Best type of diet

mahaabbas

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hello all!
I am adopting a kitty soon, and trying to learn as much as i can before he comes home. What type of diet is best? I dont think i want to do kibble only. Im kinda thinking of doing half raw, but i dont know how kibble and raw will be together. or if i can maybe do half canned half raw? i am not too sure. i have about a month till he comes home and hope to have something planned for him.
 

Beholder

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Congrats on your new kitty! The best diet is one that is affordable for you. How old he? Have you decided on a name?

Everyone feels differently about diet, but I think most people would agree that a diet with less dry food (so more wet/raw/cooked/etc) is usually better.

If the cat is a kitten (less than a year) they'll usually eat just about anything. Older cats tend to be pickier though. You'll likely want to start by feeding him what he was previously eating. Changing a food too quickly on a cat can cause stool problems amongst other things. Other than that, it's completely up to you and your budget. I personally feed canned, raw, and homecooked at the moment, but I do intend to go back to fully raw at some point soon. If you're wanting to do raw I wouldn't suggest feeding it with kibble. In my experience cats will tend to hold out for the kibble over just about all else, which isn't necessarily the best for them. Also, make sure to do plenty of research about raw before starting, especially if you plan to make it yourself.

The are plenty of really great canned food brands out there nowadays as well. catfooddb.com is a great website to look at non-biased reviews.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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I agree that I wouldn't feed kibble and raw, but think it's ok to feed canned food occasionally with raw. They do, however, digest at different rates, so I wouldn't feed them in the same meal. (except if you need to mix them while transitioning) We have a raw forum, a sub-forum of this nutrition forum, if you want to gain more information about raw feeding, or even home cooking the food. It's here:Raw & Home-Cooked Cat Food
 

daftcat75

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I think you should absolutely feed him both canned and raw (separate meals.) Raw can have quality and supply issues. Canned will help you weather shortages and bad batches. Also, raw is not compatible with timed feeders. One thing you'll find with scheduled meals (aka not leaving kibble out all the time) is that sometimes kitty is hungry when you're not awake or you're away at the office (if that's a thing again where you are.) To avoid either a 4am paw in the face or stomach acid barfs because he had to wait too long between meals, you may want to use timed feeders. Canned food can sit in these for hours. Raw should never be left out for more than an hour.

If it was me to do it all over again (and I hope it will be soon), I would start him on canned first to make sure the canned food you have picked out for him agrees with him (on both ends) and he enjoys it. Build your base on canned food. Once he's got that down, you can figure out which raw you'll feed and which he wants to eat. Or if you're making your own, having him primarily on canned will help you as you get your production and feeding practiced and perfected. Make raw a guest meal (one meal a day) until you're solid on your choice and your supply (whether store bought or homemade.)

You will have his whole life to feed him. You don't have to rush out of the gates into the perfect diet. Build a solid base of canned food. Experiment with one raw meal a day until you find a winner. Then you can play with how many meals of each he gets per day. I would recommend either two raw plus one canned or two of each. In other words, always keep a canned meal so he's not left without a food to eat or having to do a rapid transition if you run into issues with the raw.

My angel Krista always got her raw portions as first breakfast and first dinner. Second breakfast and second dinner was canned so that I could leave it out for later if she didn't finish it.
 

Flybynight

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Hi M mahaabbas
I would skip kibble especially for male cats as dry food can lead to urinary issues. I would have a rotation of a few different brands textures of wet food to get him used to variety and I agree, one raw meal per day is probably good.
You don't want him to get stuck on one brand or flavor, as it may be hard to move him away from it later.
But a few factors come into play.
If a kitten you want to first feed him what he is used to eating and then slowly transition to what will be his new diet as kittens are more prone to bowel issues on changes in food.
An adult cat may already be a kibble addict or unfamiliar and hence wary of new types of food.
My adult cats get a range of wet foods and usually one meal a day of premade raw.
 

MissClouseau

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A small kitten may not handle a lot of change / rotation but as he's getting older, I highly recommend getting him get use to all raw, wet, and dry food. It will give you much more options on what to feed with in the longterm and you can switch between different options for different times and different needs.

Mine eats both wet food and dry food daily. More wet than dry. I think this is the best way. She couldn't do with wet food only as she prefers to eat only 2 cans a day at most and not get enough calories with that only.

Also small meals throughout the day is the best for their health. Like at least 3-4 meals. Which is difficult to do for some cat parents with wet or raw food.
 
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