Kitten To Cat Food Question

[nerdgirl5]

Hi there,

Well, my kittens are growing up! The older one is about 11 months old and the younger one, 10 months.

I'm still feeding them three cans of food per day--3 times a day. It's a mixture of Wellness Kitten and Fancy Feast Kitten. I throw in a little Orijen cat/kitten on top and they love the whole thing.

So, here's the issue. The older one, Gomez, has always been a really big eater. And while she's not fat, she's a little overweight. The younger one, Huey, is a normal weight, maybe very slightly overweight.

So in about a month I was planning on switching them to adult food but also giving them less food, as per my vet. The question is what's the best way to transition.

Here's choice 1: Keep feeding them 3 cans, 3 times a day and swap out the Wellness for Fancy Feast Natural Gourmets (which is an adult food with super healthy ingredients--real chicken is the 1st ingredient, no fillers, etc) Fancy Feast Naturals has less calories than Wellness (122 calories for Wellness vs 96 for Fancy Feast Naturals)

Choice 2: Keep them on Wellness Kitten and Fancy Feast kitten but give them 2 1/2 cans per day 3 times a day (I'm thinking a full 3 ounce can in the morning, 1/2 a 3 ounce can for lunch and a full 3 ounce can in the evening).

Ultimately, when they're totally on adult food, it will be Fancy Feast Natural Gourmet mixed with Fancy Feast Classic Chicken --2 cans each per day (with a little Chicken Frick a Zee on as a topper) I'm not planning on introducing the Frick a Zee till they're fully on the adult plan (I gave it to them a few months ago and they LOVED it--gobbled it right up--but it's a topper and I want to get them used to the other food, which they also love first).

My vet says either is ok. Which would you guy choose, choice 1 or 2?

Thanks everybody!!!

 

[tabbytom]

Which would you guy choose, choice 1 or 2?

Your cats are still considered growing kittens as they have not reach adult age yet. A cat (normal breed) matures at one year old and your cats are very much kittens.

As they approach the age they are in now, they are going through a transition called a growth spurt. Meaning, they tend to eat more as what Gomez is doing right now. This will go on, for some cats, deep into their first year and after that you'll notice that their food intake and number of feeds will taper down.

Keep feeding them as much as they can eat and as often as they want and it'll naturally slow down and at times, you may worry if they are eating enough. So don't worry.

As long as they are getting around 250 calories if the are active indoor cats.

Continue feeding them food meant for kittens and switch to adult food slowly when they are an adult or feed them food labeled 'For All Life Stages'.

You can continue with the brands of wet food making sure that meat is the first ingredient on the label and carb and grain free.

Here's a chart to show whether if they are thin or overweight.

 

[nerdgirl5]

Your cats are still considered growing kittens as they have not reach adult age yet. A cat (normal breed) matures at one year old and your cats are very much kittens.

As they approach the age they are in now, they are going through a transition called a growth spurt. Meaning, they tend to eat more as what Gomez is doing right now. This will go on, for some cats, deep into their first year and after that you'll notice that their food intake and number of feeds will taper down.

Keep feeding them as much as they can eat and as often as they want and it'll naturally slow down and at times, you may worry if they are eating enough. So don't worry.

As long as they are getting around 250 calories if the are active indoor cats.

Continue feeding them food meant for kittens and switch to adult food slowly when they are an adult or feed them food labeled 'For All Life Stages'.

You can continue with the brands of wet food making sure that meat is the first ingredient on the label and carb and grain free.

Here's a chart to show whether if they are thin or overweight.

View attachment 293872

Thanks for the in-depth reply!

They are both currently eating, around 340 calories per day. And Gomez is pretty close to 4 on the chart.

If I switch to Fancy Feast Gourmet (which is all age appropriate) along with Fancy Feast kitten, they'll be getting around 310 calories per day.

I think what I'll do is initially switch to Fancy Feast Gourmet (3 cans each per day with a little Orijen on top) and within a few weeks, switch them to 2 1/2 cans each per day which will be around 250 calories per day each).

 

[tabbytom]

At this point, I would not restrict the amount they eat. Kittens are very active and they burn off calories very fast.

My boy was eating around 350 calories per day when he was growing up and that equals to 7 cans of 3oz cans. Now he's coming to 4 years old and he's eating just 200 - 250 calories per day and his food intake tapered off when he was around 1 1/2 years old.

A little fat on them is ok. I like my boy to be a little pudgy rather than boney. So far, he's ok.

So like I mentioned, don't worry and just let them eat. As long as they don't graze on dry food or being free fed, I would not worry about their weight.

 

[nerdgirl5]

View attachment 293876

At this point, I wold not restrict the amount they eat. Kittens are very active and they burn off calories very fast.

My boy was eating around 350 calories per day when he was growing up and that equals to 7 cans of 3oz cans. Now he's coming to 4 years old and he's eating just 200 - 250 calories per day and his food intake tapered off when he was around 1 1/2 years old.

A little fat on them is ok. I like my boy to be a little pudgy rather than boney. So far, he's ok.

So like I mentioned, don't worry and just let them eat. As long as they don't graze on dry food or being free fed, I would not worry about their weight.

Thanks. Great advice. They don't graze on dry food and are not free fed.

 

[mwallace056]

According to this video, being little bit overweight may be protective in case of kidney disease. He talk about around the 5:20 mark if you want to skip to it and not watch the whole video

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thanks. Will check out.

 

[She's a witch]

If it were me, at this point I would just stop adding the dry food to their wet food. Firstly, these two kind of food in one meal is pretty bad idea as they digest very differently and it may cause some GI issues in the future, secondly, I think being on wet exclusively will lower the risk of them being overweight.

But I would also add some variety to their diet, I'd add some new brands and flavours. They are still kittens and this is the best time to ensure they eat many kinds of wet food - the older they get, the more difficult it will be for you to introduce them to sth else (and with the formula changes, recalls, allergies, etc, you may need that).

 

[nerdgirl5]

Thanks for the tips.