How important is it to feed a kitten kitty food?

Question

My cat is about 6 mos old. I have been feeding him regular cat food all along. I have an adult cat, and it is easier to feed
them the same thing. I am wondering if I am compromising his
growth by feeding him adult cat food. Thanks.

Answer 1

Well......it's kind of hard for me to say because there are a number of different factors to take into account.

First - there is very little difference between kitten and adult food. Kitten food has smaller bits (if dry), is higher in calories and contains a teeny bit more protein.

If you buy your food at the grocery store, and especially if you feed dry food, then the adult food you're serving isn't very good quality. So if this is the case your kitten may not be getting all the calories it requires unless you're feeding it a ton. However, I don't think you've screwed him up for life or anything that serious. And at 6 months old, his caloric requirements have already dropped and before very long he'd be on adult food anyway.

On the other hand, if you're feeding a good quality dry food, then your kitten is certainly fine - except for the fact that he's eating dry food. Wet food is much better for them.

I think you made a better choice in feeding both adult rather than feeding them both kitten food. You'd have a fat adult on your hands then!

I wouldn't bother switching to kitten food at this point - what's done is done. But I would suggest feeding a better food (if you are buying it at the grocery store). If you want to stick with dry, get Wellness Core, Innova Evo or Nature's Variety Instincts. They cost more but they're worth it.

And also consider adding canned to the diet. If you still want to feed dry, then make it 50/50. Don't mix them together though - that isn't good to do with dry food. I think it activates the bacteria or something....

Answer 2

Kitten food is critical for proper BRAIN development - and to a lesser extent, bones, muscles etc.. but mostly BRAIN...

anyhow at 6 months its okay to switch - the most critical time is 6 weeks to 4 months...
what you should have done was got another adult cat or fed kitten extra at night by putting it in a room to itself with kitten food - or by giving it canned kitten food 1-2 times a day...

you didnt say what BRAND of cat food - there are good brands, bad brands, and horrid brands.. as such what ever you were feeding will make a difference too...

rule of thumb ALL food from grocery or Wal Mart is crap.

Answer 3

I never feed kittens the kitten food after 4-5 months previous - they flow to person meals then. So definite, take him off the kitten food (too many energy). i might recommend you basically feed him two times an afternoon - dry interior the morning, canned at night. IMO that's merely too a lot food he's getting daily. he will grow to be a fat cat rapid. and that i'm assuming he's neutered by utilising now, so as that's yet another enormous reason to take him off kitten food and basically feed him two times an afternoon.

Answer 4

The kitten's food should be 33-35% protein for him to get the best bone and body growth. They continue developing till about 15 months of age (yes, past the first year). It's best to keep him on a high protein diet for that long.

Answer 5

The kitten food has extra protein he needs to help develop his muscles and his bones.

THe example I usually give to this question is if you had a 7 year old (a 1 year old cat) and a 2 month old (a baby kitten) would you feed them the same thing?

It's not good for the newborn to eat big kid food and its just as bad for kittens to eat adult food bcz they aren't receiving nutrients they need to be healoty

Answer 6

It is very important to feed animals food based on age. Kitten food has different amounts of nutritions and can help your kitten grow into a strong and healthy cat.

Just like it is important for babies to be fed baby food and milk for calcium and healthy bones and a nice life, kittens do to.

Answer 7

Its all about the nutrition. Kitten food has all the extra stuff that the little ones need. It is whats best for your cat but if you have a healthy kitten it should be fine eating the adult cat food. It would be nice if you could get him/her the kitten food though.

Answer 8

Age specific foods are important as they have the correct balance of calcium for babies to encourage strong bones and teeth. That being said, for many years we didn't have age specific foods.

If your kitten looks happy and is healthy, I would not be overly concerned. Just remember that to keep them this way, you also need to make sure they have something hard like a chicken wing to chew on for strong, clean teeth.

Answer 9

i don't think its important at all