# Is "kitten" food really necessary for kittens? How long?



## cat1001 (Feb 2, 2010)

I have (2) cats, one is about 3 years old, the other about 10 mths. For the first 6 mths or so, I kept the kitten in a kennel when he ate (kitten food). Both will eat either kitten or adult food, its hard to feed them separately unless kenneled. I know that kitten food is suppose to have more protein and other nutrients to help growth, but is it really necessary? For the past week both have been eating the Purina Chow Indoor formula.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

At 10 months, it's fine to feed adult food. However, I would recommend feeding something better than Purina Cat Chow...it's a very low quality food. A high quality wet food is recommended. I know you didn't ask that question, but if you're interested we can make some suggestions.


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

I don't mean to hyjack this thread, but can you make a suggestion for a good quality wet food that I could purchase in, say, a Wal Mart or Pet Smart?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

WalMart will not have any good quality pet food. PetsMart may, depending on the store.
BUT, Friskies canned is still better than the better dry foods available...and Friskies is almost everywhere.

Check labels; you want main-meats as the first ingredients and little/NO corns/grains, by-products and other stretchers and fillers.

But remember: The best cat food is the one your cat(s) will eat. I had to buy-and-try many brands before I found one that all our cats would eat. I feed Innova dry and canned Innova EVO mixed with canned Friskies to trick my kitties into thinking they are eating 'junk' food.


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## cat1001 (Feb 2, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> WalMart will not have any good quality pet food. PetsMart may, depending on the store.
> BUT, Friskies canned is still better than the better dry foods available...and Friskies is almost everywhere.
> 
> Check labels; you want main-meats as the first ingredients and little/NO corns/grains, by-products and other stretchers and fillers.
> ...


My cats love Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula...lol What about IAMS? I usually buy my food from Target, they sell other "premium" brands also. Ive read various sites claiming how bad Purina food is but I see no hard evidence that it caused the problems their animals have. Im not saying that none of it is true but if it were that big a problem wouldnt it be exposed by animal rights groups?


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

nah, animal rights groups are only interested in exterminating domestic animals, so they go after breeders and those who create more domestic animals (food industry).

Iams isn't premium, unless you consider McDonalds premium :wink: 
We're not saying purina is poison, your cat doesn't eat it and drop dead. It's safe enough for THAT, it's more of a chronic thing, poor nutrition over a long period causes issues. Cat food trials don't last years, when they test your cat's food they are only testing it for however long is required, so unfortunately the long term effects of a food do not become apparent until it's on the market and fed to cats for years. So the real subjects of pet food studies are sitting in our homes. I don't think feeding a low quality food is a death sentence, though many illnesses could be traced at least in part to diet (including things like cancer, many low quality foods add chemicals that are banned from human foods due to the possibility of them being cancer causing). I think it's mostly a quality of life thing, I want my cats to feel their best for the longest time possible. I want them to still have shiny coats and a muscular build when they are old, I want them to keep their teeth and still run around like psychos a few times a week. I don't want to prevent them from reaching their full potential in health, energy, or happiness. The food we put into our pets fuels their entire body, it makes them grow, think, move. You want to make sure the best fuel possible is going into your cat.

Logically that means meat. Cats did not evolve eating grains, fruits, and vegetables. WE did, not them. Their entire body is designed for meat eating, from the exterior design for hunting to the interior design that allows them to digest meat, provides resistance to bacteria from raw meat, and does not contain the chemicals or structures necessary to make very much fuel from grains, fruits, and veggies. Those things provide a very small amount of fuel for the cat's body because he can't break it down well, it mostly comes out the other end. My cats ate Purina cat chow for a while, before I learned that it was junk food. Their poop got so much better just going from purina to felidae dry. Willie's were never great until he was on raw though. Neko was overweight until he was off of dry altogether. The energy change in Neko since changing to a wet food diet has been amazing, he's like a kitten again. He is finally getting the right fuel for his little engine so he can go, go, go!

It's not a purina problem, it's a grain/fruit/veggie/carbohydrate problem. They don't belong in cat food, they don't provide much energy yet pack on pounds(empty calories) and get pooped out leaving the cat fat and still hungry for more because he's not getting the meat and fat requirements necessary to feel full. Even "good" dry foods like EVO, Wellness CORE, and Nature's Variety have more carbs than is ideal. plus they are dehydrating.

There are a lot of good foods out there (wet food, dry food is nasty but I understand if you need to feed some for the cheap cost).
Here is a list of food that I would be okay feeding(most do contain some grains/fruits/veggies but it's nothing compared to dry food, I would try not to ONLY feed a food with a large grain content, use a grain free food as well, I rotate through several of these brands):
Wellness (petco sells this)
Innova
EVO
California Natural
By Nature
Nature's Variety
Go! Natural
Avoderm
Merrick
Evangers (I'm pretty sure they took the menadione out, might want to check)
Back to Basics
Blue Buffalo
Eagle Pack
Felidae
Natural Balance (ONLY formulas where meat comes first in the name, petco sells this)
Newman's Own Organics (may be at some grocery stores, I think my stop and shop sells it)
Solid Gold
Taste of the Wild
Weruva 
Ziwipeak
Brandon Farms (may be at some grocery stores, my Roche Brothers sells it)

This list is only for wet food, some of these brands have horrendous dry foods, talk about grain heavy!

