Topic: Food suggestions for kitten (Read 10692 times)

Fire Fox · « **Reply #42 on:** November 26, 2009, 11:56:21 AM »

Let us know how you get on!

golden eagle · « **Reply #41 on:** November 26, 2009, 09:01:52 AM »

guys for all your advice. I have now decided to get the sample pack from Food4Cats; order Bozita from Zooplus, feed them chicken wings 4-5 times per week & continue with a variety of dry food (they just get bored of the same stuff). And if all of that doesn't keep them happy I don't know what will. God knows they are getting more choice when it comes to food than my OH who just has to eat what he is given and pretend he likes it regardless of taste.

Mark · « **Reply #40 on:** November 25, 2009, 23:20:08 PM »

We were told that Lizards shouldn't be given too many chicks or pinkies due to the bone not being developed so the calcium content is too low - I guess it is the same for cats? (I hate the idea of baby chick being killed but I know the makes are macerated

)

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #39 on:** November 25, 2009, 19:04:35 PM »

Quote from: Fire Fox on November 25, 2009, 17:57:34 PM

GoldenEagle the Food4Cats mince variety packs are not just meat - it's minced meat, bone and offal. Obviously the tiny pieces of bones won't clean their teeth like a chicken wing but it should be complete.

Food4 does BONE-IN chunks as well, which are big enough to keep teeth clean.

I've made my own, using chicken thighs, with a mincer (a manual one at that!) which was hard work to say the least, its easier to get the cats to mince it up themselves with their teeth LOL!

Quote from: golden eagle on November 24, 2009, 15:21:56 PM

Phew. That's a relief. So can anyone who feeds whole chicks give me tips? Do I just put the whole chic in their bowl? How much should I feed to 4-moths old kitten, etc. Any experience/advice to share? Should I still feed mince on top of chicks so they get more meat?

I've only ever fed the chicks every now and then, I don't think it would be considered a complete meal as such, but again good for the teeth grinding on the skin/feathers etc

Fire Fox · « **Reply #38 on:** November 25, 2009, 17:57:34 PM »

GoldenEagle the Food4Cats mince variety packs are not just meat - it's minced meat, bone and offal. Obviously the tiny pieces of bones won't clean their teeth like a chicken wing but it should be complete. Just like Gillan I still feed 'normal' wet and dry food as well, for convenience and as an insurance policy. I no longer feed dry on the same day as the raw mince, for no other reason than I want to get through an open 'sausage' in two days!

Some of the raw websites border on evangelical, especially those who think everyone should buy a mincer and make all their own from scratch!

To protect the carpet from blood and guts, try laying down an old bathsheet which you can just throw in the washing machine afterwards. I can't see any reason why you couldn't use newspaper as I don't think the ink would come out, tho others may know better.

golden eagle · « **Reply #37 on:** November 24, 2009, 15:21:56 PM »

Phew. That's a relief. So can anyone who feeds whole chicks give me tips? Do I just put the whole chic in their bowl? How much should I feed to 4-moths old kitten, etc. Any experience/advice to share? Should I still feed mince on top of chicks so they get more meat?

Den · « **Reply #36 on:** November 24, 2009, 15:12:45 PM »

Noooooo they won't ... well if they did chase chickens, it wouldn't be because of the fact they were eating chicks. They would do it no matter what they ate. Chickens can pretty much hold their own anyway they are very tough birds. Cats will soon learn not to mess with them.

golden eagle · « **Reply #35 on:** November 24, 2009, 15:08:04 PM »

Just had a thought tho - if I feed them whole chicks will that make them likely to start chasing chicken? We live in a semi-rural area so don't want to get into trouble with our neighbours. Already fell out of favour with some of my neighbours over my previous cat so can't be going through it again.

Den · « **Reply #34 on:** November 24, 2009, 15:02:05 PM »

Berriewood sell frozen chicks

http://www.berriewoodwholesale.co.uk/cgi-bin/sitewise.pl?act=sect&s=183&id=berrie

golden eagle · « **Reply #33 on:** November 24, 2009, 14:51:10 PM »

I will order the taster pack today. I guess I have nothing to lose. £10 is not that much after all. Will check out the frozendirect website to maybe get some chicks. And probably also check out prices of small freezers whilst I am at it

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #32 on:** November 24, 2009, 14:37:58 PM »

Quote from: golden eagle on November 24, 2009, 14:28:46 PM

Does anyone know where to get whole chicks (dead of course). There must be a retailer selling these for snake keepers? Have just checked out the food4cats website and they seem to be doing mainly mince whilst I'd like them to have some bone as well. But not just chicken wings that I give them now.

