is whiskas wet food good for your cat?

Hello,

I have a kitten (2 months old, been with me for 2 weeks now) and I've been feeding her dry food (Royal Canin) and those Whiskas "Junior" wet food packets, which she really seems to like (except the rabbit flavoured ones, for some reason she won't eat them). But I've been reading here and there, and quite a lot of people say this brand isn't very good. I've already stocked up for a month's worth of packets, but should I change it to something else? I bought this mostly because it seemed to be specifically for young kittens. Is it OK to feed her "adult" canned food? (I fed her another brand of pate-kind of food, but she didn't seem to like it as much) Because then I have more brands available at my local supermarket...

I also have this question that's been nagging me for a while: dry food VS wet food and cavities -- truth or myth?

A friend of a relative is a veterinarian and she swears that a 100% dry food diet is what I should be feeding the cat, because wet food will spoil her teeth. Some people say this is a myth and start blurbing conspiracy theories about the cat food industry. What then? Teeth cleaning at the vet every now and then? Feeding her teeth-cleaning snacks? Can I feed them to her at a young age or are they for adults only?... she's a bit lazy with the chewing. I don't think I can brush her teeth, she doesn't seem to like having her mouth open by force. I don't know what to believe and I don't find myself in a position to argue against a vet. Though I will try to get a second opinion when I take the kitten to the vet's for her shots... What's the general opinion?

I've also tried feeding her some boiled rice and fish bits and she liked it a lot. I was thinking of preparing some food in this manner every now and then as an extra treat. Is this good for her?

Sorry for the long post. Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated! This is my first kitten and I don't want to start her on the wrong foot

It depends on where you are. I have heard that Whiskas duck flavor is really good, but it is usually only available in the U.K. Based on your post about the junior packets I would assume that you are from U.K., though.

Whiskas has the advantage of being available in huge cans (22 ounces). They can be good if you have a lot of cats. I know most people I know would probably say there are better foods out there. Well, there are better foods no matter what you buy, so just buy the best you can afford. Canned food is inherently better than dry food, anyway.

Whiskas isn't the greatest food choice. Do you have a pet food store near you? When you pick a cat/kitten food, you'll want to look for foods without by-products, corn, or soy. Most of the supermarket brands have by-products and soy.

As for teeth cleaning, dry food really isn't that great. It shatters upon impact with the teeth, so it isn't really cleaning them. Plus, cavities are generally caused by bacteria that feed on sugars and starches. Dry food has more sugar/starch than wet food. If you are interested in working with your kitten so that you can brush her teeth, this site has some steps to help you teach her to accept teeth cleaning:

http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=383

Feeding a little fish and rice as a treat shouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't recommend feeding it regularly. Too much might keep your kitty from wanting to eat her normal food.

Whiskas will stink you out... I noticed cats get really bad bad gas from it and the litter pan takes a beating

I agree with cloud shade////

Try a pet store for wet food maybe where you get her dry ???

Royal Canin is a good choice. Whiskas is not good. Look at the ingredients and look for a food that contains no "by-products" or "animal digest". Wet foods should contain very little if any grain matter.

Most "adult" foods are actually perfectly fine for kittens. The only adult foods to stay away from are any that are labeled "senior" or "lite" (as in for weight loss).

It is definitely a myth that dry food is good for the teeth and wet food spoils the teeth. If you think about it, dry cat food is basically like crackers or cereal. When you eat these foods, you want to brush your teeth right away because of all the gunk stuck to them! Dry cat food is no different. Plus, as you pointed out, many cats are "lazy" about chewing dry food. It stands to reason that even if dry food were good for the teeth, they would have to chew it to get the benefit.

Canned food is absolutely necessary to protect the cat's urinary tract health. Our cats are genetically identical to the African wild cat, which lives in the deserts of northern Africa. Cats evolved where liquid water is not plentiful, so they are designed to get most of their water from their food. Their thirst drive is not strong enough to compensate for a diet of dry food. This causes constant low-level dehydration and over time, this causes damage to the kidneys and the lower urinary tract.

My kitten has been eating some pouches of whiskas junior as I had some free samples but they made him fart something awful! And talk about smelly! Whiskas isn't great food, imo, as it has a very low meat content and contains additives including sugar, but if your cat likes it and seems to be doing well on it it's completely up to you whether you continue to feed it.

As the dry vs wet. It's pretty widely accepted now that dry food does not offer any advantages to dental health, although many vets contnue to recommend dry food as good for their teeth simply because it's what they were told when they were in vet school. Here's a link you might find interesting.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...dcleantheteeth

As far as teeth cleaning goes, there's no substitue for actually brushing your cat's teeth. While she's a kitten is a great time to start.

