Best Food For Growing Kitten?

[wahine01]

My boy is almost 6 months old and I've been a bit confused on what/how much I should be feeding him. Lately I've been feeding him Wellness Core dry food and Wellness Grain-free canned food, but would like to be able to switch things up if I can. I've also fed him Advance brand dry food, Royal Canin and Hills Science wet food (which made him throw up) in the past. The vet recommended grain free as it's easier to digest.

I feed him 1/4 of an 85g can of food in the morning and evening, and leave 1/3 of a cup or so of dry food for him to pick at during the day. Is this OK? Would it be OK to switch brands of grain free food up depending on what's on sale? Can I feed him some raw food too, or should I switch completely to raw food? There's so much information out there that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed and lost!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Normally,there isn't an issues switching up WET food, but with dry, you need to introduce a new food slowly.

I feed both wet and raw. Some folks do feed raw and dry food, although not at the same time, typically. Perhaps one meal of dry food, then later in the day a meal of raw. We do have a raw forum, if you want to take a look at it or post questions regarding raw. It's here: Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food

 

[sargon]

I'm not a fan of raw food and worked to transition my cat off of it (She never liked it, so it was really easy to do) My main motivation was how uncomfortable I was with the risks involved (having a cat who just ate raw meat lick my nose or nuzzle me seems unsafe.) I do think that cooked options like "U-Stew" are a good compromise, and occasionally feed Freya some of it.

 

[Anne]

I think that when it comes to feeding, there is no one-size-fit-all solution for all cats and all owners. You need to choose the feeding system that's best for your cat and for you. For a small portion of people the answer lies in feeding raw exclusively but according to our survey, that's about 2% of cat owners so obviously not a common choice. I'm saying that because I sometimes wonder if owners feel pressured into feeding raw where they really shouldn't be.

There are risks associated with feeding raw that you have to be aware of and make absolutely sure you do it the right way. Here's a recent article about the number one public health risk with feeding raw -
Salmonella In Cats - 9 Things Every Cat Owner Needs To Know

And for an overview of which food to choose, we have this article by Dr. Boltz -
A Scientific Take On Cat Nutrition By Dr. Rachel Boltz

The bottom line is, you should evaluate the needs and preferences of your cat and assess your own lifestyle, then opt for the best quality food you can afford - dry, wet, homemade or a mix - that your kitten actually likes. I hope this helps!