There are a few online retailers, http://www.frozendirect.com/shop/home.php is one, I havent used them, but my local pet shop stocks chicks and we also have alocal reptile shop that does as well.

Food4 does chunks with bone as well - the bone-in rabbit chunks go down well here.

Thats a good point actuallly Susanne - mine like the Bozita pate styles (think only Reindeer and Turkey varieties are pate) more than the chunky ones.

Dawn F · « **Reply #31 on:** November 24, 2009, 14:31:47 PM »

I think Gillian ambercat uses these, could be wrong????

golden eagle · « **Reply #30 on:** November 24, 2009, 14:28:46 PM »

Quote from: Susanne (urbantigers) on November 24, 2009, 14:02:50 PM

What about pate style food if they lick of the jelly or gravy and leave the chunks? Hi life essentials come in pate style. Asda sell them 4 for £1 (small tins). Mosi loves the turkey one. Bozita also do a few flavours in pate.

Might be worth a try. Although they didn't like Applaws tinned chicken for kittens.

Does anyone know where to get whole chicks (dead of course). There must be a retailer selling these for snake keepers? Have just checked out the food4cats website and they seem to be doing mainly mince whilst I'd like them to have some bone as well. But not just chicken wings that I give them now.

Susanne (urbantigers) · « **Reply #29 on:** November 24, 2009, 14:02:50 PM »

What about pate style food if they lick of the jelly or gravy and leave the chunks? Hi life essentials come in pate style. Asda sell them 4 for £1 (small tins). Mosi loves the turkey one. Bozita also do a few flavours in pate.

golden eagle · « **Reply #28 on:** November 24, 2009, 13:36:16 PM »

LOL! I ended up buying a new chest freezer to put in the garage for the cats food (got a good deal on one locally) because I found I didnt have room for any frozen stuff for me - plus the first time I put in order to Food4cats, I somehow ordered too much and was getting very desparate towards the end of stacking my freezer as I didnt think I was going to get it all in - in the end I filled up the whole 4 draws!

and the red warning overload light was flashing!
[/quote]
Oh dear - new freezer you say. OH will have a fit! Have still not managed to turn him into a cat person. I guess he gets jealous of not getting all the fuss for himself.

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #27 on:** November 24, 2009, 12:38:47 PM »

Quote from: golden eagle on November 24, 2009, 12:30:46 PM

I'll get the taster pack. Have been meaning to do it for ages. Hopefully it wont' be too bulky as have only a very very small freezer.

LOL! I ended up buying a new chest freezer to put in the garage for the cats food (got a good deal on one locally) because I found I didnt have room for any frozen stuff for me - plus the first time I put in order to Food4cats, I somehow ordered too much and was getting very desparate towards the end of stacking my freezer as I didnt think I was going to get it all in - in the end I filled up the whole 4 draws!

and the red warning overload light was flashing!

golden eagle · « **Reply #26 on:** November 24, 2009, 12:31:58 PM »

Then I would put several towels down with her on it and she would lie on the towel with the bone on the carpet. Raw food and vomit always seem drawn to carpet

made me laugh! Thanks for your comments as well.

golden eagle · « **Reply #25 on:** November 24, 2009, 12:30:46 PM »

I've always thought that was a very useful site actually, and in the end we can make up our own minds based on the info presented. The other site I posted the link to earlier is also very informative - in case you missed it http://catinfo.org/

I don't only feed raw, they also get Bozita and Hi Life with a few biccies as a treat - like I said before, variety is good - well it certainly is for my lot ! I get my raw from http://www.food4-cats.co.uk/ - they do a taster pack for £10 which wouldnt overfill your freezer and a good way to see if they like it.

Sorry I didn't mean that the website wasn't informative. The comment about too much info was meant more in a sense that sometime ignorance is bliss. I'll get the taster pack. Have been meaning to do it for ages. Hopefully it wont' be too bulky as have only a very very small freezer. In the meantime I'll continue giving them dry as well as I'm not in all day so think it's more practical.

