Best kitten food?
Discussion
As the title says. Answers on the internet are all over the place and I've done extensive analysis into this. The core requirements are that the food is available to purchase in the UK in either Pets at Home superstores, veterinarian practices, indie pet shops, or supermarkets (unlikely for the best, I'd guess, though my closest supermarket is a Waitrose in an expensive town). I don't have time to make my cats fresh food - hell, I don't have time to make *myself* proper food, let alone my cats.
I have two pure-bred Maine Coon kittens. Cost is irrelevant - no cat food I've seen is what I consider 'expensive'. However I've noted with pet food that cost isn't an indicator of quality as some of the 'expensive' pet foods are sold to the owner rather than the pet (as per the 'reassuringly expensive' concept, whereas the product itself isn't any higher quality than the average, as per Stella IMO).
I don't buy the 'dry food only' idea for cats, it's not close enough to their evolved diet (obligate carnivores) and I'm happy serving them wet food at mealtimes with a bucket of dry kibbles for snacking on.
My vet recommends Hill's but they would, because Hill's spend so much on sponsoring veterinary schools and practices. Yeah I'm cynical but there's a clear conflict of interest and I'm very suspicious as a result. If Hill's is the best then I'll get it, but I'm not convinced so far.
Currently I'm feeding them what they had when they lived with their mother at the breeder's place - Felix kitten wet food pouches and James Wellbeloved kitten dry food. I'm aware that Felix is mid-range (if that) food but the kittens like it, and have no digestive complaints. I'll switch over gradually, but I'd prefer to feed them the best possible food.
So - open to the experts here
So far, Applaws appears to be a strong contender. I know there are plenty of cat lovers on here as we've had loads of arguments (cats vs dogs) in the past And everyone has different views, I'd just like to get some more UK-specific advice (plenty of internet searches come up with US-centric food recommendations that aren't easily available here, esp. when talking about Maine Coons).
I have two pure-bred Maine Coon kittens. Cost is irrelevant - no cat food I've seen is what I consider 'expensive'. However I've noted with pet food that cost isn't an indicator of quality as some of the 'expensive' pet foods are sold to the owner rather than the pet (as per the 'reassuringly expensive' concept, whereas the product itself isn't any higher quality than the average, as per Stella IMO).
I don't buy the 'dry food only' idea for cats, it's not close enough to their evolved diet (obligate carnivores) and I'm happy serving them wet food at mealtimes with a bucket of dry kibbles for snacking on.
My vet recommends Hill's but they would, because Hill's spend so much on sponsoring veterinary schools and practices. Yeah I'm cynical but there's a clear conflict of interest and I'm very suspicious as a result. If Hill's is the best then I'll get it, but I'm not convinced so far.
Currently I'm feeding them what they had when they lived with their mother at the breeder's place - Felix kitten wet food pouches and James Wellbeloved kitten dry food. I'm aware that Felix is mid-range (if that) food but the kittens like it, and have no digestive complaints. I'll switch over gradually, but I'd prefer to feed them the best possible food.
So - open to the experts here
So far, Applaws appears to be a strong contender. I know there are plenty of cat lovers on here as we've had loads of arguments (cats vs dogs) in the past And everyone has different views, I'd just like to get some more UK-specific advice (plenty of internet searches come up with US-centric food recommendations that aren't easily available here, esp. when talking about Maine Coons).
off topic but- why not lots of fish and meat? along with a bit of grass
Part of me thinks all the nutrition stuff is just made up- animals in the wild eat what they have and survive fine to an older age. In the sameway some humans take lots of supplements compared to someone who eats a normal diet- wont a cat be fine? looked after cats from time to time and they loved chicken, salmon etc
Part of me thinks all the nutrition stuff is just made up- animals in the wild eat what they have and survive fine to an older age. In the sameway some humans take lots of supplements compared to someone who eats a normal diet- wont a cat be fine? looked after cats from time to time and they loved chicken, salmon etc
We have a Maine coon too, great cats
The breeder put her on Royal canin Kitten, we duly followed, but had another think when we read the ingredients!
