Budget dairy-free kitten wet food?

[CyberTiger]

Hi! I'm trying to figure out foods for up to 1 year in age. For wet food, I'd like a food in the Fancy Feast tier (in price and decent-ness) with nutrients needed for kittens.

Fancy Feast and Tiny Tiger have kitten-specific foods, but I'm concerned with how milk is included. My cat (a stray I took in) is thought to be about 7 months old now, give or take. Wouldn't she be lactose intolerant by this point? So those don't sound like a good idea.

The closest I've found on my own are the Wholehearted kitten wet foods. But only tuna is offered as a pate, and small can pates have made giving wet food soooo much easier. But if these non-pates are my best option, well, that's all there is to it.

I've been giving her Fancy Feast Classics (poultry and beef pate kinds) between the vet saying adult food is fine and the whole dairy thing. But if kitten food would make a good difference for her, I'd like to try to make a switch if I can.

I appreciate any and all help and input! Just feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out my options.

 

[Alldara]

Dairy in cat foods is usually cow. The lactose found in cow milk and the lactose found in cat milk would not be the same. (For ex. People who are lactose intolerant can usually have goat milk or cheese as it's a different lactose.)

Iams Perfect Portions has kitten food. As does Purina Pro Plan, which I'm a big fan of.
Blue Buffalo as well.
Crave might, that's a decent budget food.
Authority and Nutrience also have kitten formulas. I don't personally recommend Nutro.
Up a slight bit higher and you have Wellness and Merrick.

 

[CyberTiger]

Dairy in cat foods is usually cow. The lactose found in cow milk and the lactose found in cat milk would not be the same. (For ex. People who are lactose intolerant can usually have goat milk or cheese as it's a different lactose.)

So is it something kittens should never have then, being too different from cat milk to begin with? Or is it kind of a hit or miss thing?

Iams Perfect Portions has kitten food. As does Purina Pro Plan, which I'm a big fan of.
Blue Buffalo as well.
Crave might, that's a decent budget food.
Authority and Nutrience also have kitten formulas. I don't personally recommend Nutro.
Up a slight bit higher and you have Wellness and Merrick.

Thank you! I will look into those.

 

[Furballsmom]

So is it something kittens should never have then, being too different from cat milk to begin with?

I've read that kittens can't have cow milk, they'll get diarrhea. They can have goat milk however.

 

[CyberTiger]

Yeah, I think both the FF and TT for kittens are with cow's milk. Both say it's "real milk" in the images and an official answer on Chewy for FF's said there's "a touch of cow's milk" in it. I'll post a question on Chewy asking about TT to be sure, which might at least help someone else.

After looking at the options, I think I'll get some WholeHearted for now. It looks like there is a kitten turkey pate and some other all stages pates. Having some different non-fish options sounds good, and I could always try the non-pates, too. Lots of options.

For everything else without milk, it is either only in chicken and maybe fish, or they want $20+ for 12 little cans. I might look more into non-pate and 5.5oz & up options later though.

I appreciate all the help and input! It's helped me to better think through this. I can get so scrambled sometimes all on my own.

 

[Alldara]

So is it something kittens should never have then, being too different from cat milk to begin with? Or is it kind of a hit or miss thing?



Thank you! I will look into those.

Cats should never have cows milk at all

 

[CyberTiger]

Just posting an update for anyone else who ends up having the same question. Fancy Feast Classic pates and Tiny Tiger pates are "all stages" foods, so they're fine for cats under a year old. The websites just label them as being for adults only for some reason.

I ended up going with both of those. Because of how foods can go out of stock, it's a good idea to have 2 different foods/brands.

I bought the Beef & Poultry pate packs of both, and these plus the I And Love And You dry food (Chicken & Duck) were an affordable way to keep my cat healthy in her transition into a very healthy looking adult cat.

I did try the WholeHearted, but it seemed like really dry-texture wet food and stuck to the can. It made extra work for me and I think it was my cat's least favorite so far. But hey, they might be a good choice for someone else. And it seems like an affordable decent brand if you really want kitten-only food.