When to start feeding a kitten adult food?

[ebrillblaiddes]

Squirrel and Panther went off kitten food at about 6 months and onto general indoor cat food (I mixed the two for a while, so they could transition). I had a grown cat in the home with them and he ate their food--I tolerated it for a while, because he'd been missing and came back scary-skinny to where kitten food was probably the best thing for him anyway, but when he got a little pudgy it became clear that he didn't need it any more. I tried to feed them separately but it was just too hard with my schedule (grad school), and I've always believed in free-feeding from kittenhood because my experience is that if cats are used to it from when they're little, they'll be able to handle it when they're grown and stay at a healthy weight with activity instead of measuring everything.

 

[alesa01]

what age to start feeding adult cat food?

 

[gravekandi]

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ConsumerKitty I learned the hard way that once a cat is spayed or neutered they should be eating adult cat food. Otherwise, they put on too much weight and get "spay sway".

Anyone know why they start gaining weight on kitten food after the spay/neuter? Just curious.

Perhaps because kitten food tends to be higher in calories and fat?

Everything that I've read is that once a kitten is one year old they are no longer a kitten. For the most part I don't feed my kitten strictly kitten food, I personally think its over rated. I make sure all the food she eats is high in protein and in fat. I read the labels and my kittens diet revolve around that rather then whether or not the can says for adult or kitten. Most cat food says for all life stages in small print under adult any way.

 

[thnkr917]

I tend to agree. My kitten is 6 months old now. I had planned on feeding him kitten food until a year but I had some Blue Buffalo left over from my cat who passed away a month before that. The shelter sent him home with Science Diet kitten food which we used up mixing with the Blue Buffalo.  I always use high protein and high quality dry cat food. I do leave a dish of dry food on the floor. I also use the high protein wet cat foods intermittently usually a small can a day since he's still just a kitten. I try to find kitten versions of both wet and dry food. I've been told by vets and pet store owners alike that the high protein foods that I buy are for all life stages.

When I first got my new kitty he wanted to eat all the time. Now that he has really good nutrition, he eats a lot less often. He is weight appropriate and extremely healthy and energetic. If he starts to gain too much weight, I'll try taking up the constant supply of dry cat food and/or exercising him more.

I've only ever fed my cats the supposed best cat foods out there. I always fed them kitten food until a year. I lost one to diabetes at age 10 and the last one to cancer at age 10. These are two diseases that have a pretty strong link to diet.This time I'm not as worried about kitten food vs adult food.  I'm trying a lot more wet cat food and a lot less dry cat food and trying to make all of it as high in protein as I can find.

Any other suggestions short of grinding my own meats to feed him? I know that would be best, but I do have a life other than my pet. 

 

[korra11]

They tend to put on weight after being neutered due to the fact that all the energy that was going towards reproduction purposes is now just being stored in your cat instead of being used which of course creates weight gain. That is why they do not need the extra protein and fats from kitten food because they will get enough energy from adult food

 

[plebbybluejay]

My cat is 3 and a half months old shall i start feeding my cat adult food?

 

[donutte]

My babies just turned six months, and I still have them on dry kitten food. They actually got neutered around the 3-month mark and I wasn't going to take them off of it at that point. They are quite active (I refer to them as "little tornadoes") so not worried about the weight gain. Also, my other cats are both on older cat formulas, and I don't think that would be good for kittens to have. They do eat it occasionally, but prefer the kitten food. 

When it comes to the canned food we give adult food now. We were giving canned kitten food for the first maybe 3 months we had them. Then we realized they liked pretending they were adults and ate the adult food, while the adults happily ate the kitten food.

 

[kitty kisser]

I couldn't find canned kitten food in my small town so my 2 spayed females have always ate adult canned food. I did keep the dry food a kitten formula for 6 month then switched to grain free all life stages formula which they are still on. The smaller cat is a little fat but at 3 yrs old my MaineCoon mix still hasn't filled out!

 

[donutte]

I couldn't find canned kitten food in my small town so my 2 spayed females have always ate adult canned food. I did keep the dry food a kitten formula for 6 month then switched to grain free all life stages formula which they are still on. The smaller cat is a little fat but at 3 yrs old my MaineCoon mix still hasn't filled out!

Petsmart has the kitten formula of Fancy Feast, among many other kitten varieties. I also bought food on Amazon because sometimes it's cheaper. 

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I'm going to vote with the 18 months group as to when to switch to adult food.  If a cat isn't an adult until approx 24 months, then it stands to reason that kitten food is appropriate for them until at least that age.  You might need to reduce the amount of the individual feedings as growth slows, and they need fewer baseline calories.

Also, be aware that instructions on  pet food containers are almost ALL for un-neutered animals, who need a higher caloric intake.  Adjust your cat's feedings by age, weight and activity level.  All of these affect caloric needs, just as they do in humans.  Actually, although it seems counter-intuitive, to give a human example, a moderately active person weighing 225 pounds can eat more calories than a moderately active person weighing 130 pounds, and lose weight doing it.  The heavier person's basal metabolic rate is higher...they need more calories just to breath, walk, digest, think...same is true with all mammals.