Den · « **Reply #24 on:** November 24, 2009, 12:07:51 PM »

Honestly, don't worry about them only eating half the dry food

They are clearly putting on weight which means they are getting the right amout of food. Dry food expands when wet so it is going to make them feel full, don't forget they only have very small stomachs.

Go by what they eat and how much they grow as to how much to feed them. If they are eating everything and still appear hungry, give them more. If they are putting on too much weight give them less. If they aren't eating it all but are putting on weight then it is probably too much food. I have never measured any of my animals food, ever. I feed by sight purely as guidelines are always far too much for my lot.

As for raw and carpet, can't help you there. I have in the past given my dog a massive bone dripping in blood with chunks of raw meat still attached. She would take it from the tiled kitchen to the living room carpet. Then I would put several towels down with her on it and she would lie on the towel with the bone on the carpet. Raw food and vomit always seem drawn to carpet

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #23 on:** November 24, 2009, 12:05:10 PM »

Quote from: golden eagle on November 24, 2009, 11:36:20 AM

Funny you should say that D&M. I have checked up rawfedcats website today and have been left feeling like I was slowly killing my cats by not feeding them raw foods. Aparently even vaccinating is not good and should be avoided!!! I guess sometimes too much information is just a bit of an overkill? I will try them on raw for a bit (though they were not interested in liver at all) and see how that goes. At the end of the day, they are both growing. I think 100-200g increase (each) in weight on a weekly basis is an indication that they are not starving. Though I can't help feeling a little worried as yesterday they again only ate half their dry food. That's why I want to try them on raw to see how they like that. Although one disadvantage with raw is that they tend to drag it out of their bowls and our whole house is carpeted so I can't just wipe the floor. Can't be very hygenic.

I've always thought that was a very useful site actually, and in the end we can make up our own minds based on the info presented. The other site I posted the link to earlier is also very informative - in case you missed it http://catinfo.org/

I don't only feed raw, they also get Bozita and Hi Life with a few biccies as a treat - like I said before, variety is good - well it certainly is for my lot ! I get my raw from http://www.food4-cats.co.uk/ - they do a taster pack for £10 which wouldnt overfill your freezer and a good way to see if they like it.

golden eagle · « **Reply #22 on:** November 24, 2009, 11:36:20 AM »

Funny you should say that D&M. I have checked up rawfedcats website today and have been left feeling like I was slowly killing my cats by not feeding them raw foods. Aparently even vaccinating is not good and should be avoided!!!

I guess sometimes too much information is just a bit of an overkill? I will try them on raw for a bit (though they were not interested in liver at all) and see how that goes. At the end of the day, they are both growing. I think 100-200g increase (each) in weight on a weekly basis is an indication that they are not starving. Though I can't help feeling a little worried as yesterday they again only ate half their dry food. That's why I want to try them on raw to see how they like that. Although one disadvantage with raw is that they tend to drag it out of their bowls and our whole house is carpeted so I can't just wipe the floor. Can't be very hygenic.

Den · « **Reply #21 on:** November 24, 2009, 10:50:17 AM »

Mine is an indoor cat and is on a healthy diet for him

I get annoyed with these discussions because I have read SO many of them on cat and dog boards. They always go the same way. Over the past few years they have been swinging heavily towards raw feeding (which I'm not against). The problem I have is it is always these foods are all rubbish and to be avoided and these foods are all good. So on cat related forums it would always be avoid the 4% meat ie Whiskas and Felix. Sure, try the higher meat stuff first, but it isn't the be all or end all. That comes down to how the cat is doing on a brand of food. What I'm saying is, raw isn't the holy grail (I've seen those who thrive on it and those who lose condition) and there shouldn't be 'high quality' or 'low quality' the quality is dependant on how the cat does on it.

When people say don't feed 4% meat because its awful, it does amazingly make people who do feed it feel inferior. Even though they may be sat there with a house full of very healthy cats.

