New Kitten And Whole Family Nutrition

[WhiskaBiscuit]

We got our five year old female (Penny) a male kitten we named Bandit! In just a week she has almost stopped hissing at the little guy, so I think she is adjusting well.

Penny has access to unlimited kibble (Taste of the Wild). When we got Penny she wasn't pooping everyday, so we give her a big spoonful of "poompkin" every night. That is half grocery store brand wet food and half pumpkin. She likes it well enough and every day she takes nice big steaming poops.

Bandit tasted the poompkin and it appears he likes it, but the vet said we probably shouldn't give him that unless he has pooping issues.

For now, both cats have separate feeding spots and litter boxes. When unsupervised and at night Bandit lives in the bedroom with the door shut to separate the two. Penny has the run of the house.

Bandit gets a 3oz can of wet food and I keep his Hills Science Kitten food kibble full.

Both Penny and Bandit have sneaked food from each other's eating spot. Maybe they like the variety.

Eventually Bandit is going to have complete run of the house. Since TOTW is for all ages, and since Penny doesn't appear to mind Bandit eating out of her kibble bowl I'm going to see if they are happy with sharing.

The thing I'm not sure about is wet food. First of all, should I stop using store brand and use TOTW (or similar) wet food for her poompkin mix, as well as Bandits? Also, should Penny be getting more wet food? She gets maybe a tablespoon of "straight" as it's mixed with pumpkin. She definitely prefers straight, but she needs the extra fiber.

I know if I leave pure wet for Bandit, Penny will nosh on that, because he won't eat the whole thing in one sitting. How can I mostly ensure they only eat their designated wet? How much should Bandit get? I read 3oz is suggested serving for a kitten and cat. Is that about right?

 

[tabbytom]

Hello W WhiskaBiscuit , of course wet food is better than dry especially if your kitties have problems pooping as dry food has very very little water content and moreover if your kitties are not drinking much water.

To control their intake is best done with timed scheduled feedings. This way you know how much they eat or need to eat or overeat.

Where did you read that 3oz is suggested for kittens and cats. Kittens need lots of proteins in their growing age and need to be fed at least 4 - 5 times a day and you every feed must be enough to fill the stomach.
The way to monitor how much a kitten eats a day is :- xxx amount of food xxxx times a day or xxxx amount of food xxx times a day. Observe this method for a few feeds and you'll roughly get how much the kitten eats at one sitting and how many times a day.

The other way is go by calorie count. A 100% indoor cat needs 200 - 250 calories per day.

As a kitten to a cat, a cat past it's maturity age will eat less amount and times in a day. It all depends on the cat.

Grain free wet food is full of protein and have the most moisture with some coming in with 85% moisture content while dry food is full of carbohydrates and just 10% water content. I don't see how there is water content in dry food.

 

[WhiskaBiscuit]

Thanks for the info. I forgot where I read the 3oz. The kitten currently gets one 3oz can and he finishes most of it. 24 hours later I dump what's left (not much) and he gets a clean plate and new serving.

 

[karen dsupin]

We got our five year old female (Penny) a male kitten we named Bandit! In just a week she has almost stopped hissing at the little guy, so I think she is adjusting well.

Penny has access to unlimited kibble (Taste of the Wild). When we got Penny she wasn't pooping everyday, so we give her a big spoonful of "poompkin" every night. That is half grocery store brand wet food and half pumpkin. She likes it well enough and every day she takes nice big steaming poops.

Bandit tasted the poompkin and it appears he likes it, but the vet said we probably shouldn't give him that unless he has pooping issues.

For now, both cats have separate feeding spots and litter boxes. When unsupervised and at night Bandit lives in the bedroom with the door shut to separate the two. Penny has the run of the house.

Bandit gets a 3oz can of wet food and I keep his Hills Science Kitten food kibble full.

Both Penny and Bandit have sneaked food from each other's eating spot. Maybe they like the variety.

