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Old January 26th, 2007, 11:14 AM
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does my kitten need wet food?

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?
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Old January 26th, 2007, 11:25 AM
~michelle~ ~michelle~ is offline
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 11:54 AM
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 11:57 AM
~michelle~ ~michelle~ is offline
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 12:00 PM
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 12:51 PM
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 12:59 PM
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I dont mean changing brands, just flavours although its hard to find dry kitten food in more than one flavour.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 01:06 PM
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If you go slow and introduce the new "flavor" slow, i see no reason not to switch. I used to feed two types of kibble to my three, mind you I used to mix them and feed them together.
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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

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Old January 26th, 2007, 01:15 PM
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I understand RolandsMom, but chances are if you are changing flavours - you are also changing ingredients.

What about offering different flavoured treats? That works really well with my three ... especially on Wednesdays as I usually make myself tuna before night school. They come running the minute I open the can. It's a real big production which I think makes it even more special.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 01:21 PM
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Whats so bad about having different ingredients? As long as they're both quality foods, where is the harm?
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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

-J. Wentworth Day, from The Dog in Sport, 1938
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Old January 26th, 2007, 01:30 PM
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he does get different treats. he has three different kinds right now. when i changed him from the food he was on at the shelter to the Nutro i tried intergrating it slowly into his old food and he just picked out all the new food and completely ignored the old one. he didnt have any kind of stomach issues, so i guess hes a toughy! but i think i will try the innova and see how he likes it. i guess i will do the intergration thing but he will probably do the same. i have been on the innova site and they have a compare section but they do not have the nutro natural choice as a comparison options to the innova cat food so i guess i will have to go to the shop and check.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 01:49 PM
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I'm sorry Scott_B, I really am not trying to argue with you. I was not trying to imply there is something wrong with changing your food or flavours if it works for your pets. Unfortunately, I have had several animals who's digestive systems could not handle changes in diet without problems. I err on the side of caution and was just trying to make mention of a possible potential issue as I thought RolandsMom seemed to be asking for different opinions.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 01:55 PM
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I am looking for different opinions. the more the merrier!!! thanks for all the input!
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Old January 26th, 2007, 02:09 PM
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We're not argueing, we're discussing

And I agree, a quick change in diet can cause issues, but if you can go slow, and the cat can handle it, then I see no reason not too. But it comes down to what works for your pet.
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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

-J. Wentworth Day, from The Dog in Sport, 1938
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Old January 26th, 2007, 02:15 PM
~michelle~ ~michelle~ is offline
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i dont know i would assume if your pet was more used tro switching of flavors it would be ok because their body would be used to producing the enzymes needed to process what ever they were eating. but if you fed x food for months and then wham gave him y food it would cause some upset.
i would assume that raw feeders feed different proteins to the pets on a reg basis but they do ok.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 03:21 PM
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 03:37 PM
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ok, yes, if you can feed a good quality wet food, then go for it.
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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

-J. Wentworth Day, from The Dog in Sport, 1938
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Old January 26th, 2007, 05:32 PM
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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.
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Old January 26th, 2007, 05:55 PM
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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?
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Old January 26th, 2007, 05:55 PM
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Yeah, my 3 are the same as well.

As for food, Innova Evo, or Felidae would be my top choices for both wet & dry.
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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

-J. Wentworth Day, from The Dog in Sport, 1938
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Old January 27th, 2007, 08:37 AM
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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
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  #22  
Old January 27th, 2007, 09:34 AM
vfrohloff vfrohloff is offline
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I find cats do much better with a varied diet, and don't seem to get the same digestive upsets as dogs do. I feed my cats Felidae dry and a variety of canned. They get bored of the same canned food all the time so one month I'll buy a case of Wellness, the next month will be a case of Felidae canned etc.. It's a good idea to feed at least some canned food, especially to males, as it wards of urinary tract crystals better than dry foods do. I also find that if I only feed dry their coats aren't as nice.
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  #23  
Old January 27th, 2007, 10:56 AM
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I think im going to wait till hes a bit older till i feed him wet food or until i see hes not drinking as much water as he is now. i started him on Orijen food last night. he loves it and it has great ingridients that seem to make sense for cats to be eating.
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