Kitten food

Paraskevi

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Hello!
This has probably been asked before but I couldn't find it. So I have a 5 month old kitten and I'm really struggling to find the best fit for my kittens food. I constantly read on the internet that any wet food is better than the best dry food there is, but any vet I have asked insists that dry food is better nutritionally. So looking for the best dry cat food that is also not the most expensive (I'm a uni student, I can't spend too much :rolleyes:) I came across Blue Buffalo that is not really available in my country. Does anybody know what to look for in the contents of the cat food to determine if it's good or not so that I can have an idea on how to judge a brand? Also any brand recommendations for budget friendly but still good dry kitten food are welcome! :kitty:
 

tarasgirl06

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Hello!
This has probably been asked before but I couldn't find it. So I have a 5 month old kitten and I'm really struggling to find the best fit for my kittens food. I constantly read on the internet that any wet food is better than the best dry food there is, but any vet I have asked insists that dry food is better nutritionally. So looking for the best dry cat food that is also not the most expensive (I'm a uni student, I can't spend too much :rolleyes:) I came across Blue Buffalo that is not really available in my country. Does anybody know what to look for in the contents of the cat food to determine if it's good or not so that I can have an idea on how to judge a brand? Also any brand recommendations for budget friendly but still good dry kitten food are welcome! :kitty:
Hello Paraskevi Paraskevi and sweet kitten, and welcome to TCS! Well, we don't know where you are, so can't recommend anything specifically, but kitten-specific wet (canned/tinned) foods are definitely the thing to feed a kitten up until one year, at which time s/he should transition to wet CAT food. Buy the best quality you can. Table scraps/"people food" does not contain the proper nutrient balance for felines and may actually contain ingredients harmful to felines. So feline-specific foods are a must. If you cannot obtain wet kitten food, then dry kitten food would be the next best alternative, making sure your kitten gets plenty of moisture through fresh water daily; or you may mix the dry (or wet) food with water. Any vet that says dry food is better than wet food is wrong. Blue Buffalo is a good food. I feed it myself. Soulistic is another. Purina Fancy Feast or ProPlan are a little less expensive but adequate foods. Nutro kitten food is another alternative. Again, not sure what you have available to you, but look for meat as the main ingredient, no by-products if at all possible, and high caloric content, which kittens need to grow. All the best to you and your kitten -- please keep us informed, and we love pictures here at TCS!
 

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Hello!
This has probably been asked before but I couldn't find it. So I have a 5 month old kitten and I'm really struggling to find the best fit for my kittens food. I constantly read on the internet that any wet food is better than the best dry food there is, but any vet I have asked insists that dry food is better nutritionally

Ignore the vets :) It's totally ok to ignore the vet about food. Many vets have zero clue about nutrition so they'll just say to fed dry food or a specific brand like Hills. Politely disagree with the vet about food and feed your cat what you feel is best. It's YOUR cat and YOU make the decisions, not the vet.

Canned cat food is no different nutritionally than dry food. Some brands are treat type / supplement only foods so watch out for those.

What brands of commercial cat foods are available in your country? Generally you look for a food that has meat at the first ingredient and as few fillers like grains and gums and veggies as possible.
 

JulietteTruong

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Wet food. Moisture. Hydration. This is the best time to get her used to eating a varied, WET, diet so that she develops a healthy eating habit and not have finicky eating issues. Cats are imprint feeders, what they eat during their kitten hood becomes their preferred food in their adulthood.
 
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Paraskevi

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Hello Paraskevi Paraskevi and sweet kitten, and welcome to TCS! Well, we don't know where you are, so can't recommend anything specifically, but kitten-specific wet (canned/tinned) foods are definitely the thing to feed a kitten up until one year, at which time s/he should transition to wet CAT food. Buy the best quality you can. Table scraps/"people food" does not contain the proper nutrient balance for felines and may actually contain ingredients harmful to felines. So feline-specific foods are a must. If you cannot obtain wet kitten food, then dry kitten food would be the next best alternative, making sure your kitten gets plenty of moisture through fresh water daily; or you may mix the dry (or wet) food with water. Any vet that says dry food is better than wet food is wrong. Blue Buffalo is a good food. I feed it myself. Soulistic is another. Purina Fancy Feast or ProPlan are a little less expensive but adequate foods. Nutro kitten food is another alternative. Again, not sure what you have available to you, but look for meat as the main ingredient, no by-products if at all possible, and high caloric content, which kittens need to grow. All the best to you and your kitten -- please keep us informed, and we love pictures here at TCS!
Thank you for your answer! I will check these brands out! I add water to her dry food on every meal and have a separate bowl of water so I think she's fine as far as hydration goes. But yeah thank you for your recommendations! :angelcat:
 
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Paraskevi

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Ignore the vets :) It's totally ok to ignore the vet about food. Many vets have zero clue about nutrition so they'll just say to fed dry food or a specific brand like Hills. Politely disagree with the vet about food and feed your cat what you feel is best. It's YOUR cat and YOU make the decisions, not the vet.

Canned cat food is no different nutritionally than dry food. Some brands are treat type / supplement only foods so watch out for those.

