what to feed my new 10 month old kitten

Hi!  Last Friday, I adopted a 10 month old tabby kitten that I named Miss Mia.  She is wonderful.  When I adopted her, the cat rescue lady gave me a bag of Merrick Purrfect Bistro kitten dry food, and told me that this is all Mia has eaten since she started on solid foods at 6 weeks old.   I have only used Merrick canned cat foods on my former cats, never their dry food.  Is it just as good as other natural dry cat foods?

My caregivers don't understand why I don't just feed Mia the inexpensive dry foods like Meow Mix, 9-Lives, and Kit 'n Kaboodle, because they have had cats eat these their whole lives without any problems, but I am very nervous to feed my cats anything but healthy grain free cat foods, ever since that pet food recall in 2007. 

Should I listen to my caregivers and give Mia the inexpensive dry cat foods, or should I stick with the natural grain free dry foods like Merrick?  I just want the best for Miss Mia, so she lives a happy and healthy life.   I read a forum that said that Merrick cat food wasn't good anymore.  Is this true?  I am so confused.

Jessie

Ask one person and they will love it, ask two people and they won't like it. Opinions differ. [emoji]128522[/emoji] Secondly, congratulations on your new kitten! Miss Mia is a cute name.


I personally like Merrick canned foods like Whole Earth Farms ones. People have said that Merrick was bought out by Purina in 2014 (this is true) many people do not like Purina so they think Merrick is now bad. Purina was once a good company, its Nestlé who's ruined them, but that's another story....


Inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean bad, there's a few good brands out there I've used and recommened, but the brands you listed are not very good. The canned version of those brands are not bad. According to my vet, ANY canned food is better for cats than ANY dry food, I disagree a little but I agree that canned is a much better choice.

My cats currently eat Taste of The Wild River Canyon dry food and Friskies Classic Canned Pates. My 3 month old Ragdoll kitten eats Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry food and Friskies Classic Canned Pates. I do rotation diets. Would you like a list of foods I recommend?

I had no idea that Merrick was bought by Purina. This is just the dry food that Miss Mia was on when I adopted her, so I don't want to freak out her system by suddenly switching food on her right away.  I used to give my former cats Taste of the Wild 2 years ago, but I have heard that Diamond Pet Foods (who makes this brand) has TONS of recalls all the time, so I stopped buying this brand.  I am just so confused as to what to feed Miss Mia, so she stays healthy.

That would be great if you could send me a list of what foods you recommend.  Thanks!!

Jessie

Jessie Gray said:

I had no idea that Merrick was bought by Purina. This is just the dry food that Miss Mia was on when I adopted her, so I don't want to freak out her system by suddenly switching food on her right away.  I used to give my former cats Taste of the Wild 2 years ago, but I have heard that Diamond Pet Foods (who makes this brand) has TONS of recalls all the time, so I stopped buying this brand.  I am just so confused as to what to feed Miss Mia, so she stays healthy.

That would be great if you could send me a list of what foods you recommend.  Thanks!!

Jessie

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All foods have their disadvantages, so there's no 'one bag fits all' food. What works for one cat might not work for the other. One of my cats gets extremely flakey skin if she eats any poultry dry foods, but stuff like rabbit/vension and fish based foods are fine with her. One of my other cats gets way too skinny on fish based foods.


Foods I recommend:

Blue Buffalo. Not the Healthy Living or Basic ones. They're way too high in carbs, but all dry foods are high in carbs. Cats need 3-5% carbs. Dry food is at least 40% carb.

Taste of The Wild. Mine prefer the River Canyon one over the Rocky Mountain one. I think its called Rocky Mountain?

Orijen.

Acana.

Instinct (not Pride ones).

ZiwiPeak.

Mauri.

Whole Earth Farms (made by Marrick).

Back Country (again by Marrick).

Earthborne (mine like Sea Catch).

Evolve. Its a good, decent food, and its cheap. They have 2 flavors and a kitten version.


That's all I can think of right now.

oldgloryrags88 said:

All foods have their disadvantages, so there's no 'one bag fits all' food. What works for one cat might not work for the other. One of my cats gets extremely flakey skin if she eats any poultry dry foods, but stuff like rabbit/vension and fish based foods are fine with her. One of my other cats gets way too skinny on fish based foods.


Foods I recommend:

Blue Buffalo. Not the Healthy Living or Basic ones. They're way too high in carbs, but all dry foods are high in carbs. Cats need 3-5% carbs. Dry food is at least 40% carb.

