before I adopted him, and once I adopted him we transitioned onto Weruva Cats in the Kitchen (the chicken one and the turkey one) and Tiki Cat (the chicken in consomme). He loved these foods, and I was happy that they were grain-free, made by reputable companies, with quality ingredients. However, he has had bad diarrhea since I got him, but he has an ongoing issue with worms so I never thought about his food playing a role.

I took him to the vet for a wellness check today re: the worm issues and a nasty URI, and the vet asked me what I was feeding him. When I said Weruva she was very concerned, and said that every cat she has seen on Weruva either had bad constipation or bad diarrhea. Though I had read some bad reviews (which I feel like come with every food), it seemed like it was overwhelmingly quite popular and was considered a high-quality cat food. She also said that "all life stages" foods like Weruva aren't appropriate for kittens, and that I should feed a kitten formula. She recommended Purina Pro Plan, Iams, Royal Canin, or Science Diet.

The issue is that I am really not a fan of any of those brands--lots of meat by-products, high carbs, recall history, etc. Royal Canin in particular has been under a lot of fire for making a lot of cats and dogs sick. I feel like a bad pet owner not listening to the vet, but I am really hesitant to switch to any of those foods. I called the rescue agency I got Jasper from, and they recommended Friskies poultry platter, but that has the same issue with by-products that I was concerned about, and is not specifically formulated for kittens. I'm more than happy to switch from Weruva if there's any chance it's causing Jasper some distress, but what do I switch to?

I got some Wellness kitten formula to try, as well as Blue Buffalo kitten, but wandering the pet store aisles today I was really overwhelmed by all the choices, especially when I thought my expensive, high-quality food was doing the trick and it apparently it is not. I'd love some advice on wet kitten foods to try that could work for my little guy. Thanks in advance!

Willowy · Jul 5, 2016

All Life Stage foods have to be formulated to be appropriate for kittens. That's why they're for ALL life stages! :lol3: I'm not sure what the vet was thinking.

I like Fancy Feast kitten (turkey kind; I don't like to start them on too much fish). Yeah there are by-products but they aren't listed first, and it doesn't have any grain or other plant ingredients (tbh, plant products in a cat food bother me more than by-products). Pro Plan looks similar. I like Iams' ingredients but I've never had a kitten who liked it, lol. I don't want to pay for Hill's or RC, so expensive!

Are Weruva and Tiki Cat formulated for all life stages? I know Weruva is very low in calories so it might be marked for adults only. If you feed it to a kitten, just keep in mind he may need extra to get enough calories. And remember---if it's upsetting his tummy, it doesn't matter how high-quality it is! If it disagrees with him it isn't right for him. But the tummy troubles might not be from the food, might take a little experimenting.

thegreystalker · Jul 5, 2016

I won't start another 'Grain vs. Grain Free' debate here. These days I feed my cat meals that contain little or no grain. But when I adopted my kitten I gave her Purina Healthy Kitten Formula kibble, with no bad effects. Your mileage may vary. Just try to regularly give your kitten high protein options. Purina makes some affordable and decent quality kitten wet food recipes. Look at Purina Beyond, for example. And the first few ingredients in Purina Pro Plan wet Chicken Entree are muscle meat and liver. Yes, the fourth ingredient is Meat By Product, but MBP are a healthy meal for cats. Organ parts contain vitamins like Vitamin A, an essential nutrient for young cats.

Incidentally, keep in mind that the gelee in the recipe you fed your cat could have caused the diarrhea.

jano437 · Jul 6, 2016

jasper95 said:
Hey everyone! I've become very overwhelmed and confused by what wet food to feed my cat after some health issues and questionable vet recommendations.

My 11 week-old kitten Jasper was eating some sort of Friskies chunks in gravy wet food at his foster home before I adopted him, and once I adopted him we transitioned onto Weruva Cats in the Kitchen (the chicken one and the turkey one) and Tiki Cat (the chicken in consomme). He loved these foods, and I was happy that they were grain-free, made by reputable companies, with quality ingredients. However, he has had bad diarrhea since I got him, but he has an ongoing issue with worms so I never thought about his food playing a role.

I took him to the vet for a wellness check today re: the worm issues and a nasty URI, and the vet asked me what I was feeding him. When I said Weruva she was very concerned, and said that every cat she has seen on Weruva either had bad constipation or bad diarrhea. Though I had read some bad reviews (which I feel like come with every food), it seemed like it was overwhelmingly quite popular and was considered a high-quality cat food. She also said that "all life stages" foods like Weruva aren't appropriate for kittens, and that I should feed a kitten formula. She recommended Purina Pro Plan, Iams, Royal Canin, or Science Diet.