She is now on Applaws dry and mixture of applaws cans twice a week and tuna twice a week (in spring water)
She seems to be doing fine, apart from unrelated health stuff, she is 11lb at 9 months, so on target with weight
Got any pics?
The breeder put her on Royal canin Kitten, we duly followed, but had another think when we read the ingredients!
She is now on Applaws dry and mixture of applaws cans twice a week and tuna twice a week (in spring water)
She seems to be doing fine, apart from unrelated health stuff, she is 11lb at 9 months, so on target with weight
Got any pics?
amir_j said:
off topic but- why not lots of fish and meat? along with a bit of grass
Part of me thinks all the nutrition stuff is just made up- animals in the wild eat what they have and survive fine to an older age. In the sameway some humans take lots of supplements compared to someone who eats a normal diet- wont a cat be fine? looked after cats from time to time and they loved chicken, salmon etc
^^^ This. Though I'd adjust the balance to meat, with the occasional bit of freshwater fish. Part of me thinks all the nutrition stuff is just made up- animals in the wild eat what they have and survive fine to an older age. In the sameway some humans take lots of supplements compared to someone who eats a normal diet- wont a cat be fine? looked after cats from time to time and they loved chicken, salmon etc
Since when were cats evolved to eat saltwater fish? No wonder their kidneys pack up.
missdiane said:
We have a Maine coon too, great cats
The breeder put her on Royal canin Kitten, we duly followed, but had another think when we read the ingredients!
She is now on Applaws dry and mixture of applaws cans twice a week and tuna twice a week (in spring water)
She seems to be doing fine, apart from unrelated health stuff, she is 11lb at 9 months, so on target with weight
Got any pics?
I'm trying to put together a timeline photoalbum but that's not on the net yet. Here are a couple... Ozzie (Ozymandias) is the tortie tabby boy on the left, Edie is the rather pretty silver girl on the right. They're brother and sister, 4 months old.The breeder put her on Royal canin Kitten, we duly followed, but had another think when we read the ingredients!
She is now on Applaws dry and mixture of applaws cans twice a week and tuna twice a week (in spring water)
She seems to be doing fine, apart from unrelated health stuff, she is 11lb at 9 months, so on target with weight
Got any pics?
They're great fun and settled into our home really quickly.
Applaws seems the best 'easily obtainable' food so far... so I'm tempted to go with that. Ozzie will eat anything, but Edie is a bit of a madam and more picky... she likes ham and has a taste for Parma ham (don't ask) which is not something I want to cultivate... that's *my* treat, not her's
cyberface said:
missdiane said:
We have a Maine coon too, great cats
The breeder put her on Royal canin Kitten, we duly followed, but had another think when we read the ingredients!
She is now on Applaws dry and mixture of applaws cans twice a week and tuna twice a week (in spring water)
She seems to be doing fine, apart from unrelated health stuff, she is 11lb at 9 months, so on target with weight
Got any pics?
I'm trying to put together a timeline photoalbum but that's not on the net yet. Here are a couple... Ozzie (Ozymandias) is the tortie tabby boy on the left, Edie is the rather pretty silver girl on the right. They're brother and sister, 4 months old.The breeder put her on Royal canin Kitten, we duly followed, but had another think when we read the ingredients!
She is now on Applaws dry and mixture of applaws cans twice a week and tuna twice a week (in spring water)
She seems to be doing fine, apart from unrelated health stuff, she is 11lb at 9 months, so on target with weight
Got any pics?
They're great fun and settled into our home really quickly.
Applaws seems the best 'easily obtainable' food so far... so I'm tempted to go with that. Ozzie will eat anything, but Edie is a bit of a madam and more picky... she likes ham and has a taste for Parma ham (don't ask) which is not something I want to cultivate... that's *my* treat, not her's
Great name - I love Ozymandias
Our kittens had Hills dry stuff to start with - just as that was what they got at the rescue home.
However recently and for the last few months i've been alternating between Felix kitten (wet) and Whiskers Kitten (wet) supplemented with a bowl of either Go kat or Whiskers Dry.