Eventually Bandit is going to have complete run of the house. Since TOTW is for all ages, and since Penny doesn't appear to mind Bandit eating out of her kibble bowl I'm going to see if they are happy with sharing.

The thing I'm not sure about is wet food. First of all, should I stop using store brand and use TOTW (or similar) wet food for her poompkin mix, as well as Bandits? Also, should Penny be getting more wet food? She gets maybe a tablespoon of "straight" as it's mixed with pumpkin. She definitely prefers straight, but she needs the extra fiber.

I know if I leave pure wet for Bandit, Penny will nosh on that, because he won't eat the whole thing in one sitting. How can I mostly ensure they only eat their designated wet? How much should Bandit get? I read 3oz is suggested serving for a kitten and cat. Is that about right?

I have a question about nutrition. When I can't buy Orijen, my cats have been eating another brand, I would like to get some feedback on the ingredients before revealing the brand. Chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, pea protein, flaxseed, taurine, blueberry, cranberry, dried apples, and all the vitamins are listed after that. I found this brand to be better than anything else on the shelf. Please let me know how you feel

 

[KittyKat184]

I have a question about nutrition. When I can't buy Orijen, my cats have been eating another brand, I would like to get some feedback on the ingredients before revealing the brand. Chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, pea protein, flaxseed, taurine, blueberry, cranberry, dried apples, and all the vitamins are listed after that. I found this brand to be better than anything else on the shelf. Please let me know how you feel

Hi karen dsupin , what brand is that?

 

[karen dsupin]

Hi karen dsupin , what brand is that?

I would really like to know some opinions first, I wouldn't feed it to them every day, my male doesn't like it, but the female will eat it. They have been eating Orijen for years and always gobble it up. It's quite expensive, but the best dry food, in my opinion.

 

[KittyKat184]

I would really like to know some opinions first, I wouldn't feed it to them every day, my male doesn't like it, but the female will eat it. They have been eating Orijen for years and always gobble it up. It's quite expensive, but the best dry food, in my opinion.

I have been feeding my kitten Blue Buffalo; however, i will switch to another brand after he has finished this bag. Im considering switching to either Orijen, ACANA, or Merrick. All 3 of them, IMO, have pretty good ingredients.

 

[himawari]

KittyKat184 I definitely like Orijen more than Acana due to a higher protein ingredients since cats don't necessarily need vegetables. I've never fed Merrick so I have no opinion on that.

I have a question about nutrition. When I can't buy Orijen, my cats have been eating another brand, I would like to get some feedback on the ingredients before revealing the brand. Chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, pea protein, flaxseed, taurine, blueberry, cranberry, dried apples, and all the vitamins are listed after that. I found this brand to be better than anything else on the shelf. Please let me know how you feel

IMO, I don't think the pea protein as the fourth ingredient (assuming you listed it in order and that is all of the ingredients). And cats don't necessarily need the fruits either.

 

[KittyKat184]

H himawari I also came across Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost. The ingredient list actually look good with 43% of protein. I just don't know the % in carb. As long as the carb % is under 20 or 15 (hopefully), I probably will choose NV over both Orijen and ACANA. The price is also cheaper compared to Orijen and ACANA. I have read threads on this site talk about how horrible the new formula for both Orijen and ACANA. Even though NV Instinct Raw Boost also changed its formula, IMO, it looks more like a upgrade. I may start a thread after I have done more research on these 3 brands

 

[himawari]

KittyKat184 Yeah, I would say the American version of Orijen and Acana is inferior to the Canadian version (though I've never tried but seeing from the ingredients and reading reviews, it sounds like it). I used to actually feed the old version of NVI Raw Boost. A 2lb bag would last me close to two months for around $13.00 which was AH-MAZING. And yeah, I do agree that the new version is a slight improvement and has more calories per cup.

Here is a link (if you haven't seen it yet/for others): https://www.instinctpetfood.com/sites/default/files/product_files/INrbk_Cat_Chicken.pdf