New Kitten Feeding Questions

[myrnafaye]

I have a new kitten that had been fed (in his rescue foster home) Iams kitten dry, and Fancy Feast. Call me a snob but I lost a beloved cat to IBD, pancreatitis and cancer, and I am determined to give this kitten the best. Currently he is getting a high quality canned food but I have questions about the dry. First, do kittens NEED dry food? if not, then I need not continue. But if they do - do I need to continue to feed him the Iams for a while before I can switch him to a better dry (Core Wellness, most likely). Or - can I just stop the Iams for a while and then re-introduce the Core Wellness dry?

 

[stephanietx]

They don't NEED dry kibble, but if you're not home to feed them many wet food meals a day, the dry is convenient. Also, depending on the age of the kitten, his body needs access to as much kitten food as possible because his metabolism is so high and he's so active. You can always feed him dry now as a kitten and gradually wean him off of it as he becomes an adult.

If you introduce a new dry food, do NOT switch suddenly or you'll get all kinds of gastro upset. I start off with a 25% new to 75% old food mix for a week, then work to 50-50 for a week and then 75-25 for a week and then totally 100% new. This allows you to use up your old food and also watch for tummy upset with the new food.

 

[myrnafaye]

Stephanie, thank you for your input. I am confused, though...if I just feed canned for a while (NO dry), would I have to go back to Iams or could I switch over to a different dry at that point?

 

[1 bruce 1]

Our house cats haven't seen dry food in years.
We do have an IBD boy that has only managed to be semi-normal on Fancy Feast. Higher end brands seemed to make his flare ups worse.

With a kitten, we always offer things like dry (for convenience/letting them eat when they need it if we're away, which is important when they're growing) and canned food, raw food, cooked (healthy) human food, because when you have a cat become addicted to one thing and won't even consider anything else, it's a royal pain in the butt to get them to tempt them to eat if they get sick. If it's recalled, you'll be scrambling like a maniac trying to find something similar, and if they change the formula (so many companies do this I guess), they may go on strike.

 

[myrnafaye]

Good points, Bruce. I still dont quite get if I have to keep him on the Iams dry...(mixed in with his canned) or if I can switch him to something else that is dry...I think many cats like the crunch of dry food. And FYI, many IBD kitties seem to go for the Fancy Feast. Its puzzling but in the end we give them what they will eat.

 

[LTS3]

I see no reason at all why you can't switch from Iams dry to another brand. Just do the transition slowly to avoid an upset tummy.

Cats don't need dry food at all. For crunch, you can offer some crunchy treats like PureBites or another freeze dried treat or even freeze dried or air dried raw food.

 

[stephanietx]

myrnafaye I would think that if you completely stop the Iams and wait several weeks that you wouldn't need to do the gradual switch to a new dry food.

 

[Summercats]

I feed our new kitten only wet food, not dry. I leave out a pack or small can at a time.
If you are away long periods, try a timed feeder or microchip feeder.

Right now I have three brands I am rotating that I introduced slowly.

 

[myrnafaye]

My vet yesterday said that kittens need dry food to strengthen the tissues of their teeth and gums. So I succumbed and went out and bought Wellness Core for Kittens...

 

[LTS3]

My vet yesterday said that kittens need dry food to strengthen the tissues of their teeth and gums. So I succumbed and went out and bought Wellness Core for Kittens...

Not true Keep in mind that many vets have little knowledge about cat nutrition and dental care. No food strengthens teeth or keeps teeth clean. A healthy diet will provide calcium and other nutrients for strong bones and body. It's ok to disagree with the vet on food.I

There are many cats who have eaten canned or raw foods since kittenhood and have strong teeth and gums. Some people offer raw gizzards and hearts and bones to exercise the jaws and provide some dental care.

 

[Mow Mow -^-^-]

Maybe I am lucky but I just put new food in front of my kitten and she eats it! I rotate the brands a lot. She did have a lot of poop one time after swapping up brands and eating more. She vomited a couple of times but I think that was because she tried to eat too much in one go.

When I got her, the original owner fed her kit and kaboodle which I did not want to give her and at first when I gave her different dry food she just stuck her face into it and rejected it. I mixed different food in with kit kaboodle over 2-3 days and then she ate the new food.

You could try a cold turkey swap and if your cat goes on strike or has diarrhea, then try the mix increase over 2-4 days.

 

[momof3b1g]

My vet yesterday said that kittens need dry food to strengthen the tissues of their teeth and gums. So I succumbed and went out and bought Wellness Core for Kittens...

Yes i agree. Ever been on a soft food diet and gone back to eat hard foods. Same thing. They need to chew . Many canned foods keep cats from chewing or using their teeth. And if like humans. Drinking a smoothie vs eating/chewing all the ingredients. Your body thinks you didn't eat

 

[myrnafaye]

Friends, I need more help. My new kitten went to the vet last week and the vet said she was concerned that he had lost weight. She told me how much he should be eating and I am trying to get him to eat that much but he isn't. I'm giving him canned food for four meals and free choice with dry food. He is eating just under a 7 oz can of food a day. But he is also quarantined right now because he's had eye and ear infections so his activity is probably not what it should be or what it will be. He seems quite healthy but just is not eating as much as he should be. He gets Wellness Core for kittens. Any suggestions?

