does my kitten need wet food?

[RolandsMom]

I have a kitten (Roland) whose almost 5 months old. At the moment i am feeding him Nutro natural choice kitten food and he is putting on weight and growing like a weed. i have been told by my vet that i dont need to give him wet food but other people have a different opinion. Does he need wet food as well? he is eating on demand right now so his food is out all the time and he eats when he wants to. He has slowed down his eating this month but still seems to be putting on weight. Do they go through eating spurts like children do?

[~michelle~]

i have heard that cats main food source should be a wet food source. i feed mine primarly dry but they drink ons and tons of water and they get some wet food.
first off nutro although not the worse food there are better holistic foods out there. alot of complaints with nutro are lack of shiny fur, excessive shedding and vomitting bile on a reg basis.
yes young animals cats and dogs will go through eating spurts that go along with growth spurts. growing takes in alot of calories.
however monitor your cats intake. althoug recommended intake amounts for kittens are higher than adult cat you still need to make sure that they are not gaining too much weight.

[RolandsMom]

Roland drinks a lot of water too!!! he is in great condition and his fur is very healthy and shiney. i guess we are lucky. he doesnt vomit or anything like that. ( i think hes thrown up once in the past 2 months and that after eating some dog food gravy on a friends dogs food!)
if there are better holistic foods, can you give me some names so i can investigate.

[~michelle~]

the one i have in mind that i have had great results with is Innova, both for dogs and cats. my cats fur changed drastically when they were put on innova. if you check out the food forum there are tons there that people use.

[RolandsMom]

Thanks! i will check it out. i wanted to vary his food too as im sure he gets bored with his food. i know i would.

[Catzig]

Varying his food is likely to upset his system ... runny bowel movements, upset tummy, etc. You do not need to change his food - unless he is not thriving or having some other health issue with it. When you find a good, healthy food, stick with it.

[RolandsMom]

yes, discussion is great, but we digress...my main issue is the wet food, not the dry. although is awesome to get input as to which food is more nutritionally balaced (dry food), im still not certain as to wether he needs the wet. he doesnt seem to be suffering for not having it at the mo, but its just something i wonder about regulary. i would give it to him mainly for some variety really if its not totally necessary.

[Scott_B]

ok, yes, if you can feed a good quality wet food, then go for it.

[chico2]

Rolands mom,I have always had cats,at the moment I have 3 mature males.
Right from the getgo,my cats have always had a varied diet,never gotten sick from it.
They share a can of food morning and night and supplement with dry 24/7.
I've had them on all different kinds of good quality dry,with no ill effects.

IMO,if you make male neutered cats eat the same DRY food all the time,they are more likely to suffer UTI and my cats love their canned food,they only get about a table-spoon each.
As with people,I want my cats to enjoy their food,not eating the same old dry all the time.
Maybe with dog it's different and they have a reaction to change of foods,I never had any such reaction with any of my cats.

[RolandsMom]

Thanks Chico2. any recommendations as to what food is best? im using Nutro natural choice kitten now and im going to try some innova next but i dont know anything about wet food. i assume the same brands would be suitable and nutritional?

[Scott_B]

Yeah, my 3 are the same as well.

As for food, Innova Evo, or Felidae would be my top choices for both wet & dry.

[chico2]

Sure Rolands mom,the same brand as the dry food is great,even Nutros canned has good ingredients.
You have only one kitten,but with 3 cats,I will not pay $2-$3 for a small can of cat-food,Nutros canned is reasonable and still good ingredients.
It's a trial and error thing,cats don't like all foods,but your kitten probably will