The important part is that they are healthy .. they can be healthy on lower end stuff. So don't discount it.

golden eagle · « **Reply #20 on:** November 24, 2009, 08:38:42 AM »

Quote from: Fire Fox on November 23, 2009, 17:19:48 PM

Quote from: golden eagle on November 23, 2009, 16:30:50 PM
I know there is a lot of different opinions regarding dry v. wet food. In the end we opted for good quality dry food to be their main diet with daily half a pouch each and half a chicken wing each. The reason why we opted for dry food is that they tend to lick off jelly/gravy then leave the chunks which then stay there for a long time. Can't be nice. Dry stays fresh when I put it in the bowl in the morning as don't get back from work till 6pm. Also wet food such as Almo or Applaws is simply too expensive for us. Not to mention that neither was keen on Applaws tin when I tried one on them. I did consider balanced raw diet but I need to do more research into it (it's on my agenda I promise) but we don't have a big enough freezer so it may be a non-starter in any event.
Was thinking of feeding them Applaws dry as it's 80% meat but I note you say you wouldn't feed it as the main diet? Why? Is it just that you believe they should be fed mainly wet food or is there any other reason?

Apologies, Golden Eagle, if you've read all this before on MSE!

Almo and Applaws wet are indeed VERY expensive, in fact you could get a leg of lamb or rib of beef for the same price! Good quality wet foods at a fair price include Feline Fayre at 60-70% fish (19p a pouch in Home Bargains; 60p for a large tin in Asda), Pets at Home Purely 50% fish 165g tins (44p per tin), Bozita up to 90% meat (£1 per 360g tetrapacks from Zooplus); Hi-Life 60% chicken (29p a pouch Home Bargains).

I originally contemplated feeding all dry, as I remember coming home to fly eggs in leftover wet food with previous cats. I find with Noah the high fish content foods and raw meat don't sit in the bowl long enough to go manky, whereas he did lick the gravy when I put down Hills pouches (had a voucher to use!). I swear he knows it's poor quality!

Great advice as always, FireFox. I'll check out Home Bargains. There is no store locally but they might do an on-line service. I just remember another reason why we started them off with dry food. We couldn't get any kitten tins in any of the local supermarkets. All they had were Whiskas pouches and when I did my research it worked out cheaper to buy a good quality dry food than feeding them mainly Whiskas pouches that got completely slated on MSE in any event. Are those brands you mentioned above kitten food? I think Noah is a little older than our 4 months old furbags.

Mark · « **Reply #19 on:** November 24, 2009, 06:41:37 AM »

Some cats diets defy science - I have heard of several cats who lived to a ripe old age living on tins of pilchards in tomato sauce

Fire Fox · « **Reply #18 on:** November 24, 2009, 02:02:07 AM »

Quote from: Den + Memphis on November 23, 2009, 17:55:33 PM

At the end of the day you need to feed what suits your cats and what they like. Just like people they have preferences .. like some flavours more than others, prefer wet over dry or jelly instead of gravy. Some will just eat anything.

It's so easy to say oh I only intend to feed them the high quality stuff .. but if they don't like it then its not good food for that particular cat. I do actually get ever so annoyed with discussions like this. My boy eats a variety of stuff including Whiskas, Sheba, Felix and Hills as his main food. He is sleek, very active, very healthy has great condition and his coat is gorgeous. He's this way because his food suits him. Feed him hi-life and he is always sick. Whilst he likes applaws wet he doesn't love it and would eventually get bored of it. Therefore they are not good quality for him.

Just like people they have different appetites. So feeding guidelines are just that. Taking my boy as an example he probably eats 1/4 of what would be recommended ..a) he just wouldn't eat any more and b) if he did he would end up morbidly obese

What I would do is stop offering different things (creates fussy cats if you keep offering new things when they don't eat something), stick to one thing that they do like. Offer them the amount of food that they eat, if they seem hungry later offer them some more. They might not be eating because they are full.

I think what it comes down to, you could read all the nutrition/food related stuff, buy all the expensive 'high quality' food, buy a new freezer and fill it with raw .. or you could just listen to your cats and go by them.

Please don't get annoyed.

Nutrition research and links to health are based on population studies whereas you are talking about individual cats, so we are all correct in what we think and say on this issue. I don't think anyone was saying you should feed expensive foods to keep your cat healthy, lets face it at £8+ a kilo for some brands of wet food you are not simply paying for the ingredients you are buying into a 'lifestyle' and marketing campaign!

One of the main reasons I feed Noah raw some of the time is exactly as you say - he absolutely loves it and will purr as I put it down more often than not.

