Kitten food vs adult cat food

[melissa]

Our kitten Sulley is 14 weeks old and has just recently been allowed full time access to our resident 1 year old cat Sebastian and the run of the whole house. They eat on opposite sides of the kitchen in their own spots. Sebastian only likes fancy feast grilled poultry style wet food and we have been feeding Sulley Purina pro plan kitten wet food. I put their respective foods in their own spots and Sulley will inevitably leave his food to go eat Sebastian’s as soon as he walks away from his. Sebastian will occasionally eat Sulleys kitten food too. Is there a major difference between kitten wet food and adult? I know the pro plan is a better quality food than the fancy feast, Sebastian doesn’t seem to like the pro plan adult food. I’m still going to offer Sulley the kitten food but at what age could be be given the same as Sebastian since he seems to prefer it

 

[tabbytom]

Is there a major difference between kitten wet food and adult?

A kitten at this age should be strictly be fed on food meant for kittens as these food are specially formulated to aid the kittens growth. The kitten food is full of nutrients and proteins and of course, wet food is best as wet food as I mentioned, is full of proteins and nutrients that aid the developing year of the kitten and wet food keeps them hydrated.

It is ok for Sebastian to eat Sulley's food once in awhile but it is no good for Sulley to eat Sebastian's food as Sebastian's food is meant for adults and the formulation is different.

As kittens mature at 1 year old for the normal breeds, you have to slowly transit them over to adult food.
The other thing you can do is get food labeled 'For All Life Stages'. With this, both Sulley and Sebastian can have it with no problems and there's no need to transit Sulley over to adult's food. My boy is a rescue and I brought him home when he was around 3 - 4 weeks old and he was given wet food labeled 'For All Life Stages' and he has been on it till now and he's coming to be 8 years old end of the year.

Otherwise I guess you have to separate them during meal times so that they don't eat each other's food.

 

[Ivy204]

I don’t think it’s a huge deal if they sample from each other’s occasionally. I think most pet parents are in your situation. It’s not like it’s poison. You could try giving both kitten food. It’s not bad for adults as long as their isn’t a weight problem.
Pro plan isn’t that much better than fancy feast. Fancy feast wet food is actually pretty good. Mine really liked the Iam’s kitten food and I liked the smaller portions.

 

[Ivy204]

I don’t like fancy feast kitten food because it’s advertised as having milk in it and I don’t get that. Cats get stomach issues from milk.

 

[Alldara]

The kitten food will have higher of some nutrients needed to grow. It's not the end of the world for the kitten to eat adult food either. But the bulk of the food kittens eat should be kitten food.

As long as your adult doesn't have any pre-existing conditions, it's safe for him to eat Purina kitten too. Even with most conditions, it's safe to eat (some urinary conditions for example won't be able to tolerate the kitten level of phosphorus). You'll need to keep an eye on weight, but if he's playing with the kitten he might need the extra energy too!

I disagree about Purina only being "slightly higher" quality as they recently changed their formulas following a longitudinal study on cats. Their new Purina formula was found to be more nutritious than even Purina old formula...so it certainly has a leg up on Fancy Feast. Still, fed is best...so whatever your cat will eat is best for you!

 

[Ivy204]

The kitten food will have higher of some nutrients needed to grow. It's not the end of the world for the kitten to eat adult food either. But the bulk of the food kittens eat should be kitten food.

As long as your adult doesn't have any pre-existing conditions, it's safe for him to eat Purina kitten too. Even with most conditions, it's safe to eat (some urinary conditions for example won't be able to tolerate the kitten level of phosphorus). You'll need to keep an eye on weight, but if he's playing with the kitten he might need the extra energy too!

I disagree about Purina only being "slightly higher" quality as they recently changed their formulas following a longitudinal study on cats. Their new Purina formula was found to be more nutritious than even Purina old formula...so it certainly has a leg up on Fancy Feast. Still, fed is best...so whatever your cat will eat is best for you!

Do you have any links to new studies? I am curious.

 

[Alldara]

Do you have any links to new studies? I am curious.

They aren't out yet, so they won't have links. My vet just mentioned there were upcoming studies. She didn't mention the year they will be completed either.

 

[emocatowner]

I'd recommend giving them smaller portions more often, so they can finish their food in one go. And keep the rest in the fridge with a clamp/lid for later.

It's not a big deal if they get a few bites from each others' food, as long as the majority of food is their own.

I'd recommend sticking to kitten food for Sully until he's 1 year old, maybe look for a sterilized kitten version once he gets neutered. It really has a bunch of extra stuff in it that adult food doesn't have, including higher protein and more calories, so if an adult cat ate this, it would make them chubby real fast, and the extra protein will be harsh on their kidneys, particularly for older adults. And feeding adult food to kittens will deprive them of all this extra nutrition, plus essential vitamins and minerals.

I know it's a pain, I have 2x 1 year old cats, and I am also adopting 2x 3mo cats, and for 9 months I'll have to carefully feed them separate foods