Taste of The Wild. Mine prefer the River Canyon one over the Rocky Mountain one. I think its called Rocky Mountain?

Orijen.

Acana.

Instinct (not Pride ones).

ZiwiPeak.

Mauri.

Whole Earth Farms (made by Marrick).

Back Country (again by Marrick).

Earthborne (mine like Sea Catch).

Evolve. Its a good, decent food, and its cheap. They have 2 flavors and a kitten version.


That's all I can think of right now.

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The recalls were for the dog foods I read.

Jessie Gray said:

 
Hi!  Last Friday, I adopted a 10 month old tabby kitten that I named Miss Mia.  She is wonderful.  When I adopted her, the cat rescue lady gave me a bag of Merrick Purrfect Bistro kitten dry food, and told me that this is all Mia has eaten since she started on solid foods at 6 weeks old.   I have only used Merrick canned cat foods on my former cats, never their dry food.  Is it just as good as other natural dry cat foods?

My caregivers don't understand why I don't just feed Mia the inexpensive dry foods like Meow Mix, 9-Lives, and Kit 'n Kaboodle, because they have had cats eat these their whole lives without any problems, but I am very nervous to feed my cats anything but healthy grain free cat foods, ever since that pet food recall in 2007. 

Should I listen to my caregivers and give Mia the inexpensive dry cat foods, or should I stick with the natural grain free dry foods like Merrick?  I just want the best for Miss Mia, so she lives a happy and healthy life.   I read a forum that said that Merrick cat food wasn't good anymore.  Is this true?  I am so confused.

Jessie

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Just because their cats never had any medical issues with lower grade food doesn't mean they had a happy healthy quality of life.

I have had many owners tell me how much more energy (and better coat) their cat/dog has after they switched to a better quality food.

Also as @oldgloryrags88  said inexpensive doesn't mean that the food is bad for your cat, just research the ingredients and figure out what is best. If you are not on a budget then feed them what you feel is the best for them.

Jessie Gray said:

 
My caregivers don't understand why I don't just feed Mia the inexpensive dry foods like Meow Mix, 9-Lives, and Kit 'n Kaboodle, because they have had cats eat these their whole lives without any problems, but I am very nervous to feed my cats anything but healthy grain free cat foods, ever since that pet food recall in 2007. 

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A cat can survive on "junk" dry food their entire life but that doesn't mean that they thrived and was at optimal health.

Meow Mix et all all what many people consider the equivalent of junk food: full of unhealthy ingredients and fillers. It tastes good and is cheap but is awful for the body over time.

If you want to give your cat a healthy life, it starts with the right nutrition. Many pet owners, especially older ones, are unaware of what proper nutrition for cats (or any pet) is and will just buy whatever is the cheapest at the store and / or buy into the cute little tv ads and such the pet food companies use to market their products. Catinfo.org is a good place to learn more about cat nutrition.

I'd stick with grain free affordable foods you can feed. Canned food is a lot healthier for a cat than dry food so try to feed mostly that if possible. Here are some affordable canned foods:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/308964/healthy-but-affordable-canned-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/272192/affordable-canned-food

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306956/new-affordable-petsmart-brand-d

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/292890/4health-now-has-affordable-grain-free-wet-food

If you have to feed some dry, I know people here recommend Orijen and Nature's Variety Instinct among several other grain free brands.

I would introduce Merrick pates or whole earth farms by Merrick, mine love beef, duck, and rabbit. Petco sells it or online at chewy.com. I feed my outdoor ferals Friskies pates or fancy feast pates and Merrick chicken dry! I know Purina bought them, they claim recipes and processing plants are the same. Merrick is hands down my cats favorite, it goes in one feeding, num num num

I would definitely say keep her on a higher quality dry if you are feeding dry at all. Dry as it is isn't superb for cats, so going with higher quality stuff helps at least counter some of that. Additionally, because a higher quality food has a higher animal protein content, your little one should feel more full, and not need to eat nearly as much to be healthy and happy, so you ultimately should be able to feed less of a higher quality food. So it can work out to be a bit more reasonable in price. I myself don't think some higher quality dry is all that bad, as long as the cat gets enough water.
Mind you, if you want to save money, you could just grab whatever high quality food is on sale, as long as Mia isn't a brand loyalist or has any sensitivities. You just have to slowly change the food over a few days as you end one bag and start another.