Which cat food brand is best for my kitten?

Question

We have been feeding him "Special Kitty" brand dry food formulated for kittens, and then we've been mixing it with "9 Lives" brand advanced nutrition wet food that's supposed to help compensate for him being taken from his mother and weened so early. I guess it's got stuff to compensate for what was in his mother's milk, as well as things to help improve his coat, vision, digestion, and energy levels. My aunt (she who rehabilitates animals for one of the state humane society) actually recommended that "9 Lives" stuff to us. We just sort of grabbed the "Special Kitty" off the shelf at Wal-Mart because it was decently cheap and it was also formulated for kittens.

Answer 1

So everyone else addressed the vegan/vegetarian issues, so I won't go there... except to agree that is a very bad idea. You will most likely have a very unhealthy cat and have very high vet bills if you go down this route.



You asked what the best food is. well a cat was designed to live in the desert and hunt small rodents and birds. So a diet that mimics that to the best of your ability would be idea. Very few people are willing to feed whole prey animals such as mice and what not, but feeding a diet that mimics that is possible. You can make your own (and yes, a lot of vegetarians/vegans actually do this) with the recipe at http://www.catinfo.org (a website run by a vet who actually studies feline nutrition) or buy a premade raw diet. If you are unable to go raw for what ever reason, then a canned diet would be your next best choice. The fewer ingredients the better. The "lower quality" foods are often the most pure, but they use lower quality meats (the left overs) the "premium" foods choose better cuts of meat (stuff you would recognize if you saw it as meat) but often fill their foods with a multitude of fruits, veggies and grains. These items a cat does not have the ability to digest very well, so they generally pass through the system adding bulk to the cat's stool, and if your cat is really unable they will cause the stool to be foul smelling.



cats naturally want to use litter. I get kittens all the time that were orphaned before their mother's could teach them about it, and they naturally gravitate towards it.



Congratulations on your new addition.

Answer 2

As the other have said.. a vegan diet is not a good idea.. and an all fish diet is not a good idea "special kitty" from walmart is a bit on the cheap side.. despite what other people say it is often not a good idea to buy store brand foods.. also i have learned that dry food only is not a good diet for cats.. beware of foods such as "purina naturals" its loaded with corn and wheat and causes cats to get constipated and a range of other symptoms.. when looking at labels the cat food should include real meat (it should not say meat by-products or if it does it should be below several real meat ingredients) also never buy food what has corn in it.. it is only a filler and cannot be digested, but as you said due to you not having tons of money to spend on expensive yet often not the nutritious food.. if you are completely fixed on this fish only diet unfortunately i have to suggest whiskas purrfectly fish entrees.. but watch out! some of them also contain meats such as beef or chicken.. most cat foods do not only contain fish because its not totally whats good for the animal.. also 9 lives tuna flavor has mostly fish in it.. and i don't see the big deal seeing as you've been feeding him meat already.. but that's all i can really tell you.. or you could buy fish and steam it lightly (not boil it) and add a mineral power to it and it would suffice for an all fish diet..

Answer 3

Cats are not vegans. Simple. They are designed as carnivores. So the idea that a vegan cat food will provide what your kitten needs is simply wrong. Cats are obligate carnivores and are very different from dogs-and people-in their nutritional needs. What does it mean to be an obligate carnivore? It means that cats are strict carnivores that rely on nutrients in animal tissue to meet their specific nutritional requirements.



And the kitten is also the decider. Your opinion doesn't matter.



Most kitten chows are chicken based. And kitten chow is best for their first year. There are multiple adult cat foods that are fish based. For instance, Blue Buffalo makes a fish based cat food; no chicken or beef. And there are many other companies that make fish based cat foods for adult cats.



I have absolutely no issues with your vegan preferences. In many ways, you leave a smaller carbon footprint. And it is great that you have rescued the kitten from almost certain death.



But vegan won't work for the kitten. That said, you can still probably have a healthy kitten by giving it one of the adult cat foods that are fish based. So that may be a compromise that may work for you.

