Switching kitten foods?

I currently feed my kitten Nutro and she does well on that. I see on here that Wellness is the best. Of course I want the best for her, should I switch?

Hi there! I just wanted to let you know that you can probably expect to hear as many different opinions as there are brands of cat food! That said, it is a little tricky right now with the search function disabled as there have been many threads on "quality food," "best foods," etc. In the mean time, I encourage you to look into what ingredients make for a good or bad cat food, that way you'll never have to be baffled by the ingredients/brands again. Many people here feed Nutro and speak very highly of it, in fact, my mother just started buying it for her senior cat. IMO, I choose to feed my kitten Innova EVO.

Good luck with your decision!

I use nutro and evo for my dog .... I wont use wellness due to garlic... it is a catch 22 and can be deadly for a cat and I am weaning my dog off all foods with garlic...

I hear that Wellness is a step above Nutro, but the knock is that not all cats like the taste (read this in a review). Of all the professional grade cat foods, the taste of Wellness is liked the least. My kitten and cat love the nutro lines. I think if I were to go one step above Nutro, I would chose the Innova line.

http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch8a.php

Garlic
The use of garlic and other members of the Lily family such as onions, shallots, and chives in the cat's diet is not advised. Ingestion of these plants in a raw, cooked, or dried form can lead to damage of the red blood cells, which are rejected by the body from the bloodstream, and a continued use of garlic or onions can eventually result in hemolytic anemia. If the anemia is not controlled by discontinuing the use of the plants, it can potentially lead to death. Less significant but important is that raw garlic and onions irritate the mouth, esophagus, and stomach and can cause or exacerbate ulcers.

"An alkaloid, N-propyl disulphide, present in both cultivated and wild onions, chives, and garlic, affects the enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, in red blood cells that interferes with the hexose monophosphate pathway. Oxidation of hemoglobin results because there is either insufficient phosphate dehydrogenase or glutathione to protect the red blood cells from oxidative injury. The resulting formation of Heinz bodies within erythrocytes is characteristic of onion poisoning. (...)"
Marielle Gomez-Kaifer, PhD, Department of Chemistry, University of Miami

"Onion poisoning has been described in the cat by Kobayaschi (1981) who reported a hemolytic anemia and increase in Heinz bodies in cats that had consumed onion soup. (...)"
Excerpt from Nutrient Requirements of Cats, Revised edition by the National Research Council.
Ref.: Kobayaschi, K. 1981. Onion poisoning in the cat. Feline Pract. 11:22.

"Some people may have difficulty with eating raw garlic as it can be irritating to the intestinal linings."
Benjamin Lau, M.D., Ph.D. is a leading authority on garlic and health, professor of microbiology and immunology at the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University

"Allicin, which gives garlic its odor, is a strong oxidant, that is, a chemical that creates free radicals, which in excess, can be dangerous. Allicin can cause stomach irritation and, in rare cases, hemolytic anemia, destruction of red blood cells. If placed directly on the skin, allicin can cause blistering."
"Cats or Dogs should never be given raw, un-aged garlic because it is very irritating to the mouth, esophagus, and stomach and can cause or exacerbate ulcers."
The Garlic Information Center hotline, 1-800-330-5922 at Cornell University Medical College.

What are Heinz bodies?>
"Heinz bodies are pieces of oxidized hemoglobin; on a Romanowsky-stained blood smear, they appear as pale, circular structures that often protrude from the side of the RBC."
The Merck Veterinary Manual 8th edition, page 1208

What is Hemolythic anemia?
"The immune response can become directed against the body's own blood cells, including red blood cells, neutrophils, and platelets. In some instances, the cause of this is unknown, and the body is truly reacting against itself (an autoimmune disease). However, this is fairly uncommon, and usually the reaction against the body's own cells is initiated by exposure of the cat to a foreign antigen (...)"
The Cornell Book of Cats 2nd edition, page 276





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... the above is why I wont use garlic in a cat food.... Innova is a great food I prefer its cousin cal natrual but I like simple and that is why everyone uses some form of Nutro here

I was going to try to introduce my kitten to as many kitten foods as possible, so he wont be a fussy eater, like my old cat (he only likes the really cheap cat food with "meat flavour" and hates anything decent ), but we only have 2 manufacturers here which do kitten food in pouches, Whiskas and Felix, and I am afraid both, my cat and me, agree on not liking Felix. He doesn't seem to like the taste, and I hate the smell (it really stinks). So Whiskas in gravy is what he gets. I am not keen on any of the dry foods, as he doesn't like to drink.