I have on occasion plucked soem other brands and the cats seem to not notice what I put infront of them.
I was worried however when i glanced at the packets for the wet food - anything with meat in it - be it chicken beef or whatever - ingridients state at least 4% of that meat!!!
God knows what makes up the rest of it.
Poor kitties.
Our kittens had Hills dry stuff to start with - just as that was what they got at the rescue home.
However recently and for the last few months i've been alternating between Felix kitten (wet) and Whiskers Kitten (wet) supplemented with a bowl of either Go kat or Whiskers Dry.
I have on occasion plucked soem other brands and the cats seem to not notice what I put infront of them.
I was worried however when i glanced at the packets for the wet food - anything with meat in it - be it chicken beef or whatever - ingridients state at least 4% of that meat!!!
God knows what makes up the rest of it.
Poor kitties.
missdiane said:
Mobile Chicane said:
Don't give them anything salty. Their kidneys will pack up.
Can you give me an idea... tuna in spring water, 0.12gr of sodium per 100gr, too salty?(bearing in mind she eats other wet cat food as well)
Edited by missdiane on Thursday 4th March 20:19
Domestic cats being evolved from wild cats at some point, I'm just thinking what these would most likely have eaten: meat, maybe river fish.
Tried our two on loads of different ones (Hills, Burns, Royal Canin, James Wellbeloved etc) but they really love this Purr-Nickety one from Barking Heads
http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/for-cats/
http://www.barkingheads.co.uk/for-cats/
missdiane said:
They are gorgeous! They both look way too sweet and innocent, that won't last, they will soon be running you ragged.
Thanks. They are nowhere near sweet and innocent! They're both really soppy but Edie is a real handful - she's half a kilo lighter than Oz (who's a reasonable size at 2.05 kg already) but she's very inquisitive and *very* demanding. I've started calling her 'Needy Edie' because as soon as I'm within running distance she's looking up at me and meowing and demanding attention Oz is a lot more laid back, but that's typical with Maine Coon boys and girls. He only meows at us when we're dishing out the food - otherwise it's the weird Maine Coon 'chirrup' or a lot of purring. Edie talks to me ALL the time. It's going to be difficult telling when there's actually something wrong with her, because she makes so much fuss normally!
Wouldn't be without them though - we've only had them a few weeks and it's almost as if we've always had them... I lived with 7 cats when I was young and with my parents - I wish I'd got them a lot earlier... they're astonishingly good stress relievers (and god knows I've been through enough stress in the last 5 years).
It's going to be crazy when they're adults though - Oz has the potential to be 12 kg or so (his dad was rather big and his mum was long and tall), and I've seen how big Maine Coons can get
cyberface said:
missdiane said:
They are gorgeous! They both look way too sweet and innocent, that won't last, they will soon be running you ragged.
Thanks. They are nowhere near sweet and innocent! They're both really soppy but Edie is a real handful - she's half a kilo lighter than Oz (who's a reasonable size at 2.05 kg already) but she's very inquisitive and *very* demanding. I've started calling her 'Needy Edie' because as soon as I'm within running distance she's looking up at me and meowing and demanding attention Oz is a lot more laid back, but that's typical with Maine Coon boys and girls. He only meows at us when we're dishing out the food - otherwise it's the weird Maine Coon 'chirrup' or a lot of purring. Edie talks to me ALL the time. It's going to be difficult telling when there's actually something wrong with her, because she makes so much fuss normally!
Wouldn't be without them though - we've only had them a few weeks and it's almost as if we've always had them... I lived with 7 cats when I was young and with my parents - I wish I'd got them a lot earlier... they're astonishingly good stress relievers (and god knows I've been through enough stress in the last 5 years).
It's going to be crazy when they're adults though - Oz has the potential to be 12 kg or so (his dad was rather big and his mum was long and tall), and I've seen how big Maine Coons can get
Ours is 9 months now and has stayed at 5.5kg for a couple of months, so we think she will just pad out now- she is a heavy lump though- done my back in last month taking her to the vets, big cat/big basket
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