When should I switch my kitten to adult food?

prosperity

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The question has come up about how long a kitten should be on kitten food.

Samuel is 10 1/2 months old and I thought he should be on a kitten formula for 12 months, but now I have doubts. He seems to be more interested in the dog's food right now. I am wondering if it could be because his food is starting to be too rich? I know that it could be a dominance thing, but how long should a kitten have kitten chow?

Samuel eats Chicken Soup For The Kitten Lover's Soul.
 

sharky

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12 months is standard but the more I read I think maybe 2 years..
 
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prosperity

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OOOoooooo, so I maybe should be thinking for more than a year. Could you please tell me where to go read about this?
 

yosemite

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We switched over to adult food around 10 months because Bijou was getting to be a big boy. He's almost 16 lbs and not fat but pretty muscular. He certainly doesn't look like a "skinny" Siamese.
Mika, on the other hand, was the runt of the litter and is a tiny little girl with a huge appetite. She actually prefers dry food and Bijou prefers wet which works out very well.
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Prosperity

OOOoooooo, so I maybe should be thinking for more than a year. Could you please tell me where to go read about this?
I will look it was a recent post link...

I would talk to your vet ...
 
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prosperity

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My vet is a bit non-commital on when to stop feeding kitten food. He thinks now is OK.

However, Samuel weighs 11 pounds and is still growing. I think I will at least go the year.
 

lightninrod

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Ginger at about 5-6 months old before we bought her:




Ginger at about 8 months old:







We started her on adult food(both wet and dry) the day we got her and she has flourished on it so I don't think there's so much if anything to worry about going "Adult"
before 12 months of age.

Dan
 

muttigreemom

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I switch mine over to adult food when they start getting chubby on kitten food. Depending on the cat, that seems to be somewhere between 8 and 14 months.
 
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prosperity

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Ginger is beautiful!!!

I just got back from the pet food store. I bought enough kitten food to last about 5 more weeks and a bag of adult food. When I get to the last little bag of kitten food, I will mix the two.

The kitten food comes in 1 pound bags.

Samuel seems to be all loose skin, big bones and still at that awkward stage. He has not started to fill out, yet. (He is 1 pound bigger than the dog. LOL)
 

moggiegirl

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Your cat isn't eating the dog food because the kitten food is too rich for him. He's eating it because he wants to know what's in your dog's food bowl that the cat isn't allowed to eat. Ever notice how multiple cats swap food bowls because they want to know what the other cat is eating?
 
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prosperity

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That is really funny!

I think the cat is also showing dominance over the dog. He is doing other things to her, too. . . . . . . . like peeing in the dog's litter box ocaissionally.
 

chichi

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Originally Posted by Prosperity

That is really funny!

I think the cat is also showing dominance over the dog. He is doing other things to her, too. . . . . . . . like peeing in the dog's litter box ocaissionally.
You have a litterbox for a dog???
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Chichi

You have a litterbox for a dog???
many small dog owners do have ptty boxes for the dog purina makes a dog litter//
 

kai bengals

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Our bengals seem to grow until about 18 months. I think keeping them on a high protein/fat diet until that time is advisable.
I don't think I've ever seen a fat bengal, but I think it would be smart to change over to adult food by the age of 18 months for bengals, just to limit the protein/fat percentage.
I guess the more docile/laid back breeds would need to get off the kitten diet earlier.
 

tarajason

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Originally Posted by lightninrod

Ginger at about 5-6 months old before we bought her:




Ginger at about 8 months old:







We started her on adult food(both wet and dry) the day we got her and she has flourished on it so I don't think there's so much if anything to worry about going "Adult"
before 12 months of age.

Dan
What a gorgeous cat. What kind is that?
 
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