Wet Food And Dry Food

[BensonG24]

Hello once again, today I brought my new kitten to the vet for her first checkup... the vet suggested a royal canin wet food for her (She's only had dry food so far (7 weeks old)) just then I put some of the wet food into her food ball (I don't know how much she eats so I put a little bit more) and she smelled it a bit and just left it. However, once I added some of the dry food she began eating the food but she picked out the dry food and left the wet food any solution? I might try to mix in more dry food and add a little bit of wet food the next time I try this and slowly increase the wet food amount

 

[MissMolly08]

Honestly, unless it's a prescription diet that she needs, I wouldn't use Royal Canin. A lot of vets recommend it because they have contracts with the company etc. but it's not a great food for the price.
Wet food is definitely better for them, cats need the moisture and wet food more closely resembles their natural prey. I would personally try something else though and see if she likes it better. You can continue to mix a little dry in the wet to entice her to try it. It can take some time with cats that are not used to wet food but once she starts to associate the wet with the dry and feeding time, she should begin to eat the wet too.

 

[Neo_23]

Try a different wet food. Royal Canin is crap. Vets don’t really know much about nutrition so I would take their suggestions with a grain of salt.

 

[LTS3]

Vets often make food suggestions but you don't need to feed it. Feed what you want and what your kitten will eat. Royal Canin is poor quality food, IMO. A lot of fillers and stuff cats don't need.

I think mani can offer some good brands for kittens available in Australia. You can also look at this thread: Help with Australian cat food choices

Kittens eat a ton of food so just offer your kitten as much food as she will eat. Most kittens eat several times a day. You can leave a bowl of dry food out all day and provide canned food meals when you are at home.

Isn't canned food in a treat ball messy? Treat balls are designed for dry treats and kibble. Cleaning a treat ball of canned food might be hard if you don't have a dishwasher.

 

[mani]

Hi BensonG24 and Happy New Kitty!!
I can see you live in my city, so we can swap 'good places to buy pet food' information.
I agree with LTS3 .. you don't need to buy what the vet offers. There are lots of other options.

You said this in your intro thread:
the owner told me she's been feeding her "Purina Fancy Feast (Tuna, Prawn, Mackerel & Crab Flavour)" (adult cat food) with cat milk mixed in it (Whiskas). I saw online that kittens should be eating kitten food (duhh) due to nutrition reasons. However, I was wondering if I were to change to those food straight away would it cause diarrhea thanks.

You have good instincts.. firstly a good kitten food is the way to go. I never do cat milk.. don't see the point. And a quick change over can cause digestive issues.
Fancy Feast basic range has a kitten one: Trouble is it's 'whitefish' (although there are other ingredients of course) and I'm not wild about basing a cat diet on fish or fishy tastes. It's a bit of a myth that cats should eat lots of fish. It think it has more to do with a fishing industry that wondered what to do with a lot of its waste product, but then I'm a bit of a cynic. It's worth noting that, when she's old enough, the classic fancy feast chicken is a good cost-effective food - Minimal fillers.

I recommend Wellness as a good food, but it is expensive. They have a kitten food. You could alternate between it and an the less expensive brands. Get her used to different ones so she doesn't get fussy (which may be the case at the moment.. that cat milk is pretty desirable to them).

It's really important she gets her fluid.. plenty of fresh water, well away from her food (they don't like drinking where they eat). And use metal or ceramic bowls, not plastic (can cause acne). Cats don't drink a lot, which is why they need the moisture of wet food.

But you can also use dry as a back-up. I use a few different brands, but find the Australian Black Hawk to be really good and cost effective. They don't seen to have a grain-free in the kitten forumula, but I think it's still not a bad buy as one option. Go for really good quality with the dry food.. There's a wellness grain-free kitten, natural choice at a pinch (that's as low as I'd go). Holistic isn't bad, but no kitten food option.
If you buy at a pet shop rather than the supermarket, ask whether you can bring it back if she doesn't like it. Many dry food companies allow that.

It's a very long time since I've had a kitten, but it's a great time to get her used to as good a food as you can afford. PetBarn often has specials and multiple buys, but take care you don't end up with a whole heap of food she's decided she won't eat.
It's a cat thing.