 

[momof3b1g]

I wonder if changing food would help. If he doesnt like it. I have picky cats too.

 

[myrnafaye]

I changed his food once. He seems to l8ke his food a lot. He just does not eat as much as he should. He was getting Natures Variety kitten and i changed to Wellness Core. I can try the NV again...i dont think i want to resort to Fancy Feast...

 

[pattiw]

Wow, there are as many opinions about what, when, and how much to feed kittens/cats as "Carter's Has Pills"! Haha, I have never used that saying before by the way but it just popped into my mind after reading these posts.
I came here for advice as everyone did because I found so much great info on mega colon when our beloved cat was diagnosed years ago. We just lost him in July after he had also developed Diabetes and a heart murmur and it was all too much for his poor body to fight. We just adopted 2 kittens, a little over 4 mos old and I want to make the best food choices. The main thing as they get older is to avoid obesity which played a big role in his getting ill, but thats just a matter of not over feeding. We have to not "spoil" him by feeding every time they want it when they're adults. But for now, they're babies and I'm so confused on amounts! We're trying a few diff canned foods(this will make up most of their diet) but each brand has diff feeding amts per day. Ranging from one 3oz can per every 3 to 3 1/2 pds of body weight daily, to one 3oz can per every 1 to 1 1/2 pds of body weight! Much diff amounts! I don't want to starve them but certainly don't want to over feed either. I have read more thsn once that kittens should be given as much as they will eat because they burn the energy so fast. My kitties play like crazy, nap and snuggle all while not meowing or begging for food. Then they also eat well when its time to eat. Ive been feeding abt 1/4 of a 3 oz can per feeding, and feeding abt 4 times a day. If they eat it all before walking away, I give more. They also have a little kitten chow dry in bowls for free eating.?? Advice? Thank you.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

P pattiw

Hello fellow Georgian!

Feed them whatever you can. What you read was right- it is very, very hard to overfeed a kitten because of how fast they burn off calories. You can do scheduled feeds of wet food (2 or 3 times a day, depending on your schedule- and yes, as much as they will eat!) and have kibble (kitten or "all life stages" kibble) out at all times for them to snack on.

My personal favorite kibbles are Nature's Variety Instinct Kitten and Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein.

 

[pattiw]

P pattiw

Hello fellow Georgian!

Feed them whatever you can. What you read was right- it is very, very hard to overfeed a kitten because of how fast they burn off calories. You can do scheduled feeds of wet food (2 or 3 times a day, depending on your schedule- and yes, as much as they will eat!) and have kibble (kitten or "all life stages" kibble) out at all times for them to snack on.

My personal favorite kibbles are Nature's Variety Instinct Kitten and Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein.

Hello, where are you located in Georgia? Thank you for giving me your thoughts on this, its very mind boggling. Before I lost Oliver to 2 diff diseases, I've just fed my cats Fancy Feast wet, and 9 Lives Dry and called it a day. And maybe all the varied opinions abt which type of food and grain free or not, etc really doesn't matter as long as its AAFCO approved and balanced. But we can afford to spend a little more on food now than we could when I had my first cats at 18, and I do want to start them out with the best chances for a healthy life! I just wish it was clear what exact foods provide that!
I only learned of Dr. Elsey products during my Olivers illness as I was searching for a good quality cat litter. His diabetes made him use the box a lot more and cleaning it out so much more often made me notice my usual hands down fav, Fresh Step, had slowly been having more and more dust! I tried Dr. ELSEY litters and liked them but didn't realize they make food too. I'll look into those,thank you. It was nice hearing from you, I'm sure I'll be back as I go through this kitty craziness! Its been a long time since we've had kittens and so much has changed. Have a good day!

 

[pattiw]

Not true Keep in mind that many vets have little knowledge about cat nutrition and dental care. No food strengthens teeth or keeps teeth clean. A healthy diet will provide calcium and other nutrients for strong bones and body. It's ok to disagree with the vet on food.I

There are many cats who have eaten canned or raw foods since kittenhood and have strong teeth and gums. Some people offer raw gizzards and hearts and bones to exercise the jaws and provide some dental care.

Hi, I'm curious why you said vets have little knowledge abt cat nutrition and dental care?? They ARE the one's who SHOULD be very knowledgeable in both. If not them then who?

 

[EmersonandEvie]

The food is relatively new, they only released that line within a year and a half or so. They make a good wet food too but it is too pricey for me to feed on a regular basis.

We are on a budget because I am back in school. I feed these brands of wet:

Tiny Tiger (from Chewy- basically a cheaper Fancy Feast)
Fancy Feast Classic pates
Sheba pates
Crave pates (if I can find a good sale)
Friskies pates (we recently added these in and my cats cannot get enough- so much for feeding "better" brands!)
Redbarn lamb

I'm located south of Macon.