Other reasons include that his poo stinks the entire flat out on some foods

but is not smelly at all on the higher meat stuff: he also got VERY itchy on the wrong food (for him) and I have a sneaking suspicion that his previous health problems (pododermatitis/ bad reaction to jabs) might be related to diet in some way.

Lastly I feel a healthy diet is especially important for Noah because he is indoor only, and doesn't even have stairs or an outdoor run to exercise tho of course we play every day. I know from my work (NHS) that there is no need to be 'perfect' on diet or physical activity, overall consistency is the key - as you say finding a food our feline friends will eat and getting the quantities right!

Millys Mum · « **Reply #17 on:** November 23, 2009, 19:35:22 PM »

Quote

The reason why we opted for dry food is that they tend to lick off jelly/gravy then leave the chunks which then stay there for a long time

Have you tried using a fork and mashing it? I feed many and much more gets eaten mashed

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #16 on:** November 23, 2009, 19:32:22 PM »

Quote from: Den + Memphis on November 23, 2009, 17:55:33 PM

Feed him hi-life and he is always sick.

Hi LIfe doesnt make mine sick - BUT, they don't like it as much since they've changed the recipe and meat combinations of the pouches. Before the change the varieties were turkey & chicken, chicken& lamb, chicken & liver, and chicken & duck - now its just three varieties - chopped chicken, chicken & beef and chicken & liver.

sheryl · « **Reply #15 on:** November 23, 2009, 19:12:05 PM »

My Bengals are on a mainly dry diet (Oijen & Arden Grange sensitive mixed) although they do have some Bozita and raw and my vet and even their breeder has commented on what fantastic condition they are in - it is what suits them and they enjoy it so I stick with it

Bazsmum · « **Reply #14 on:** November 23, 2009, 18:17:55 PM »

Quote from: Dawn F on November 23, 2009, 18:06:31 PM

tbh Den is right, I've tried for all the time I've had my lot to get high quality etc and they all prefer felix except one!

Ditto!

Dawn F · « **Reply #13 on:** November 23, 2009, 18:06:31 PM »

tbh Den is right, I've tried for all the time I've had my lot to get high quality etc and they all prefer felix except one!

Mark · « **Reply #12 on:** November 23, 2009, 18:06:10 PM »

Quote from: Den + Memphis on November 23, 2009, 17:55:33 PM

At the end of the day you need to feed what suits your cats and what they like. Just like people they have preferences .. like some flavours more than others, prefer wet over dry or jelly instead of gravy. Some will just eat anything.

It's so easy to say oh I only intend to feed them the high quality stuff .. but if they don't like it then its not good food for that particular cat. I do actually get ever so annoyed with discussions like this. My boy eats a variety of stuff including Whiskas, Sheba, Felix and Hills as his main food. He is sleek, very active, very healthy has great condition and his coat is gorgeous. He's this way because his food suits him. Feed him hi-life and he is always sick. Whilst he likes applaws wet he doesn't love it and would eventually get bored of it. Therefore they are not good quality for him.

Just like people they have different appetites. So feeding guidelines are just that. Taking my boy as an example he probably eats 1/4 of what would be recommended ..a) he just wouldn't eat any more and b) if he did he would end up morbidly obese

What I would do is stop offering different things (creates fussy cats if you keep offering new things when they don't eat something), stick to one thing that they do like. Offer them the amount of food that they eat, if they seem hungry later offer them some more. They might not be eating because they are full.

I think what it comes down to, you could read all the nutrition/food related stuff, buy all the expensive 'high quality' food, buy a new freezer and fill it with raw .. or you could just listen to your cats and go by them.

Well put

Although we can try to guide them in the right direction. I am not a huge fan of Hill's but it is what mine will eat without a fuss and the nutrients are pretty good which hopefully makes up for them eating Whiskas, Felix and Kit-e-Kat

- We just bought bulk packs of Whiskas chicken in Jelly and Sheba beef yesterday as we know it will be eaten, unlike multipacks where 1/2 gets wasted as they won't touch certain flavours. I have even almost given up trying to feed them senior food as it just gets wasted - although the new Tesco own is going down OK. Other than that, they have Hill's senior light - I gave up buying K/D as the only cat that would eat it was Kylie and she doesn't have CRF

- Same with Purina Renal again Alice is the only one that eats it and she doesn't have CRF either

- so the senior dry is a compromise.