What brands of commercial cat foods are available in your country? Generally you look for a food that has meat at the first ingredient and as few fillers like grains and gums and veggies as possible.
Yeah maybe you're right about ignoring the vets after all. However wet food is a lot more expensive than dry food I might switch it to that when I have a better budget! There are a lot of brands available in my country and I have tried Brit, Friskies (luckily for a very short period because I learned its pretty bad), Matisse and now I am feeding her a combination of gastrointestinal Royal Canin (she had a light diarrhea problem) and natural Trainer which is I think an Italian brand and it is on the higher end of my budget. The thing is I am just going off of whatever people tell me at the pet stores is the best, that's why I wanted to get my own opinion on the matter. Thanks a lot!
 
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Paraskevi

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Wet food. Moisture. Hydration. This is the best time to get her used to eating a varied, WET, diet so that she develops a healthy eating habit and not have finicky eating issues. Cats are imprint feeders, what they eat during their kitten hood becomes their preferred food in their adulthood.
I do give her the occasional wet food pouch once or twice a week so I know she loves it. As I responded to a previous comment I do add water to every meal of hers so hydration is not an issue but I get why wet food is better. Heather is going to eat literally anything you give her very happily and quickly so I definitely don't think she'll ever be picky about what food she eats. That's kinda why I am wondering so much what's good because she doesn't guide me at all she eats anything! :lol:
 

tarasgirl06

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I do give her the occasional wet food pouch once or twice a week so I know she loves it. As I responded to a previous comment I do add water to every meal of hers so hydration is not an issue but I get why wet food is better. Heather is going to eat literally anything you give her very happily and quickly so I definitely don't think she'll ever be picky about what food she eats. That's kinda why I am wondering so much what's good because she doesn't guide me at all she eats anything! :lol:
Of the brands you have listed, Royal Canin is the best I'm familiar with. I am not familiar with Trainer.
 
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Paraskevi

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Pet store employees mean well but have very little knowledge of nutrition so will likely tell you whatever brand they feel is best or is trying to sell. What country are you in?
Greece. They usually advice me to get the food they feed their own cats but each one of them has a different one that's why I got so confused. No one seems to agree on one.
 

tarasgirl06

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Greece. They usually advice me to get the food they feed their own cats but each one of them has a different one that's why I got so confused. No one seems to agree on one.
I tried to search out high quality cat foods available in Greece, but over here in USA that doesn't bring up anything specific to your country; however, Royal Canin is generally agreed upon as a higher quality commercially available cat food, and over here, at least, it comes in several formulas for different breeds, ages, and dietary requirements.
One thing I would definitely avoid is any food containing pork. Pork is a very low quality protein. Good vets advise against feeding it to cats. Science Diet contains pork. I would never buy it.
 

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Can you order food through Zooplus? That's popular pet supply web site in Europe.

You'll get different answers about food from everyone you talk to: pet store employees, the vet, other pet owners. Feed your cat the best quality food you can afford and can easily find in the local store or online. Canned food is best for many reasons (hydration, more of a natural food for cats, etc). Dry food was created as a convenient and cheap way for pet owners to feed their pets: dump dry pieces into a bowl as needed. Some people choose to feed raw or home cooked diets.

TCS has some articles that help you make a decision:

 
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Paraskevi

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I tried to search out high quality cat foods available in Greece, but over here in USA that doesn't bring up anything specific to your country; however, Royal Canin is generally agreed upon as a higher quality commercially available cat food, and over here, at least, it comes in several formulas for different breeds, ages, and dietary requirements.
One thing I would definitely avoid is any food containing pork. Pork is a very low quality protein. Good vets advise against feeding it to cats. Science Diet contains pork. I would never buy it.
Okay thank you!
 
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Paraskevi

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Can you order food through Zooplus? That's popular pet supply web site in Europe.

You'll get different answers about food from everyone you talk to: pet store employees, the vet, other pet owners. Feed your cat the best quality food you can afford and can easily find in the local store or online. Canned food is best for many reasons (hydration, more of a natural food for cats, etc). Dry food was created as a convenient and cheap way for pet owners to feed their pets: dump dry pieces into a bowl as needed. Some people choose to feed raw or home cooked diets.

TCS has some articles that help you make a decision:

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I'll check out zooplus! Also thanks a lot for all the articles, I think they'll help me a lot on making up my mind! :caticon:
 

Flybynight

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Paraskevi Paraskevi

Ordering from Zooplus is a great idea🌻
One of the more budget friendly, good, wet foods there is Smilla.

Matisse is not bad and I have fed it before to my cats. It is a pate but contains rice, which I try to avoid but overall a decent pate.
Can you get other foods by Monge?

Natural Trainer is better than Royal Canin which is well known but not very good in ingredients.
 
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Paraskevi

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Paraskevi Paraskevi

Ordering from Zooplus is a great idea🌻
One of the more budget friendly, good, wet foods there is Smilla.

Matisse is not bad and I have fed it before to my cats. It is a pate but contains rice, which I try to avoid but overall a decent pate.
Can you get other foods by Monge?

Natural Trainer is better than Royal Canin which is well known but not very good in ingredients.
You're the first person I've asked on the internet who actually knows Natural Trainer. I'll check out Smilla I've never heard of it before. Although she literally eats anything Matisse seemed to be the only brand she didn't seem to like so I think I'll avoid it. Thank you!
 
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