The issue is that I am really not a fan of any of those brands--lots of meat by-products, high carbs, recall history, etc. Royal Canin in particular has been under a lot of fire for making a lot of cats and dogs sick. I feel like a bad pet owner not listening to the vet, but I am really hesitant to switch to any of those foods. I called the rescue agency I got Jasper from, and they recommended Friskies poultry platter, but that has the same issue with by-products that I was concerned about, and is not specifically formulated for kittens. I'm more than happy to switch from Weruva if there's any chance it's causing Jasper some distress, but what do I switch to?

I got some Wellness kitten formula to try, as well as Blue Buffalo kitten, but wandering the pet store aisles today I was really overwhelmed by all the choices, especially when I thought my expensive, high-quality food was doing the trick and it apparently it is not. I'd love some advice on wet kitten foods to try that could work for my little guy. Thanks in advance

Question, You said that Royal Canin has been under fire for making Cats and Dogs sick. May I ask, where you heard this? To my knowledge, they are not having any issues with there foods.

sungjae pae · Jul 6, 2016

royal canin is not good also expensive nobody recommends royalcanin

sungjae pae · Jul 6, 2016

canfood ziwipeak tikicat insticnt those are good

dry food orijen go evo corewellness

Kat0121 · Jul 6, 2016

Jano437 said:
Question, You said that Royal Canin has been under fire for making Cats and Dogs sick. May I ask, where you heard this? To my knowledge, they are not having any issues with there foods.

Royal Canin is IMO overpriced junk.

The reviews from others aren't flattering either

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/royal_canin.html

thegreystalker · Jul 6, 2016

Royal Canin is high-priced stuff that seems to have a great many dissatisfied customers.

http://petfoodtalk.com/catfoodreviews/royal-canin/

jasper95 · Jul 6, 2016

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Kat0121 posted the exact link I was going to post! I haven't seen anything about an official recall, but a lot of customers have been reporting illness in their pets eating RC as I've seen on Consumer Affairs. I've tried him on Wellness kitten since I posted, and he'll eat it mixed 50/50 with Weruva but I tried giving him only Wellness for the first time this evening and he is refusing to eat it. However, his stool is already looking more solid, so I think the vet was right about the Weruva. TheGreyStalker, your point about the gelee may have been right on. I may pop over to Petsmart now and see what they have there--I usually shop at a local pet food shop so I'm not entirely familiar with a lot of the brands they have there. But as far as I know, most of the "high quality" brands like Weruva, Tiki Cat, etc. don't have kitten formulas, and I feel like I should stick with at least some part of the vet's suggestion.

TheGreyStalker, I'll check out some of the Purina products like the Pro Plan and Beyond--it's good to hear they worked well for your kitten.

I may just grab a can each of some different brands and see what he likes. I'll try Blue Buffalo, Purina, and what else would you all recommend? I believe Nutro is sold at Petsmart, and I've seen some people on here who seem to like that brand.

I'm just trying to keep some perspective and remember that the best food for him is whatever works for him and that it may not necessarily be what's considered the "best". Thanks again for all the help and support!

sungjae pae · Jul 6, 2016

I am surr petsmart stuff is not good their can dry food quality is not good if u go to chewy.com there are lots of better food

jasper95 · Jul 6, 2016

Thanks Sungjae Pae!

The only problem is that I've tried a lot of the generally considered "high quality" wet kitten food brands on Chewy and Jasper refuses to eat them. The only ones I haven't tried are Earthborn, Impulse, Canidae, and Solid Gold. I stopped by Petsmart and grabbed some of the kitten or all life stages food and offered little bits of all of them to Jasper to see what he likes.

He went CRAZY for Simply Nourish chicken for kittens, Nutro Soft Chicken Loaf for kittens, and Fancy Feast Gravy Lover's. He wouldn't eat Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, Purina One, or Purina Beyond. I'm starting to think he really doesn't like standard pate foods, or that eating the soft Weruva for so long turned him off that style. He seems to like gravy, chunks, or at very soft loafs (like Nutro).

I'll try and order some of the Chewy brands I haven't tried, but in the meantime are any of those Petsmart options considered okay foods?

tuffsmom · Jul 6, 2016

My cat Tuff has been on Fancy Feast Classic since about 4 months. He loves it and is thriving. Has a beautiful coat. I don't feed any fish flavors, just rotate the chicken, turkey with giblets and beef. He is a year old now.When he first "arrived" outside my house he was about 3 months old and I fed him Purina Kitten Chow. He loved it, but after reading several threads on cat nutrition I decided to switch to an all wet diet. Hope this info is helpful.

lisahe · Jul 6, 2016

The Nutro foods are particularly decent and cats love them--ours especially enjoy the minced chicken. All Nutro foods are pretty caloric, making them good for kittens. I don't know much about Simply Nourish but would probably avoid or limit most Fancy Feast lines other than the pates (classics) because most are loaded with wheat gluten, which raises carb levels. Just be sure to check labels!

