New to cat nutrition.. pls help

[smileyswiley]

HI! My name is Sue and i recently adopted a cute little Siamese puss! Her name is Ceviche and i love her! Now i want to get her the best kitten food on the market because shes only 8 weeks old. I am new to owning a kitten and i do not even know where to begin. If you guys recommend any great kitten brands (i dont care about price) please let me know! And any tips on kittens! I can use all the help i can get! thank you! I attached a picture of her.

 

[Dario the GreyCat]

She’s beautiful! Congratulations!
Here’s a great source - Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats.

 

[kittyluv387]

If you get high quality canned the "for kittens" designation doesn't matter. In the wild, weaned kittens eat the same food as adults. You want to look for things that are high protein but low carb. I like pates because they are better value for the money. More calories and protein.

Some pates that I feed my cats:
Redbarn Naturals Turkey
Dr. Elseys Turkey
Dr. Elseys Chicken
Rawz Rabbit
Hound and Gatos Chicken
Hound and Gatos Turkey
Holistic Select Oceanfish (but their turkey and chicken ones are good too)
Evangers Premium Quail

Catinfo.org is a great place to start reading about cat nutrition so you can evaluate the foods for yourself.

 

[Kieka]

What country or state are you based out of? Some options vary greatly from country to country and even state to state.

Generally speaking, for a kitten, you want a high protein, high fat and low carb food option. Something that is labeled as kitten or all stages will meet the basic requirements. We generally recommend feeding kittens many small wet meals (2-5 per day as your schedule allows) with dry food out 24/7. Kittens need a lot of calories to grow so feeding them frequently and allowing them access to food between meals ensures they get enough to grow. Wet food is generally better for cats since it is high in water which staves off all sorts of later in life health problems and can be found easier with less fillers. If your budget and lifestyle allow, the normal recommendation is to eliminate dry once your kitten stops growing (usually around 1 year old) and switch to wet meals only in adulthood.

I know you didn't ask, but you might want to check behavior forums for information regarding kitten care. Young kittens, under 12-16 weeks, who are taken away from Mom will often end up with behavior problems if you aren't careful. You are Mom so you need to set and maintain behavior boundaries now to have a well behaved adult cat. Including, a set schedule (cats love routine) to get your kitten used to bedtime, not playing with hands (to prevent redirected or play aggression), frequent play sessions, and setting boundaries (no kittens on counter or whatever your household rules are).

 

[Azazel]

If you get high quality canned the "for kittens" designation doesn't matter. In the wild, weaned kittens eat the same food as adults. You want to look for things that are high protein but low carb. I like pates because they are better value for the money. More calories and protein.

Some pates that I feed my cats:
Redbarn Naturals Turkey
Dr. Elseys Turkey
Dr. Elseys Chicken
Rawz Rabbit
Hound and Gatos Chicken
Hound and Gatos Turkey
Holistic Select Oceanfish (but their turkey and chicken ones are good too)
Evangers Premium Quail

Catinfo.org is a great place to start reading about cat nutrition so you can evaluate the foods for yourself.

Agree with this post, but would also caution that you should still check to make sure that the food is labelled either for "kittens" or "all life stages" because an "adult" food will not be adequate for kittens. The minimum AAFCO recommendations for adults are way too low in protein.

 

[kittyluv387]

Agree with this post, but would also caution that you should still check to make sure that the food is labelled either for "kittens" or "all life stages" because an "adult" food will not be adequate for kittens. The minimum AAFCO recommendations for adults are way too low in protein.

That's where the evaluation for "high quality canned" comes in lol. But yes agreed that's very tricky to evaluate without some research into reading labels first. The all life stages is a good point.

 

[Sylvia Jones]

Beautiful little girl! I fed mine Royal Canin kitten (wet) it’s very smooth . And then the Royal Canin dry kitten kibble. My vet agreed with this choice.They loved it and have grown beautifully. Enjoy your little one and keep posting pictures and questions!

 

[lisahe]

What a sweet little kitten! I couldn't agree more with what the others have said about feeding lots of good meat protein and low carbs. And checking labels for either "kitten" or "all life stages." Comparing for calories is a good idea, too, since (as Kieka mentions) kittens need lots of calories so it's most economical to feed calorie-dense foods. There are a few kitten foods that I can think of that our cats have liked, either as kittens or as grown cats: Fancy Feast, Wellness Core, and Nutro Natural Choice. Those may not necessarily be considered "the best" foods (the protein level in Fancy Feast may be a bit low and the fat may be a bit high) but "the best" can get pretty subjective since every cat has its own preferences and needs. And then there's the question of budget. (In the end, I'd much rather feed, say, Fancy Feast kitten food, which is relatively high in fat, than any dry food, which is almost certain to have carby fillers. Cats handle fat better than carbs.) I also think it's important to feed a variety of foods because no one food is perfect but a rotation can help find a decent balance of, say, protein and fat. Or allow you to feed something occasionally as a treat.

kittyluv387 's suggestion of visiting catinfo.org is a great one. The site includes a huge food chart where you can compare protein, fat, and carb levels of hundreds of foods. The notes at the top of the chart are a great way to get started on feline nutrition since they summarize the points Dr. Pierson writes about on her site.

Also, speaking of cats' needs, our vet told us when we adopted our cats that Siamese cats tend to have digestive peculiarities, which makes it all the more important to feed them lots of wet food made from what cats are supposed to eat (meat) without stuff that cats don't always digest well (vegetable matter like grains, potato, peas, and the like). We don't know anything about our cats' backgrounds so don't know if they're truly Siamese mixes or just carry colorpoint genes, but our vet's advice quickly came in handy! Our cats definitely have digestive quirks and one cat quickly proved to be sensitive to potato.

Have fun with your new Ceviche!

 

[EmersonandEvie]

She is beautiful! My own (most recent) kitten absolutely thrived on the Fancy Feat kitten pates.

 

[lisahe]

She is beautiful! My own (most recent) kitten absolutely thrived on the Fancy Feat kitten pates.

Our cats (fully grown!) love it. I suspect the high fat goes a lot way in keeping a hungry kitten happily sated!