They are not all terrific, some are very fish heavy, some are not. some have lots of fruits and veggies others have none. BUT none have corn, wheat or soy (at least I think they are all soy free). I personally feed a wide variety, I buy about 12 of those brands at a time, about two cans of each. My cat is so picky that the two really good brands (wellness and EVO) would start to bore him. But because those foods are in his rotation I feel absolutely fine about feeding foods with some grains/fruits/veggies. Some people don't feel comfortable with that. Ideally I'd get Neko on raw like Willie but Neko doesn't seem fond of that idea.

Hope I didn't sound preachy, that was not my intention, just trying to explain why although cats may live long lives on low quality dry foods, it is still not a good diet for them.


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## katlover13 (Apr 15, 2008)

My son and I were just talking about this. His cat is about 8 months old. He has fed her Wellness kitten food ever since she adopted him. She loves to eat and shows signs of maybe having a future weight problem already. I was saying maybe she should go on the adult Wellness because she doesn't need the extra calories in the kitten food. Is their more benefit to feeding the kitten food then just the extra calories for active kittens?


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

katlover13 said:


> Is their more benefit to feeding the kitten food then just the extra calories for active kittens?


I would think only if the kitten food is higher in some areas of nutrition to assist in growth, but by 8-10mo old a cat has done most of their growing to reach adult size. Weaning to about 6-8mo is prime-growing-time for a young cat, after that it is mostly filling out with a little more growth.

I fed my cats Iams for years and thought I was feeding them the very best, until I learned different here at CF. When I switched to Innova my overweight Squirrely-Jo lost 1/3rd of her body weight, going from an 18# fatty to a healthy 12# over a period of about a year. S-Jo benefitted from her weight loss by being able to jump, having more energy, actually running around and playing and became fit, instead of fat.

I call the common cat foods "McKittyCrack" because they are popular, widely available and cats love the taste. I still keep a bag of McKittyCrack in the cupboard and I give the kitties a treat of a few kibble each, every evening. I also like to compare the McKittyCrack foods with Fast Food Restaurants ... yes, you can survive eating only Fast Food, but it isn't generally healthy over the long-term and the same medical/weight issues people have, kitties can get, too. IMO, Fast Food is best used as an infrequent treat and not a steady diet. That is how I use the McKittyCrack for my kitties. They get their healthy stuff available all day, their major canned food meal in the early evening and about a half cup of McKittyCrack split between all eight cats after I scoop litterboxes late in the evening.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Kittens and adult cats do not need "different" types of food. Kittens just need MORE food. This is true as long as you are feeding high-quality grain-free canned food or raw. No need to get special "kitten" food. Evo 95% meat formulae, for instance, are fine for all - just feed the kitten more meals a day for more total caloric intake.


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

hoofmaiden said:


> Kittens and adult cats do not need "different" types of food. Kittens just need MORE food. This is true as long as you are feeding high-quality grain-free canned food or raw. No need to get special "kitten" food. Evo 95% meat formulae, for instance, are fine for all - just feed the kitten more meals a day for more total caloric intake.


How many meals a day would you feed the kitten and until what age?


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Kittens need 4 meals a day up to at least 12 weeks. Then 3 a day until they don't want them anymore. My Jonah is almost 6 mos and he still gets 3 b/c he happily eats up 3. But he's occasionally starting to leave something in the dish at his bedtime snack, so pretty soon that will probably go.


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

And how much food at eat sitting?


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## cat1001 (Feb 2, 2010)

@~Siameseifuplz~

Do you know much about "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul" brand cat food? Its $28 a bag for 18lbs at my local feed store.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

lv2ski said:


> And how much food at eat sitting?


?? What the kitten will eat! He should be full and satisfied. You don't start restricting amounts until 9-12 mos.


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## lv2ski (Feb 18, 2010)

Wasn't sure, that's why I asked. Thanks!


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

> @~Siameseifuplz~
> 
> Do you know much about "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul" brand cat food? Its $28 a bag for 18lbs at my local feed store.


My problem with Chicken Soup is that it is pretty grain heavy. It contains Barley, white rice, oatmeal, and millet as well as potato. That's a lot, even for dry food. HOWEVER it does not contain any big red flags like wheat, corn, or soy, no unknown ingredients (meat, bone, animal, etc.). They took their menadione out so that's good. I would not feed it as the sole food, if you are also feeding a good portion of wet food regularly then it isn't terrible. Too grainy for me but much better than purina, Iams, etc.

Protein is also quite low, less than both purina and Iams (regular adult formulas).

That's why it was not on my list, not enough protein and too many grains. But it's all about what you are comfortable with, I think if a good wet food is fed as a main part of the diet then some of this dry isn't the worst thing in the world. JMO though, others will disagree.


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