All ages & Kitten Food Combo okay?

[WestCoastCatGuardian]

Hello!

I'm a brand new adoptive cat mama on the west coast of Canada. We adopted a sibling pair, at the beginning of December, and I've spent the last month trying to educate myself on all things related to kitten care.

They are currently 15 weeks old, and growing beautifully. About 5lbs each. We've made the decision to feed them a 100% wet diet, with occasionally crunchy treats (Kittles) for bribes and rewards.

When we took them to the vet for their boosters, he asked what we were feeding them, and when I said it was a variety of quality all ages foods, he said that I should just stick with kitten food until they were at least a year old. He recommended Hills, Purina Pro and Royal Canin, and when I looked at the labels, it seemed full of stuff that I'm not comfortable feeding my two princes. Given this, I'm not sure that I entirely trust the vet's advice when it comes to optimal cat nutrition.

Since I'm not willing to discard the advice entirely, I looked for a kitten food, that seemed to have a pretty decent ingredient list. I've settled on Instinct Kitten as the main food, with Tiki Velvet Kitten Mousse as a treat, even though I like the ingredient list less than the After Dark line.

Prior to this we were feeding a rotation Tiki Cat after dark, Hound & Gatos Chicken, & Nulo. Tiki Cat after Dark was by far their favorite. They go crazy for that stuff!

Is All Ages stuff really that inadequate? It seemed like they were growing well, and my hope was to have a good roster of canned foods that they will eat. I would really love to get a high-quality rotation that has enough kitten as the core food to keep them growing well, but also keep the ongoing costs of food down to a dull roar, as there is seemingly no end of things I can spend on for these two.

Would love to read some thoughts on this, and the appropriateness of feeding kittens some all-ages food (and if so, how much/often), as well as some top Canadian suggestions for high quality all meat foods for my two little guys.

Thanks in advance!

 

[alana0011]

I think it's great that you decided to feed them a mostly wet diet. That's what all of mine get, with the occasional dry food. Everyone has a different opinion on the food, but my youngest is about 4 months, and he eats adult cat food for the most part along with some kitten dry food every night.
How wonderful that you adopted a sibling pair!! I wish you all the best.

 

[Kieka]

All Ages or All Stages foods are good for kittens. Pet food labeling is actually kind of interesting if you really get into it with the order of the words and what words describe the food being dictated by the makeup of the food. But when it comes to ages: kitten labeling means it will meet the nutritional needs of a growing kitten, adult food is NOT nutritionally complete for kittens (never feed a growing kitten adult labeled food or they are at risk of nutritional deficiencies), all ages/all stages means it can nutritionally support all ages of cats. The whole reason that labeling was put into effect was because commercial cat food got to a point that profit mattered more then the animals and animals died as a result. Then standards of the bare minimum survival nutrition were put in place and many manufacturers out there just barely meet them. Now some foods will be better then the bare minimum and some adult foods might be suitable for kittens but it is better not to risk your kittens health by betting on the corporation to do better then minimum.

Per the FDA, https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/pet-food-labels-general, "Regardless of the method used, the nutritional adequacy statement will also state for which life stage(s) the product is suitable, such as "for maintenance," or "for growth." A product intended "for all life stages" meets the more stringent nutritional needs for growth and reproduction. A maintenance ration will meet the needs of an adult, non-reproducing dog or cat of normal activity, but may not be sufficient for a growing, reproducing, or hard-working animal. On the other hand, an all life stages ration can be fed for maintenance. Although the higher levels of nutrients would not be harmful to the healthy adult animal, they are not really necessary. Occasionally a product may be labeled for a more specific use or life stage, such as "senior" or for a specific size or breed. However, there is little information as to the true dietary needs of these more specific uses, and no rules governing these types of statements have been established. Thus, a "senior" diet must meet the requirements for adult maintenance, but no more. A product that does not meet either of the methods for substantiation of nutritional adequacy must state that "this product is intended for intermittent or supplemental feeding only," unless the product is conspicuously identified as a “snack,” “treat.” or “supplement.”"

* With "for maintenance" being adult, "for growth" being kitten/puppy.

All to say, yes your kitten can eat an all ages/all stages food and won't have any negative consequences. They can also eat just kitten food or a mix of all ages and kitten. Just don't feed them adult labeled until they are done growing or you risk nutritional issues (that's usually between 9 and 18 months depending on your cat). All three cats in my household have been eating all ages food their whole lives (they did eat kitten specific dry in addition to their wet but mostly because the kibble was smaller then the all ages). My vet actually dislikes the brands your vet mentioned except for perscription diets in specific situations because she says they are filled with "junk cats don't need".

 

[maggie101]

When my cats were kittens I mostly fed them wellness core, Dr elseys,hound&gatos,tiki after dark
All those brands are for cats and kittens. Only difference is kittens eat more

 

[WestCoastCatGuardian]

[QUOTE="Kieka, post: 5463264, member: 110390"

All to say, yes your kitten can eat an all ages/all stages food and won't have any negative consequences. They can also eat just kitten food or a mix of all ages and kitten. Just don't feed them adult labeled until they are done growing or you risk nutritional issues (that's usually between 9 and 18 months depending on your cat). All three cats in my household have been eating all ages food their whole lives (they did eat kitten specific dry in addition to their wet but mostly because the kibble was smaller then the all ages). My vet actually dislikes the brands your vet mentioned except for perscription diets in specific situations because she says they are filled with "junk cats don't need".
[/QUOTE]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply! It's super helpful and greatly appreciated!

 

[Flybynight]

WestCoastCatGuardian
The foods you are feeding sound much better than Royal Canin, Purina and Hills. I agree, about the questionable ingredients having looked at the labels in the past.
My kitten (now three years old) was fed a rotation of Animonda kitten pates and Meowing Heads an all stages wet food.
i think what you are doing is fine.