Answer 4

Some things to keep in mind: Although you have made a choice to eat in a particular way, you will need to consider the health of your new kitten. A pescatarian diet may be O.K., if you are using seafood. One thing that many non-vegan humans don't realize is that grains aren't so great for dogs or cats. Make sure he gets the specific vitamins also necessary for cats, especailly taurine: http://www.vetlord.org/taurine-is-essential-for-cats/



We have also fed 9-Lives cat food (yes, it is also full of grains). We also have fed Meow-mix. One thing to keep in mind is not to overfeed the cat. Most bags of foods recommend more food than most cats need, which often leads to simlar illnesses as humans suffer. If you only choose to feed fish, you might consider buying mackeral or canned salmon. Cats love this, although, they might seem a little "spoiled" if you try to feed anything else. It might also be a little rich to feed consitently. I have read that full fish diet is not so great for cats, either. Perhaps you can find a way to get Amish left-overs (if you consider their methods within your guidelines), farm eggs, rabbit, or other foods. Watch for the taurine. Cats, naturally, hunt small game, eating most of the catch, (although I do not like that, either). I don't think they go "fishing", as frequently as we might think.

Answer 5

I hate to tell you this, but fish is very bad for cats. http://www.felinefuture.com/?p=599



Tuna causes yellow kidney. Please feed your cat what it's suppose to eat.

Answer 6

Cats are "Obligate Carnivores" meaning they are "meat eaters" and if you want your kitten to survive you 'must' feed him/her a high meat protein diet. Do not impose on your cat your beliefs, you have a choice, he does not! "Orijen" is one of the best cat food available and what I feed my cats and kittens in my cattery.



"Why are Cats Obligate Carnivores?

Cats "guts" are much shorter than ours. They do not have the ability to fully digest and utilize the nutrients in plant material. Although theoretically, they might get enough protein from plant material to exist, they need taurine in order to thrive. Taurine is found primarily in the muscle meat of animals, and is most highly concentrated in the heart and liver.



In the wild, cats may get a small amount of grain and other plant material from the stomachs of their prey, but our domestic cats really do not need large amounts of grain. Corn is a good example. Corn is a cheap source of protein, and many of the "supermarket brands" of dry cat food are packed with corn in various forms, e.g., corn bran, corn germ meal, ground corn, corn gluten, corn gluten meal. If I could give you one rule of thumb only, it would be to shy away from any cat food containing corn, especially listed at or toward the the top of the ingredients. (Pet food ingredients are generally listed in descending order by dry weight.)



It should also be noted that some manufacturers practice "splitting" to keep corn from the very top of the list. Splitting is carefully calculating the percentage of each kind of corn so that the aggregate total weighs more than any other ingredient, however none of the corn ingredients is listed at the very top. There is nothing illegal about this practice, but it puts the consumer at a disadvantage. It would be much more transparent if manufacturers were required to list the percentage by weight of each ingredient. Corn is not only a poor source of protein, it is a known allergen to some cats.



While some cat food manufacturers add small amounts of vegetables and fruits to their formulas, the premium foods always have named meat protein high on the list of ingredients. The fruits and vegetables are generally added for their vitamin and mineral content, and sometimes for their probiotic value.





Vegetarian Cat Food

Some vegetarian humans prefer not to handle meat in any form, and purchase commercial vegetarian foods for their cats. Although these foods meet the AAFCO nutritional standards for a "complete and balanced diet," they have come by it artificially. In my opinion, it's much like using bleached flour for white bread, then adding back the nutrients one would get naturally from a good, whole-grain bread. How can you be sure you've added back all the nutrients? Learn more about vegetarianism and veganism for cats from this article: Should I try a Vegan Diet for my Cats?



In short, "Cats need meat to survive"



Question: Should I try a vegan diet for my cats?

Answer: Cats are obligate carnivores - that is, their digestive system is totally unsuited to break down the cell walls to release the nutrients in vegetable foods.

Food will only remain in their system for a couple of hours, as compared with about 24 hours for omnivores like ourselves or days as in most herbivores. They are adapted to eat relatively small amounts of highly digestible, energy-dense food, with an optimal level of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. Proteins derived from vegetables are much less easily digested, lack many of the vitamins, minerals and micronutrients that are necessary for complete absorbtion and must be consumed in much greater quantities to obtain sufficient energy for healthy functioning.



Humans, whose need for high-quality protein is far less than those of cats, have a difficult time remaining optimally nourished on a solely vegetable-derived diet, and must pay particular care with food types, quantities and combinations, as well as take a variety of supplements, to avoid becoming malnourished or suffering from various deficiencies. I find it highly unlikely that any vegan diet could supply all the nutrients a cat needs to thrive.



While I can appreciate the philosophical stance that can lead to a human's eschewing all animal-derived products, and recognise that they have a perfect right to opt for this for themselves, it can only be regarded as cruelty, and ultimately abusive, to force a cat to follow such practices. They need meat not just for the protein, but for all the other factors that are found in it, for its concentrated energy and for its speed of digestion. For a cat, plant-derived foods are simply not good enough.