Kitten food to Grown Cat food?

Hi FeyjaRoMaine,as you no doubt have seen from all the replies on this thread what suits one persons idea of feeding their cats doesn't suit others,if this is your first baby it would most probaly pay to stick with what the breeder has been using to begin with & then gradually move over onto other foods if you wish,check to see what wet food she is using as well,as to the amount it will get through in the first month that can vary quiet a lot,for sure the amount that goes in to begin with is quite vast because they are rapid growing babes for the first few months,I always supplement mine with extra vitamins at this stage because of that but not compulsory,any foods that you think you would like to get baby on too I am sure if you post on here again someone would have used it & be able to advice you.Good luck,will look forward to seeing pictures posted of the new arrival & we will all go broody again....

I don't think the Royal Canin is bad, but neither is it outstanding in terms of protein level or ingredients. If you look at the top few ingredients you see: Chicken meal, brown rice, corn gluten meal, corn, chicken fat, chicken, dried egg product. Not too bad except for the corn several down, but the primary meat is a "meal" rather than pure meat. While this doesn't necessarily mean it is worse for the animal than those that use plain chicken, it definitely is a cheaper ingredient. It is a not a meat "by product" however, which is the cheapest.

3mos old kittens do not consume that much each day. You can find RC's feeding guidelines by weight here: http://products.royalcanin.us/media/...en_36_info.pdf

I think it reasonable to follow your breeder's advice for a while at least, as they should have experience with their lines of cats. One of the problems with getting advice from other people is that what works for one cat may not work well for another. So don't take any advice too seriously, frankly. If you are following the breeder's advice and have any health issues, it will be much easier to discuss them with him/her. And of course you should make any diet changes gradually.

congratulations on your kitten.... can't wait to hear more about him/her....

As far as feeding it can be a minefield... everyone has their own opinions.
The only advice I can give is to feed what the breeder has fed, and gradually change to what you want to feed.
I researched what I feed, and decided on a variety. I have a variety of biscuits because I have 2 kittens (a mc and a tonkinese) and a 2yo cat who loves kitten biscuits. they all eat out of the same biscuit dish, so I mix the biscuits up for all of them.
Then I also feed a variety... they get a wet food in the morning and then raw meat at night. It seems to be the best of all worlds, and the cats are all happy and thriving on it.

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Originally Posted by messyhearts

I'd avoid Iams for the fact that they test on animals alone, to be honest.

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All the big pet food manufactures test on animals, Pedigree have a centre in the UK where food is tested for palatabilty and the output is tested to check the animal is digesting it correctly. They are well looked after and have both toys and affection. RC have theres in France I think where all their brands are tested in the same way. I know someone who has visited both centres and the animals are all healthy and happy.

[QUOTE=jckkerrison;2135]I have always put my babies straight onto adult food but for the first six months just backed up with an extra vitamin powder {was SA37 but think it has now been
discontinued}QUOTE]

It was discontinued by Intervet some time ago but Hyperdrug do their own version called SF50 which is avalable from your Vet as well as on line from them. TRM also have a version too which again you can get from your vet it's called Multiplex powder.

Thanks all for the advice, I can already see it's a minefield! Will follow the advice of the breeder as suggested and once my little girl has settled into the house I'll think about trying some other stuff with her to see what she likes. I can't wait to get her home - I've been looking through the gallery in the forum and the cats are stunning - I'm so pleased I'm getting a Maine Coon, I've wanted one for about 15 years! I've got a couple of photo's of her and can't stop looking at them - can't believe she'll be part of the family a week on Friday! Her mum's got the most amazing emerald eyes - is that any indicator of what colour hers will be? I gather they don't 'settle' on eye colour until the kitten's are about 4 months? Not that it makes any difference, my husband's convinced she'll be the most pampered, spoilt pussy cat in Surrey!!

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Originally Posted by Helen & John

All the big pet food manufactures test on animals

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The only possible way to be certain that a food is supplying the required nutrients to animals is via actual animal feeding tests. If PETA is lumping feeding tests in with harmful animal tests and condemning them all, then they are just plain ignorant. When I was reading labels of premium cat foods recently, only the Purina premium foods stated that their nutritional sufficiency had been confirmed through feedings studies. All the other brands were relying on assays of various nutrients, and then hoping these nutrients were biologically available (and that there are not other necessary nutrients). Unfortunately, this approach is hardly foolproof and has led to actual dead pets. This is a major reason why I think it a mistake for people to reject all pet food from major corporations and necessarily assume the "gourmet" brands are healthier.

Can I throw something else into the mix?

We lost our last cat (moggie) to kidney disease in March as he completely refused to eat anything but IAMS. This was not a problem for the first 16 years, but when he very quickly became seriously ill he would not touch the specialist kidney food that the vet prescribed. He was on medication too, but it wasn't fixing the problem enough and he needed to eat the prescription food. Syringe feeding was an utter nightmare (and I've lots of experience with doing this with other types of animals).

So, our new kitten has been subjected to just about every dry food on the market and gets a different brand each day. He doesn't seem to care at all. just so long as it keeps on coming, and his digestive system is in fine shape, judging by what arrives in the litter tray. I know every cat is different and we were spectacularly unlucky, but it is a problem we are going to try to avoid with this cat.

Out of interest, James Wellbeloved seems to be a favourite, especially the duck and rice flavour, and the Hills VetEssentials is a close second, based on the excitement levels when he sees the bag! In due course we will narrow it down to a few brands, instead of the 12 we currently have on the go!

Weasel, sorry to hear about your loss.

I've working the same theory as you - variety and lots of it. I figure there is less chance of any nutritional deficit if a wide range of food is given.

Casco has 1/3 dry - orijen mixed with either a little applaws, hills natures best or sanabelle grande. 2/3 wet which is a rotation of toplife, feline fayre, animonda carny exotic, highlife perfection, terra faelis, yarrah, thrive complete and some raw (minced turkey with heart, liver and egg yolk). He also gets the odd tin of grau or smilla.

It might seem a bit extreme but it makes sense to me, it's also nice that he has a variety. Like you I have noticed no trouble with his digestion or stools.