It's great that you are educating yourself about feeding your kitty

The wet vs. dry. Wet although more expensive is better because it has less carbs than dry food, and because you can't free feed it your cat has less of a chance of gaining weight than it would free feeding dry [not to mention the carbs]. Dry kibble is too small to clean a cats teeth, and half of the time if your kitty is a pig... they really don't chew their food anyways.

Whiskas is pretty crappy, if you look at the ingredients they really aren't too yummy. If you can't find better foods [I know Fred Meyer has a line called "Promise" that has no grains/by products etc.] MeowMix's pouches have pretty decent ingredients.

As far as keeping her teeth cleaned, routine dental cleanings [once a year... once every couple years whatever] or there are some enzymatic chews you can find online made for cats that really work, I've used them on my dogs [the feline ones are different from dogs chews obviously] and they cleaned their teeth nicely. The "tartar" treats really don't work, if you read the bag you have to feed a certain amount to even remotely clean the teeth, and aren't worth it. Like feline greenies you have to feed like 14 or something everyday to even be effective.

Hi there and welcome to the forum!

First of all, I think we'd all like to see piccies of your baby if you have any

If your kittens is only 2 months old it is vital that you keep her on kitten/junior food until she is at least 10 months old. The adult food won't hurt her but it won't have enough of the nutrients she needs.

I feed my kittens a combination of whiskas and felix kitten food. I also leave out a bowl of dry food for them to snack on - they adore Royal Canin and Nutrience.

There is a lot of debate here as to what food you should feed your kitten/cat. My advice to you would be, yes, there are better foods out there but if your kitten is happy eating Whiskas Kitten food for now and you have bought a lot of it, it is perfectly ok to keep feeding it to them. It is far more important that they eat than not. Especially since they are so young.

As you near the end of your supply of Whiskas, you might want to try her on Hi Life Kitten or even Iams but don't buy a lot of it. Maybe a couple of pouches each to start off with. If she likes them then go ahead and get more but if she doesn't, at least you won't have spent a lot of money on food that she won't eat. My kittens didn't like the Hi Life Kitten food and weren't particularly fussed on the Iams either so I've kept them on Felix and Whiskas for now

With reference to the teeth brushing, I've tried brushing my girls' teeth but with little success so I've ended up buying dental treats by M&C - I'm not sure whether they work yet but they're due a check-up soon so I'll get my vet to check their teeth and tell me what he thinks

Originally Posted by Pui Hang

If your kittens is only 2 months old it is vital that you keep her on kitten/junior food until she is at least 10 months old.

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I disagree! Kittens did fine on adult cat food before pet food manufacturers cottoned on to the fact that they could charge more for special kitten food. When I got 2 kittens from a rescue centre 9 years ago I was surprised to be told that they ate adult food as the kitten food upset their stomachs. I did gradually get them onto kitten food for a while but switched over to adult when they were about 7 months. I recently got a pure bred kitten and again I was told he was eating adult food - the breeder said the kitten food upset his stomach. I tried to switch him over to the kitten and sure enough - he got the runs. After back tracking, switching brands and slowly re-introducing kitten food he's now ok on it. Kitten food is probably best if they eat it but I don't think it's a problem to feed a kitten adult food.

Originally Posted by urbantigers

I don't think it's a problem to feed a kitten adult food.

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I think the moral of the story here is, if they are happy eating it, let them

Thank you very much for your replies!
I haven't noticed any gas problems yet (though her feces are a bit smellier, but I expected that difference, since I only fed her dry food the first couple of days... she didn't seem to be eating enough and was hungry all the time, which is why I started feeding her wet food). I am jotting down the brands you all have mentioned and will look them up at the pet store, hopefully I can find a better brand and the kitten will take a liking to it.

About the adult food, as I mentioned, she is very lazy with chewing, I had to mash the adult food thoroughly so she'd even consider touching it (and even then, she barely ate it). The Junior packets have little bits of meat that she seems to eat with greater ease. This is my main concern with adult food... I also wouldn't like her to choke on some larger chunk of food, as she is still tiny and likes to gulp down the food without barely chewing it.

Thanks also for the links. I will try the tips for brushing. Right now, it's a bit of a nightmare to give her the anti-parasite medicine. She hates it and ends up scared if I try to open her mouth... I ended up putting the medicine on her paw, so she'd lick it off by herself.

Here's a photo of the kitten... I could only take a couple of photos with my cellphone when she was sleeping, as she is quite active when she is awake, the photos ended up all blurry!



Thanks again for all the advice! It's been very helpful

She is adorable!!!

Aww, she's adorable!

As for Whiskas, it's not the best food, but if she eats it and has no problems then I wouldn't worry.

My kitty Mittens was eating Friskies canned for years and I switched to Nature's Variety, Merrick, Solid Gold, etc. canned food and he ended up with a UTI 8 weeks later. It was later determined that his kidney's DO NOT process high amounts of protein and that those "better quality" foods were causing his issues. I now have to keep him on Purina UR wet formula from the vet.