Den · « **Reply #11 on:** November 23, 2009, 17:55:33 PM »

At the end of the day you need to feed what suits your cats and what they like. Just like people they have preferences .. like some flavours more than others, prefer wet over dry or jelly instead of gravy. Some will just eat anything.

It's so easy to say oh I only intend to feed them the high quality stuff .. but if they don't like it then its not good food for that particular cat. I do actually get ever so annoyed with discussions like this. My boy eats a variety of stuff including Whiskas, Sheba, Felix and Hills as his main food. He is sleek, very active, very healthy has great condition and his coat is gorgeous. He's this way because his food suits him. Feed him hi-life and he is always sick. Whilst he likes applaws wet he doesn't love it and would eventually get bored of it. Therefore they are not good quality for him.

Just like people they have different appetites. So feeding guidelines are just that. Taking my boy as an example he probably eats 1/4 of what would be recommended ..a) he just wouldn't eat any more and b) if he did he would end up morbidly obese

What I would do is stop offering different things (creates fussy cats if you keep offering new things when they don't eat something), stick to one thing that they do like. Offer them the amount of food that they eat, if they seem hungry later offer them some more. They might not be eating because they are full.

I think what it comes down to, you could read all the nutrition/food related stuff, buy all the expensive 'high quality' food, buy a new freezer and fill it with raw .. or you could just listen to your cats and go by them.

Mark · « **Reply #10 on:** November 23, 2009, 17:51:22 PM »

I always add a bit of water to wet as well to try to compensate. I have trouble getting Clapton to eat senior and renal food (he does have renal for breakfast usually) so I give him Whiskas chicken pouches (we buy a whole box of singles at a time) I add water and give it a good stir and the jelly turns to water almost but he loves it

I am also wary of feeding older cats Applaws or Orijen dry as the phosphorus content is REALLY high - something like 2.5%

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #9 on:** November 23, 2009, 17:46:47 PM »

Quote from: golden eagle on November 23, 2009, 16:30:50 PM

Was thinking of feeding them Applaws dry as it's 80% meat but I note you say you wouldn't feed it as the main diet? Why? Is it just that you believe they should be fed mainly wet food or is there any other reason?

Cats evolved to derive the majority of their water intake from their food as they don't have a strong thirst drive. Dry is dehydrating which means cats have to drink more - trouble is they can never drink enough to compensate for the lack of water in dry. Have a look at this site here http://catinfo.org/ - it gives you the low down on dry food and theres also info there about feeding a raw diet if you want to read more at some point.

A way of getting them to eat the wet up all in one go is to feed set mealtimes and not leave food (dry or otherwise) down all the time. Wth kittens probably around 4 times daily, reducing down to 2 or 3 times daily as adult cats. I feed mine in the morning, evening and then last thing at night. They don't have food left down for them.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #8 on:** November 23, 2009, 17:42:05 PM »

try using the porcelain for the wet food just to see if it makes a difference......if not you havent lost anything

Fire Fox · « **Reply #7 on:** November 23, 2009, 17:19:48 PM »

Quote from: golden eagle on November 23, 2009, 16:30:50 PM

I know there is a lot of different opinions regarding dry v. wet food. In the end we opted for good quality dry food to be their main diet with daily half a pouch each and half a chicken wing each. The reason why we opted for dry food is that they tend to lick off jelly/gravy then leave the chunks which then stay there for a long time. Can't be nice. Dry stays fresh when I put it in the bowl in the morning as don't get back from work till 6pm. Also wet food such as Almo or Applaws is simply too expensive for us. Not to mention that neither was keen on Applaws tin when I tried one on them. I did consider balanced raw diet but I need to do more research into it (it's on my agenda I promise) but we don't have a big enough freezer so it may be a non-starter in any event.
Was thinking of feeding them Applaws dry as it's 80% meat but I note you say you wouldn't feed it as the main diet? Why? Is it just that you believe they should be fed mainly wet food or is there any other reason?

Apologies, Golden Eagle, if you've read all this before on MSE!

Almo and Applaws wet are indeed VERY expensive, in fact you could get a leg of lamb or rib of beef for the same price!