I think your vet would tell you that kittens and cats like consistency in there foods and dont like to be switched all the time. Mixing it up from time to time is ok, but cats are not like dogs (who like change). whiskas is considered a consumer grade food with fillers. You will pay later with vet bills if you buy cheap food today. Innova, Nutro, Felidae are all good premimum grade foods.

IMHO.

I am afraid, I have never seen those in the UK. They do Sheba and some Fish Flake stuff whith a white fluffy cat on it, but both are not for kitten.

I haven't looked at Pet Smart yet, as it is a fairly long drive, but I went to a really big specialist pet shop on the weekend (the only place near me where I can buy World's Best Cat Litter), and they only had Felix and Whiskas as well.

There is a lot more choice in dry food, and I did buy some, as I put a little bit of dry down for him during the day, but was shocked when I got home and read the ingredients. The cheap old Friskies (or Go-Cat, as it is called here) has more or less exactly the same ingredients as the twice as expensive Iams. So no more Iams here (may be different in the adult food, but the kitten food is really not worth the price difference).

Originally Posted by madpiano

I am afraid, I have never seen those in the UK. They do Sheba and some Fish Flake stuff whith a white fluffy cat on it, but both are not for kitten.

I haven't looked at Pet Smart yet, as it is a fairly long drive, but I went to a really big specialist pet shop on the weekend (the only place near me where I can buy World's Best Cat Litter), and they only had Felix and Whiskas as well.

There is a lot more choice in dry food, and I did buy some, as I put a little bit of dry down for him during the day, but was shocked when I got home and read the ingredients. The cheap old Friskies (or Go-Cat, as it is called here) has more or less exactly the same ingredients as the twice as expensive Iams. So no more Iams here (may be different in the adult food, but the kitten food is really not worth the price difference).

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You may be able to find Nutro kitten pouches in your area by contacting the distributor located here: http://www.nutroproducts.com/unitedkingdom.asp

I believe Animonda is also available in the UK. Their canned kitten food isn't bad, i.e., definitely preferable to Felix or Whiskas. Schesir (Italian) also has kitten food in pouches, and is sold in the UK. That's almost all meat and/or fish. Maybe a Google or Yahoo search would turn up an Internet supplier.

I just did a search myself, and found out that there's also a www.zooplus.co.uk ! Zooplus has a pretty good variety, and ships quickly.
As far as wet kitten food is concerned, they have Almo nature canned kitten food, and Schesir Kitten Pouches (in two flavors). http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/c...od_pouchs/3648
Both are far superior to the supermarket brands, but should be fed in conjunction with a premium dry food. There are several good ones listed there, including Nutro and Royal Canin kitten.

Wysong is also an excellent line of cat food. They make Vitality for normal cats, a kitten formula, Uretic for cats with urinary problems and I think they make one for cats with allergies. My guys love it. When switching to any new food, do it gradually. Mix it with the current food and gradually increase the proportion. Otherwise kitty will get the poops. Not fun for you or kitty.

I think the Nutro is fine. My cat love Nuto and it is a good food. I always hear that wellness is "better", but it contains garlic, and garlic is not good for cats.

Originally Posted by madpiano

I am afraid, I have never seen those in the UK. They do Sheba and some Fish Flake stuff whith a white fluffy cat on it, but both are not for kitten.

I haven't looked at Pet Smart yet, as it is a fairly long drive, but I went to a really big specialist pet shop on the weekend (the only place near me where I can buy World's Best Cat Litter), and they only had Felix and Whiskas as well.

There is a lot more choice in dry food, and I did buy some, as I put a little bit of dry down for him during the day, but was shocked when I got home and read the ingredients. The cheap old Friskies (or Go-Cat, as it is called here) has more or less exactly the same ingredients as the twice as expensive Iams. So no more Iams here (may be different in the adult food, but the kitten food is really not worth the price difference).

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Hi - try www.k9capers.co.uk as well. I've been trying to get a hold of decent wet food as well, and have resorted to HiLife Kitten cans (these only come in 1 flavour however, ocean fish, and I am not that keen on feeding a fish diet due to urinary type diseases that arise from this, so I also feed Felix pouches every other day). I mainly feed Nutro Choice complete dry to my new kittens, and what a difference from the previous kittens I have raised who were fed Felix! I have had NO (touch wood) health issues with these kitties at all (10weeks now), they are so healthy compared to my adult cats who had all kinds of GI problems as kittens.

Anyway, definitely try Nutro Dry if you can get him on it - you will notice the difference in your kitten!