I honestly wish I had never switched, because my kitty was sick for over a month and had to have several vet visits which really frazzled him. There are better foods, but if your cat is fine on what you feed I'd leave it alone. Just my opinion.

Originally Posted by urbantigers

I disagree!

Kittens did fine on adult cat food before pet food manufacturers cottoned on to the fact that they could charge more for special kitten food. When I got 2 kittens from a rescue centre 9 years ago I was surprised to be told that they ate adult food as the kitten food upset their stomachs. I did gradually get them onto kitten food for a while but switched over to adult when they were about 7 months. I recently got a pure bred kitten and again I was told he was eating adult food - the breeder said the kitten food upset his stomach. I tried to switch him over to the kitten and sure enough - he got the runs. After back tracking, switching brands and slowly re-introducing kitten food he's now ok on it. Kitten food is probably best if they eat it but I don't think it's a problem to feed a kitten adult food.

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When I still fed Royal Canin the kitten food was the same price as the adult food, so the price argument doesn't fly there. Adult food contains urine acidifiers to try prevent struvite. But these acidifiers might be harmful to a kitten's skeletal development, which is the reason it is prudent to feed kitten food.

Originally Posted by Mimosa

When I still fed Royal Canin the kitten food was the same price as the adult food, so the price argument doesn't fly there. Adult food contains urine acidifiers to try prevent struvite. But these acidifiers might be harmful to a kitten's skeletal development, which is the reason it is prudent to feed kitten food.

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Hmmm....I did not know this!

Some foods are labeled for "adults & kittens". Some of those foods are Innove EVO, Felidae, Merrick, & that's all I can think of. I started ordering a can of this & a can of that. I tried new things. It's taken me 3 or 4 months, but now I am back to the foods I was originally feeding, Nutro products & EVO dry.

I keep a few pouches of Whiskas around to feed as treats. One pouch gets divided among 5 cats.

Here is my opinion.

Don't choose your cat's teeth over your cat's kidneys. Dental problems are a lot easier to treat than kidney disease or urinary disease caused by a lack of water(and even if your cat drinks a lot he/she may not be drinking enough to compensate for the lack of moisture in dry food). Free-feeding dry food can lead to obesity which can cause diabetis and other health problems associated with with obesity. Dry food is high in carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates are fillers, cause cats to gain weight and they just don't need so many. Understandably many owners enjoy the economic and convenient advantage of feeding dry food, but it is just a much more balanced diet to include wet food in the cat's diet, even if it's only 50% of the diet. Even 25% of the diet as wet is good for boosting your cat's water intake, but the more the better. Chances are good that whether your cat eats dry food or canned or both, you will still be paying for those dental cleanings. I do for Spotty. Rosie fortunately has excellent genetics no matter what she eats and hasn't needed a dental cleaning within the last 3 years that she's been my cat.

First of all, that is such a cute kitten!!!

Second of all, the AAFCO definitions between adult food and kitten food is different than the British (I forgot the agency) definitions.

As a result, I believe kitten food is more different than adult food in the U.S. In the U.K. they are more similar.

I personally agree with the U.K. definitions better. They have much more stringent adult cat food regulations than the U.S.

Originally Posted by shengmei

Second of all, the AAFCO definitions between adult food and kitten food is different than the British (I forgot the agency) definitions.

As a result, I believe kitten food is more different than adult food in the U.S. In the U.K. they are more similar.

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The kitten food I have for my kitten is certainly very similar to the adult food (same brand). Exactly the same ingredients with only a slight difference in the proportions of protein and fat. I do think food specially designed for kittens is probably best but I really don't think it's a problem feeding adult if they won't eat it. Probably best to check labels and/or ask your vet if unsure about whether a food is ok to feed.

Thank you for you comment Amykins.

I agree, if your cats are happy on the food you are feeding to them, even though it hasn't got the best rating, and you have them checked over regularly, then why change their diet and risk upsetting their system. I have been feeding my cats for years on Whiskas along with plenty of fresh food as well as a good dry product from the Vet, plenty of fresh water, and they all do well.

I have been rescuing cats for years and I have 16 at the moment; all off the streets and they have all flourished on this diet. I measure out their food also so that everyone gets only the amount that they need and I keep the bowls separated with their names on them so that I can monitor who is eating and who is not and if anyone goes off their food; maybe because of fur balls or they aren't well, then I can take them to the vet and check them over if I need to without having to guess as to which one it is.

I believe in being hands on every day with each and every one so that I can tell if anyone is ill.  I brush and use a flea comb daily and make sure that I handle them all so that I can pick up anything out of the ordinary. I use a spot flea treatment regularly and worm them all as often as needed and daily keep all of them close. It's the only way to keep them healthy both in body and spirit. It doesn't take a lot of time even though there are a few of them and it does help in keeping on top of their health in general.