Is Kitten Food Really The Best Choice?

[NewYork1303]

So originally I was feeding my kitten Purrfect Bistro adult cat kibble (which is what my other cat is eating). I ended up switching over to Royal Canin kitten food as my vet suggested, but looking at ingredients and nutrition breakdown, I am more than a little skeptical over which one is better. This is the breakdown for both. 

Royal Canin

Crude Protein (min) 32.0%

Crude Fat (min) 10.0%

Crude Fiber (max) 12.3%

Moisture (max) 8.0%

281 kilocalories per cup

Ingredients: Chicken meal, brewers rice, corn, powdered cellulose, wheat gluten, corn gluten meal, natural flavors, pea fiber, chicken fat, dried beat pulp, grain distillers dried yest, vegetable oil, sodium silco aluminate, fish oil, potassium cloride, psyllium seed oil, salt fructooligosacharides, hydrolyzed yeast, choline chloride, l-lysine, DL-methionine, taurine, vitamins, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate,, niacin, biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride,vitamin A acetate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement], trace minerals (zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite, copper proteinate), L-carnitine, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid. 

Purrfect Bistro:

Crude Protein (min) 41.0%

Crude Fat (min) 14.0%

Crude Fiber (max) 7.5%

Moisture (max) 11.0%

390 kilocalories per cup

In addition

1% calcium

0.80% phosphorous

0.20% taurine

Omega 6 fatty acid 6.0%

omega 3 fatty acid 0.40%

AAFCO approved.

Ingredients: Deboned Salmon, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Dried Potato, Peas, Natural Pork Flavor, Potato Protein, Powdered Cellulose, Natural Chicken Flavor, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Sweet Potatoes, Ground Flaxseed, Organic Alfalfa, Yeast Culture, Dried Whey Protein Concentrate, Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Cranberries, Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite), Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate), Choline Chloride, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Rosemary Extract, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product. 

I have dealt with corn allergies in the past with dogs, so the RC containing corn bothers me. I also just don't get why one is kitten food and one is adult cat food? I don't know much about the nutritional requirements of kittens, but it seems like the adult food has more nutrients in it in this comparison. I will probably finish out the bag of Royal Canin, but is it worth buying more?

The kitten also eats Fancy Feast canned kitten food. 

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[mrsgreenjeens]

I've always been told that it's the difference in the percentages of everything, not the ingredients per se.  Yes,I agree  the ingredients in this kitten food don't seem very good.  Does the Purrfect Bistro not have an All Stages or Kitten Food.  All our Vets have always said not to feed a growing kitten adult food until they are at least 8 months old

 

[mschauer]

mrsgreenjeens is correct. The difference between a food formulated to meet the needs of an adult cat and one formulated to meet the needs of a growing cat isn't in the ingredients. The difference is in the nutritional makeup of the foods. A rapidly growing kitten needs a more nutrient dense food than an adult.  A kitten food will be higher in protein, arginine, lysine, tryptophan, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin D.

If you don't like the ingredients in the food recommended by your vet find one that is more to your liking. As long as the label says it is formulated for kittens it is fine.

How old is your kitten? 

 

[NewYork1303]

She is almost 14 weeks. Purrfect Bistro does sell a kitten food, looks like I can order it on Amazon 

, I don't think our local pet store has it.

Also, I apologize for the extra lines of text and the weird typing at the bottom of that first post. The kitten climbed on my keyboard and I thought I managed to delete it all. But alas not. 

 

My three year old cat keeps eating the kitten food that I have for the kitten. Is there any issue with him eating it as an adult cat?

 

[mschauer]

At  just 14 weeks your kitten definitely needs the nutrient dense kitten food.

Yes, adults can eat kitten food. You might want to look at the calorie content of the food though. Kitten food is sometimes high in calories because being hyper little buggers kittens tend to burn a lot of calories. An adult might get kinda chunky eating kitten food on a regular basis. 

 

[chwx]

I don't buy into the whole "life stage" foods. I've never fed puppy or kitten food and nobody ever died, didn't grow properly or had any other issues from being fed "adult" or all life stage foods. I mean seriously, do mice come with labels across their heads that say "kitten food" on them? My oldest dog is 16yo and doesn't eat senior food either. Nor do my 7 and likely 10+ year old cats. Everyone eats a basic, "adult" food and thrives.

Both of my kittens have eaten Purrfect Bistro and did very well on it. I really like the food actually, just pricey for someone feeding 4 cats, 2 dogs (one who's a big German Shepherd mix) and a turtle, and is now preggo. Lol! If you like the Merrick then feed the Merrick. You can also feed other flavors of Fancy Feast too and even other brands!

JM2C.

 

[NewYork1303]

I think that I am just going to try mixing kitten food and adult food for a while. He has two food locations, one up high where she can't get which will stay all adult food and one down where she can get to it which I will mix a little. (Since they are closed into our bedroom and bathroom during the night the second dish sits on a counter in the bathroom). Since she steals his food between meals and won't sit still long enough to eat a full meal this is probably just the easiest for both of them. I'll try and get the Maverick kitten food when the bag of Royal Canin runs out since she seems to prefer the taste of this food. I will continue to offer her meals of just kitten food, but if she doesn't eat it all, it won't be too big of a deal. She will continue to get canned kitten food which should help as well.

 

[mschauer]

 I mean seriously, do mice come with labels across their heads that say "kitten food" on them? 

Of course not. But we aren't talking about feeding mice now are we? 

Common sense should tell us that  a rapidly growing animal, whether cat or dog or moose, is going to require more nutrients to build their developing bodies than an adult or a senior animal. 

Personally I want to give kittens as good a start on life as possible and part of that is to make sure they get the nutrition they need while they are developing.

 

[momto3cats]

The minimum requirements for the nutrients in kitten food are higher than those for adult food. Plenty of adult foods meet the requirements for kitten food, but within the same brand, the kitten food is usually still higher in protein, fat and calories. Personally I would rather feed kitten food to an adult than the other way around, unless the adult is gaining weight from the calorie dense kitten food.