Kitten-specific wet food that is not pate??

Hello everyone, new kitten owner here desperately searching for wet food for my four-month-old who suddenly has decided she doesn't like pate. She loves science diet kitten non-pate, but I'm not crazy about the ingredients. I've looked at Petsmart and Petco, and the only one I found is one flavor of Simply Nourish which is shreds... I don't want to feed her only one flavor of one brand. Oh – Nutro has one that's minced, but the calories are quite low, and Purina Pro Plan has some chunky kitten food, but also has artificial flavors and colors, which I also don't want.

I looked at ALL of the "all life stages" brands there- Merrick, I forget what else- and they're much lower in calories than the good kitten pates are. Marbles lost a lot of weight from panleukopenia and calicivirus and I want her to have a good high-calorie, high-protein food.

Thanks!!

Darn...I'm at petsmart and looking at the Simply Nourish, it's lower-calorie too. Are all the non-pates going to be lower-cal, then? But then, if she won't eat pates it doesn't matter if they are high-calorie [emoji]128533[/emoji]

Non-kitten food is fine for kittens. The kitten foods are just higher calorie. Feed her what she likes and just feed more of it. It all evens out in the end.  

My cats ONLY ate pate texture foods, so I always had the opposite problem. I think it's easier to find non-pate than pate anymore. 

Paiger8 said:

 
Non-kitten food is fine for kittens. The kitten foods are just higher calorie. Feed her what she likes and just feed more of it. It all evens out in the end.  

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It's perfectly fine to feed adult food to a kitten. Many adult foods are labeled as for all life stages. You just have to feed more of it to meet a kitten's needs. If your kitten likes food with texture, then just buy those types of foods. Soulistic, which is sold at Petco, is all textured foods that many cats like. The same company makes Weruva which is higher quality and sold only at independent type pet stores.

I woudln't worry about the calorie content. Kittens eat so much food that they're getting plenty of calories and nutrients. If you feel that your kitten isn't growing properly, talk with the vet first. The vet may recommend a high calorie or other supplement.

If you're looking for some high calorie foods- Nature's Variety instinct is generally pretty high in calories, and they have some non-pate types.  the Merrick Puurfect Bistro trays, which is my kittens favorite, are also pretty high in calories and are in the form of shreds/chunks (but a little pricey, as the 3.5 ounce trays are $1.79 each by me, but come out to $1.59 each when bought in bulk on chewy)..  Both types are all life stages/adult but totally fine for kittens.  All of the other high calorie foods I can think of are pates unfortunately

Thanks I just gave her Simply Nourish grain-free chicken stew- she LOVED IT. Marbles is pretty silent usually- she rarely ever makes a peep, and she was meowing and meowing for more!

Ok another question: How much do you think is the max I should be letting her eat at one sitting??

She SCARFS her food if she likes it, and she'll scarf an entire 3-oz can (and might ask for more) in a sitting. Then she'll often gag a couple of times a few min afterward. She hadn't vomited til just the other day- I found a large amount of vomit on the floor that looked like straight-up undigested food- like she just threw it right up soon after eating.

I keep reading to feed kittens "as much as they will eat, 3-4 times per day" but what if they chow so fast and so much that they vomit? [emoji]128533[/emoji]

Try spreading it out on a dinner plate instead of a bowl. Then she can't scarf as easily.  

I already do. Haha!

You can get various slow feeder bowls to slow down their eating. Another trick is to place something in the centre of their usual bowl to slow their eating. I used to place an upside down ceramic egg cup in the center of my girl's bowl. It worked just as well as the commercial slow feeders, and was free


If that doesn't work, your other option is to feed her smaller, more frequent meals. That way her stomach won't get so overloaded, and she'll be less ravenous when you do feed her

Ok so...this am she ate a whole can again, then 10 min later violently threw it ALL up.

The few times she's vomited, it's all been in the am. I've been feeding her 4x/day, with the last meal meant to be a top-off late at night before be so she'll last longer overnight. But that last meal is often just 4 hrs or so after her dinnertime one, yet she'll still want to eat a whole can of food sometimes.

But she comes to bed right after that late-night snack, and doesn't poop overnight. Then she eats a whole can in the am- before pooping. She probably doesn't have room for all that food in that tiny body, I'm guessing!

So I guess I will make her feedings closer together so the before-bed one is a little earlier, so she has time to use the litter box before bed... and so that last late feeding isn't too soon after her dinnertime one.

Prob I have with closer feedings is, I have no idea how much is too much or not enough quantity-wise if I'm not just letting her eat as much as she wants. I guess I will just kind of guess when to stop? A half can, 3/4 of a can, rather than a full can? She will apparently usually mew for more until she's eaten so much she vomits. [emoji]128533[/emoji]

Can anyone tell me how many cans per body weight a 4-mo kitten should eat per day? Found that once, but I can't find it now

The amount to feed varies depending on bodyweight and age, as well as from kitten to kitten, as well as from food to food. There should be feeding quantity guidelines on the can. If not, go onto the manufacturer's website. You mentioned Hill's Science Diet. This is a link to their (very clear) feeding guidelines.

A whole can of food in one go is clearly too much for her tummy to handle. I'd try giving her no more than half a can at a time, but feed more often. I know a lot of places say feed 3-4 times a day, but my (adult) cats get 6-8 mini meals a day, and always have done Think of mouse-sized meals

Also, as she most often vomits in the morning, it may be that her system just can't handle being without food so long. Some cats do get hyperacidity if there's too long a gap between meals. Having a little kibble out overnight (maybe in a puzzle feeder so she doesn't scarf it) might go a long way to easing the problem too.

Hm, thanks. Yes- she does have kibble out at all times- a couple tbsp. She doesn't love it, never eats it all in one day, and she doesn't eat anything overnight that I can tell. So far she associates me with being fed, and doesn't seem to realize she can go eat while I'm sleeping- she spends the night in our bed and starts nibbling my nose around 5-6 am
I've tried 3 different day foods so far. She won't eat Blue Buffalo Wilderness, will reluctantly eat Core if it's left in the bowl, and likes Purina Kitten Chow the best( for right now I'm mixing that and the Core half and half.

Maybe I'll try leaving a little kibble in our bedroom overnight.

That's a great idea My girl much prefers to eat where I am, and always has.