Feeding Questions

[AmyTheKittyMommy]

For me and my new kittens, our options are wet food and kibble, as that is what I am able to provide and that is what they’re used to eating. I bought the same foods their foster mom has been giving them, Wellness Pâté and Whole Earth Kibble (which are both grain free), in order to have their transition go smoothly. I feel like having familiar food will be comforting for them.
My reading has indicated that grain free is best for cats, as they’re obligate carnivores and fillers like potatoes, peas, corn, and grains aren’t good for them. I really want to provide good food for them to keep them healthy, so I’m looking into only feeding grain free. I had some questions, though.
Which grain free brands are good? I haven’t had enough experience to know and my research was inconclusive, as one site would claim a brand was good and then another site would slam that brand for having too many recalls.
In addition, can I feed a variety of brands? I don’t want them to be picky, only like one brand, or be bored of one brand, so I was wondering if it’s a good idea to buy multiple brands of wet/dry food and rotate them for diversity. (One exception would be fish- I have a family member who cannot tolerate the smell of fish, so I can’t buy food with fish in it besides a little fish oil. Will this be okay? If not, I can try talking to said family member and making sure I feed fishy foods when they aren’t around.)
Lastly, I know kittens need to eat multiple times a day. Would wet food in the morning, dry food left out during the day when I’m gone (around 8 hours) so they can free feed, and then wet food at night before bed be alright? I’m not sure at what times/what kinds of food they should be fed. If needed, I can get an automatic feeder, but if possible I’d like to avoid it.
I know this post was full of questions and a bit all over the place. I just want to make sure I’m feeding my new babies good food and taking care of their dietary needs so they can live long, happy lives.

 

[Neo_23]

A lot of foods that claim to be "grain free" use potatoes and peas instead of wheat and soy. If you want to avoid potatoes and peas you are quite limited in your options. For dry food, the only brand I know of is Ziwipeak (and I'm not sure if it has chickpeas in it). For wet food, a couple varieties of Koha don't have any of the above mentioned ingredients and Rawz is a very good brand that doesn't have any of those ingredients and is very low in carbs. I would focus moreso on making sure that the foods you are feeding are low in carbs and high in protein/moderate in fat than trying to avoid peas and potatoes because those are pretty much in all dry foods.

I think your feeding schedule is fine, but just make sure that the amount you are feeding is good. For kittens under 7-8 months you can usually just feed them as much as they will eat.

And yes, you can feed a variety of brands of wet food but I would stick to one brand of dry just because dry can be harder on kitties' tummies (although I do know some people who alternate dry brands). It all depends on your cat and if they can handle the different brands. Just introduce everything slowly and monitor the litter box to avoid any stomach upset.

 

[himawari]

I definitely agree with what Neo_23 said.

To add on to what s/he said about Ziwipeak, I believe the canned version does contain chickpeas but not the dry. Feline Natural is also another brand located in New Zealand that has great ingredients, imo. As for deciding which brand is good, it really depends on what you define as good too. Some people don't mind by-products or carragenean or agar agar while others do. As long as your kittens are getting mostly meat protein with low/zero carbs.

Back when I was feeding a mostly wet & kibble diet to my cat, there were three brands that I would switch between. It was the Nature's Variety, Acana Meadowland & Orijen Cat & Kitten. Granted, I would do each brand for one month before switching to another. Then I began to do a raw diet so it became Ziwi Peak dry which he got tired off so now I don't do dry at all. But there are times I give him some Stella & Chewy freeze-dried (but only occasionally since I hear they are high in phosphorus).

And I highly suggest continue with switching wet brands just because you never know if there will be a recall or your kittens might turn their nose up on one brand. That way you have a back-up plan that they already know.

 

[MeganLLB]

For kibble I feed my cats Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost or Ultimate Protein. The latter doesn't have peas or potatoes, it does use tapioca as a binder, but you have to have it for dry food. I don't think the Raw Boost has many fillers, plus it has the bits of dehydrated raw food that they really like.

I'm kind of middle of the road with the wet food. I try to stay under $2/can. I feed Dave's, Fancy Feast, Iams, Hound and Gatos, RedBarn, and sometimes Rawz but it's hard to find and a bit pricey.