kitten food vs. cat food

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Justin L - 11 Mar 2005 00:15 GMT

What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
kitten if he only eats cat food?

Over the last few days, Elwood has decided he only likes the Nutro
(Indoor formula?) dry food I have been feeding Jake, and refuses to
eat any of the canned food I put out for him. He used to gobble up the
canned food. He won't even eat the canned food I feed Jake.

I switched him to canned because the dry food was making him get
bloated and throw up, which has started again, although it doesn't
seem to be as bad as before. He saw the vet about the throwing up, and
they didn't find anything wrong with him.

What can I do?

Justin

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-L. - 11 Mar 2005 00:23 GMT

> What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
> kitten if he only eats cat food?

kitten food is generally higher in protein and fat. He needs to be on
kitten food - I'd just try a few brands and see what he will eat.

-L.

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Justin L - 12 Mar 2005 04:16 GMT

>> What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
>> kitten if he only eats cat food?
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
>-L.

Actually, I thought I was finally done with the search, as I have been
trying several brands for Elwood since I got him.

Oh well, back to the search I guess.

Justin

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kaeli - 11 Mar 2005 19:21 GMT

> What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
> kitten if he only eats cat food?

Depending on his age (less than one year) and body condition (not
overweight), he needs the extra protein and fat.

You can feed him adult food IF he will also eat supplements, such as
Nutrical, that have extra fat, calories, and nutrients. He should also get
more protein, so see if he will eat some real, human-grade cooked chicken,
beef, or even liver.

Dry food honestly isn't the best for him (as his vomiting proves) as it
doesn't contain nearly enough water. A cat is really biologically meant to
get nearly all its water from its food. Many cats lack a good thirst drive,
and those that do have one can drink too much and make the dry food expand in
their tummies.
Try to find a good wet food they will both eat, even if it is given along
with measured dry food portions. If they eat the wet, they won't eat so much
dry and won't need to drink (or eat) so much as to make it puff up.

Note that if a cat regularly doesn't get enough water, it can eventually
cause chronic dehydration and even kidney and bladder problems later in life.
This seems to hold especially true for male cats getting stones and
blockages. So if you do stick with dry, make sure all the cats in your home
are drinking plenty.

HTH

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Justin L - 12 Mar 2005 04:16 GMT

>> What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
>> kitten if he only eats cat food?
>
>Depending on his age (less than one year) and body condition (not
>overweight), he needs the extra protein and fat.

He is 6 months, and not overweight.

>You can feed him adult food IF he will also eat supplements, such as
>Nutrical, that have extra fat, calories, and nutrients. He should also get
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>and those that do have one can drink too much and make the dry food expand in
>their tummies.

Yes I have learned this here. Everywhere else I look though, they
still recommend feeding dry food for the first year.

>Try to find a good wet food they will both eat, even if it is given along
>with measured dry food portions. If they eat the wet, they won't eat so much
>dry and won't need to drink (or eat) so much as to make it puff up.

I had the local pet shop order me some Wellness canned kitten food.
Hopefully he likes that. The Wellness canned cat food I have here says
suitable for all life stages, so I maybe this would be okay for him?

>Note that if a cat regularly doesn't get enough water, it can eventually
>cause chronic dehydration and even kidney and bladder problems later in life.
>This seems to hold especially true for male cats getting stones and
>blockages. So if you do stick with dry, make sure all the cats in your home
>are drinking plenty.

They both seem to drink plenty of water, so no real worries there.

Thanks.

Justin

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Mary - 12 Mar 2005 16:28 GMT

> >> What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
> >> kitten if he only eats cat food?
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> Yes I have learned this here. Everywhere else I look though, they
> still recommend feeding dry food for the first year.

This really is one of the big problems here. Some of the recommendations
taken here as gospel are found nowhere but IN this newsgroup. Not
something to trust when it comes to the health of your cat, now is it?

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kaeli - 14 Mar 2005 14:57 GMT

> This really is one of the big problems here. Some of the recommendations
> taken here as gospel are found nowhere but IN this newsgroup. Not
> something to trust when it comes to the health of your cat, now is it?

Not true about the wet food. Though it certainly is a debatable point (there
are vets on both sides), many human health issues are as well.