I find it odd that your vet was so against Tiki, which we feed and about which I've heard so many good comments: their chicken and meat recipes are good caloric food! Weruva, OTOH, does require some research because many of their recipes are high in carbs, often thanks to potato or tapioca starch; others are heavy on fish, which most vets suggest keeping to a minimum. Our cats have been eating several Cats in the Kitchen foods for several years with no ill effects -- the ones they get are low-carb -- but I've reduced them recently in favor of homemade food.

Have fun with Jasper!

catpack · Jul 6, 2016

Earthborn canned has been a hit with the kittens I am currently fostering. It is kind of a pate/chicken shreds.
I chose to feed them the Chicken Jumble one as it doesn't contain veggies or carrageenan. This one is also labeled for cats & kittens.

As far as Weruva, I have tried it with my personal cars, as well as ones in the rescue and, all cats had diarrhea on it, so, I tend to agree with your vet on this one. Though, I have heard of cars that have been perfectly fine on it.

My cats love Nutro, so that one gets a vote from me!

jasper95 · Jul 6, 2016

Thanks for the advice LisaHE and Catpack! I'll keep Nutro and Simply Nourish in the mix, but I'm in agreement that limiting the FF would be best. He ate that at his foster home before I adopted him so I'm not surprised he liked it, but the high carbs and by-products make me skeptical.

I'm headed back to my local pet food store tomorrow where I was buying my Weruva and Tikicat, and I'll check out what other kitten/all life stages foods there are. I'm pretty sure they sell Earthborn, so I'll give that a shot! I asked this on the duplicate thread as well (again, sorry about that), but is it considered OK to rotate food with kittens or are you supposed to stick to one for their more delicate tummies?

Thanks!

bonepicker · Jul 7, 2016

My cats have no issues and love Merrick chicken or duck or beef regular, lid or whole Earth Farms. They also like soulistic (Petco) chicken dinner in gelee in blue can. They also like Pride rockstar rabbit or daredevil duck.

lisahe · Jul 7, 2016

jasper95 said:
Thanks for the advice LisaHE and Catpack! I'll keep Nutro and Simply Nourish in the mix, but I'm in agreement that limiting the FF would be best. He ate that at his foster home before I adopted him so I'm not surprised he liked it, but the high carbs and by-products make me skeptical.

I'm headed back to my local pet food store tomorrow where I was buying my Weruva and Tikicat, and I'll check out what other kitten/all life stages foods there are. I'm pretty sure they sell Earthborn, so I'll give that a shot! I asked this on the duplicate thread as well (again, sorry about that), but is it considered OK to rotate food with kittens or are you supposed to stick to one for their more delicate tummies?

Thanks!

We don't feed any foods with by-products but I'd (much!) sooner feed by-products than high carbs. High protein and very low carbs are my main criterion for cat food so we only feed grain-free foods without carby vegetables like potato and peas. In considering the matter of kitten v. all life stages foods, I'd probably lean most toward looking for high-calorie foods. (That's pretty much what our vet said when I asked her about this, when we adopted our cats at ten months old.)

I don't have a real answer to your question about rotation. Rotating wet foods is generally fine, though I remember our vet mentioning that kittens can be pretty sensitive. I'd also probably be pretty cautious with Jasper because of his stomach issues. (Has that been resolved and/or solved so you know what caused it? If I were sure, for example, that worms were causing the problem, I'd probably be less concerned about changing his food.)

thegreystalker · Jul 7, 2016

It also sounds like Jasper may be specifically refusing pate because he wants more texture in his food. My kitten was given kibble at the rescue shelter and that's what I fed her the first few weeks in my home. Even when I began to provide pate the majority of her meals were kibble. Just the other day she rejected wet pate (lamb) for the first time. I know she wants more kibble. I would like to continue to give wet food at least 4 times a week and but shreds or fillet varieties usually have high carb gravy. Maybe Jasper wants shreds, fillets or chunks, too.

lisahe · Jul 7, 2016

TheGreyStalker said:
It also sounds like Jasper may be specifically refusing pate because he wants more texture in his food. My kitten was given kibble at the rescue shelter and that's what I fed her the first few weeks in my home. Even when I began to provide pate the majority of her meals were kibble. Just the other day she rejected wet pate (lamb) for the first time. I know she wants more kibble. I would like to continue to give wet food at least 4 times a week and but shreds or fillet varieties usually have high carb gravy. Maybe Jasper wants shreds, fillets or chunks, too.

Has your cat tried Nutro Natural Choice? Their sliced turkey and minced chicken are both textured, plus they're very low in carbs because they're grain-free and don't have any ingredients like potato or tapioca to thicken alleged gravy.

thegreystalker · Jul 7, 2016

LisaHE, Thank you for the suggestion. Don't know why I overlooked Nutro Natural Choice. Price on Chewy.com looks good, too.

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