Having trouble deciding on kitten food?

Question

I'm trying to decide between Science Diet and Iams. I know that the most expensive food is best, but I have been told that Iams is one of the best. Also, I have a kitten who wont eat much dry food. Should I try mixing in small amounts of wet food? What brand? Thanks:)

I was told by a Vet that usually the more expensive the food is, the higher quality it is.

Answer 1

Science Diet and Iams are both crappy foods, actually. Cats are obligate carnivores and do not need grains in their diets...ESPECIALLY not corn, which both Iams and Science Diet are full of.

When you choose a food for your kitten you want at least 2 or the first 5 ingredients to be meat products. If you can get more than 2 then that's even better. Stay away from foods with Corn or Sorghum (a corn product). The best binding agents would be rice, barley or potato.

Look for identifiable products such as Chicken Meal instead of Meat Meal and Salmon Oil instead of Fish oil...and so on and so forth. The general rule of thumb is that if it's able to be bought at a grocery store, don't buy it. It's the equivilant of feeding your cat twinkies and french fries its whole life. The only way to get a good food is to read the label...price doesn't always indicate quality.

Innova EVO is best, regular Innova is close behind. For foods comperable in price to Science Diet that are still a better quality would be the Chicken Soup foods, Solid Gold...even Nutro. Even though the foods are more expensive per bag your cat will eat less so it'll help balance out the costs some.

Cats will digest corn, sure...but they metabolize it into fats and sugars which aren't healthy energy sources.

As far as whether or not to mix in canned food...it depends on how old your kitten is. If it's over 8 weeks it's not neccessary and it will be fine. Canned food is fine for a treat once in a while and is fine nutritionally (see above mentioned brands) but will cause more tartar buildup on the teeth.

You can ask your vet but they don't actually get much education in nutrition...only one class and it's usually sponsored by Science Diet or Eukanuba so they recommend the foods because they don't know any better.
Hope I helped!

Answer 2

My cat is almost 20 years old. The biggest suggestion I can give you is DONT EVER FEET IT WET FOOD. Once they get used to wet food they will not eat dry.

Not only is the dry food so much easier to give to them (just throw it into a big bowl), it is 100% better for their teeth. Dry food keeps their teeth so much healthier.

As far as what brand of food and your suggestion that the "most expensive food is the best". I would have to disagree. If you study most products in consumer reports (consumerreports.org), you will learn that a higher price doesn't necessarily mean a better product. I would just get the IAMS when its on sale or some other affordable dry cat food, or ask your vet what they think.

Good luck, I miss my cat when it was a kitten. He so old now, but still plays some.

Answer 3

The most expensive food is not necessarily the best. I would go with Iams - they make a quality food that is not as expensive as some others. Try mixing dry with wet, or try some of the moist bits. Be sure to get your kitten fixed (when it is time), if it is not fixed yet.

Answer 4

My nine year old cat is on Iams senior formula, and she looks great - her coat is shiny, she's not bloated, her litter and her breath have no smell, and her teeth look a whole lot better than before she ate the food (she was on plain Cat Chow and was a canned food addict).

Yes, buy Iams kitten formula, and according to their website, they have canned food especially for kittens that you can mix with the dry. You might be able to find the cans at Petco or PetSmart; if you can't find it, you might have to ask your vet where you can get it.

The way I learned to mix in food is this:

2 weeks of 25% dry and 75% canned,
then 2 weeks of 50% dry and 50% canned,
then 75% dry and 25% canned,
then 100% dry.

Two diferent vets have told me that feeding a lot of canned food to a cat is like a person eating candy - it sticks to their teeth and since they can't brush them, the food stays there and can cause problems. I only feed it to my 9 year old and 2 year old cats as a treat on holidays.

Answer 5

Man, is your vet ever wrong. Last year's Consumer Reports testing found that generic, store brands are just as good - and in some cases, much better, than the "expensive" brands.
Just feed your kitten dry kitten food - if you don't want to go generic, then Meow Mix or Whiskas are good. Only give canned food rarely, for a treat. Always have fresh water available.

Answer 6

Price is pet food is not necessarily a sign of quality. Both Iams and Science Diet are expensive and both use by-product meat in their products - the cheapest meat the manufacturers can use. They also both have 2/3 of their dried foods in corn - also the cheapest filler to use in cat food.

Dried food is not the proper food for any cat as they don't drink enough water to compensate for the dehydration caused by dry food. Their natural diet is meat which contains the proper amount of moisture for their kidneys and digestive systems.

Some of the best canned foods available to you are Natural Balance, Eagle Pack, Blue, Wellness, Lick Your Chops, By Nature Organic, Innova - all the grocery store brands including Science Diet use by-product meat. The brands mentioned use wholesome, human-grade meats.

Some of those manufacturers also produce quality dry foods along with CA Natural, Innova Evo.

Quality foods have around 60% protein in their formulations - some have "kitten" foods and that is mostly a manufacturers' ploy to market food. When a mother cat weans her kittens she does not bring them special "kitten" mice to eat. High quality meat protein is all your kitten needs now or in future for her health and well-being.

Answer 7

both are fine. Try mixing wet food with the dry until the kitten is around 6 months old and then go to dry only as the usual meal.

Answer 8

Gross, don't fee Science Diet or Iams. For about the same price (or for a bit more or a bit less) you can get a good quality cat food. You don't have to feed as much high quality food to get the necessary nutrience, so the food lasts longer than the cheap food.

Answer 9

the best brand i recommend is royal canine for kittens. Its a bit expensive but its what my vet uses for years. try mixing little wet food..but majority should still be dry. As time goes by, put wet food less until they get used to dry food. Dry food is good for teeth. :)

Answer 10

Toss both those choices right into the garbage where they belong.

I'm not up on kitten food so much, but I highly recommend feeding canned (if raw or whole prey is out of the question) now so you don't have to deal with trying to get her off dry food later.

Old Cat Lady, Scarlet and can't say have all given very good advice which I can't add much to. I'll just post in my handy-dandy links to cat nutrition, and wish you happy reading!