A few examples of others who believe wet is a Good Thing: (note: I'm sure
there are plenty of examples of the opposite viewpoint. The point is, this NG
is certainly NOT the only place you'll find this opinion)

http://www.moggies.co.uk/articles/nutrition.html#8
"Cats in particular need at least 50% of their diet in the form of wet food
to reduce the workload on the kidneys and keep the urine dilute."

http://www.goodcatswearblack.com/resources/resources.htm
"Just like people, if we ate the same food, every meal, every day, us humans
would not feel or act right either. So don't feed cats dry food only or one
food only."

http://www.ora-animalsrescue.org/catcare1.html
" The evidence is quickly mounting that pets who eat dry food become
chronically dehydrated compared to pets who eat wet food. "

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=119&ObjectID=10009385
"While dry biscuits are quick and have their place in a cat's diet, owners
need to realise that cats really benefit from wet food such as fresh meat or
canned cat food."

http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetes-in-cats.htm
"Other recent developments in diet research are resulting in more
veterinarians recommending wet food rather than dry food for all cats,
especially those with diabetes."

Considering the fact that it certainly doesn't hurt to feed wet as long as
you keep their teeth clean, and it may hurt to NOT feed wet, I, for one, feed
50% wet / 50% dry. Not to mention the improvements I've seen over time in my
cats since I've added the wet. Glossier coats, more healthy weight, more
urine output, more energy, and brighter eyes. They just LOOK healthier. So, I
think adding the wet was a very good thing.

I also think not taking ANYTHING as gospel, no matter who it comes from,
without researching it yourself is a good thing.

YMMV.

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Mary - 14 Mar 2005 19:03 GMT

> > This really is one of the big problems here. Some of the recommendations
> > taken here as gospel are found nowhere but IN this newsgroup. Not
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> veterinarians recommending wet food rather than dry food for all cats,
> especially those with diabetes."

Very good, kaeli, thanks. I saved them for future reading.

> Considering the fact that it certainly doesn't hurt to feed wet as long as
> you keep their teeth clean, and it may hurt to NOT feed wet, I, for one, feed
> 50% wet / 50% dry. Not to mention the improvements I've seen over time in my
> cats since I've added the wet. Glossier coats, more healthy weight, more
> urine output, more energy, and brighter eyes. They just LOOK healthier. So, I
> think adding the wet was a very good thing.

I feed Cheeky 50/50 and Buddha about 75/25 with dry on the low side.
As I told Megan I noticed improved coat and energy after I began feeding
my cats canned food. I do not disagree that it is better for them. What I
disagree with is anything becoming so knee-jerk unquestionable here
that it is almost like a damned religion.

> I also think not taking ANYTHING as gospel, no matter who it comes from,
> without researching it yourself is a good thing.
>
> YMMV.

Amen.

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Monique Y. Mudama - 15 Mar 2005 01:32 GMT

> Yes I have learned this here. Everywhere else I look though, they still
> recommend feeding dry food for the first year.

If it helps any, I spoke to my vet about it. She said that she used to
believe that dry food was best, but now is a firm believer in canned food.
She's even been able to take some diabetic cats off of insulin after getting
them onto canned-only regimens. The only reason I've ever heard for feeding
dry food was the supposed teeth-cleaning aspect, and my vet says that in her
experience, dental issues are purely genetic. Two cats can be on exactly the
same diet, but one gets tooth problems and the other doesn't.

The owner of the pet store where I buy Oscar's food claims that the dry food
thing has no basis at all for cats; she claims that a dry pet food
manufacturer commissioned a test for *dog* food and got those results. But
dogs and cats don't chew the same way. Mind you, though, I've never heard
this story except from this one lady.

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Cheryl - 12 Mar 2005 03:14 GMT

On Thu 10 Mar 2005 07:15:47p, Justin L wrote in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:09o131djm2fhed44rvk91n31qssspqmf0j@
4ax.com):

> What is the difference between kitten and cat food? Will it harm my
> kitten if he only eats cat food?

I was asking the same thing a couple of months ago. My kittens (about
6 months now) won't eat kitten food often (canned). They eat what
they will eat, which is adult formula. I give them dry kitten food (a
mix of Science Diet, Wellness and Innova kitten foods) to snack on
between canned meals. This mix is working for them. The male, Rhett
is as big as my 3-1/2 year old male, the female kitten, Scarlett, is
still small but not boney anymore (she had a hard time thriving for a
long time and will probably always be small). I supplement her with
Tabby Tabs liquid vitamins with taurine, and give her snacks of
cooked chicken meat because she's still very picky about food.

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Cheryl

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Justin L - 12 Mar 2005 04:19 GMT

>On Thu 10 Mar 2005 07:15:47p, Justin L wrote in
>rec.pets.cats.health+behav (news:09o131djm2fhed44rvk91n31qssspqmf0j@
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>Tabby Tabs liquid vitamins with taurine, and give her snacks of
>cooked chicken meat because she's still very picky about food.

Heh, they sound like Elwood. Hmm, I have a few bags of rejected dry
food here too. Maybe I should make a funky kitten food mix myself.

Justin

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