Good quality wet foods at a fair price include Feline Fayre at 60-70% fish (19p a pouch in Home Bargains; 60p for a large tin in Asda), Pets at Home Purely 50% fish 165g tins (44p per tin), Bozita up to 90% meat (£1 per 360g tetrapacks from Zooplus); Hi-Life 60% chicken (29p a pouch Home Bargains).

I originally contemplated feeding all dry, as I remember coming home to fly eggs

in leftover wet food with previous cats. I find with Noah the high fish content foods and raw meat don't sit in the bowl long enough to go manky, whereas he did lick the gravy when I put down Hills pouches (had a voucher to use!). I swear he knows it's poor quality!

golden eagle · « **Reply #6 on:** November 23, 2009, 16:30:50 PM »

Quote from: Gillian (Ambercat) on November 23, 2009, 15:20:30 PM

What else do they eat? do they only eat dry? Have you tried them on any wet/pouch/tins? I'd always recommend feeding a good quality, high meat wet food such as Hi Life, Bozita, Nature's Menu, Applaws/Encore - or a balanced raw diet. The cheaper tins tend to have low meat content with unnecessary fillers like cereals which cats don't need in their diet, having said that, mine are quite partial to a tin of Whiskas Supermeat occasionally! but Supermeat doesnt contain cereals which is something at least I think variety is important, but sometimes chopping and changing too often can make them fussy. Its good you are trying to get them eating wings etc too at a young age - will keep their teeth nice and clean.

There are some no/carb dry foods such as Applaws and Orijen, but I wouldnt feed those as the main diet.

Recommended daily allowances are just guidelines, all depends on the individual cat or kitten really.

I know there is a lot of different opinions regarding dry v. wet food. In the end we opted for good quality dry food to be their main diet with daily half a pouch each and half a chicken wing each. The reason why we opted for dry food is that they tend to lick off jelly/gravy then leave the chunks which then stay there for a long time. Can't be nice. Dry stays fresh when I put it in the bowl in the morning as don't get back from work till 6pm. Also wet food such as Almo or Applaws is simply too expensive for us. Not to mention that neither was keen on Applaws tin when I tried one on them. I did consider balanced raw diet but I need to do more research into it (it's on my agenda I promise) but we don't have a big enough freezer so it may be a non-starter in any event.
Was thinking of feeding them Applaws dry as it's 80% meat but I note you say you wouldn't feed it as the main diet? Why? Is it just that you believe they should be fed mainly wet food or is there any other reason?

golden eagle · « **Reply #5 on:** November 23, 2009, 16:09:19 PM »

Quote from: Gill (sneakiefeline) on November 23, 2009, 15:59:24 PM

just wondering what kind od dishes you are using, cos some of then retain the smell of previous food i have noticed, or even of the washing up liquid and would recommend a non-plastic type dish for wet food.

porcelain or stainless steel seem to be best

I use porcelain for their dry food and water and plastic for their wet food. I use hardly any washing up liquid when washing out as I read somewhere that cats can smell it even when washed out thoroughly.

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #4 on:** November 23, 2009, 15:59:24 PM »

just wondering what kind od dishes you are using, cos some of then retain the smell of previous food i have noticed, or even of the washing up liquid and would recommend a non-plastic type dish for wet food.

porcelain or stainless steel seem to be best

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #3 on:** November 23, 2009, 15:20:30 PM »

What else do they eat? do they only eat dry? Have you tried them on any wet/pouch/tins? I'd always recommend feeding a good quality, high meat wet food such as Hi Life, Bozita, Nature's Menu, Applaws/Encore - or a balanced raw diet. The cheaper tins tend to have low meat content with unnecessary fillers like cereals which cats don't need in their diet, having said that, mine are quite partial to a tin of Whiskas Supermeat occasionally! but Supermeat doesnt contain cereals which is something at least

I think variety is important, but sometimes chopping and changing too often can make them fussy. Its good you are trying to get them eating wings etc too at a young age - will keep their teeth nice and clean.

There are some no/carb dry foods such as Applaws and Orijen, but I wouldnt feed those as the main diet.

Recommended daily allowances are just guidelines, all depends on the individual cat or kitten really.

Author Topic: Food suggestions for kitten (Read 10692 times)