Kitten food - is it worth it?

JCS1

Evening,

At the moment, they are still on their mum's milk (though as ten weeks old, not very much now, she's had enough!). I also feed them dry kitten food, cat milk, and wet kitten food.

Their mum weaned them on a selection of rabbits, mice, and blackbirds as well as the food I give them, and I suspect she is still catching them assorted wildlife too.

As my cat food costs have gone from one cat to eight, I've been researching buying on-line in bulk.

So, is kitten food worth the extra cost? And if it is, how long for?

stir_crazy

Are you thinking of rehoming the kittens? Kitten food is full of extra nutrients that they'll need as they are growing. I think definitely in the early stages they need it as they are growing so quickly.

I think its recommended that they eat the kitten food for around a year, however, my kitten is 8 months old and she has been eating adult cat food for the past 2 months (I have an older cat who nibbles his food throughout the day and once she got a taste of the adult food she wouldn't go back to the kitten food)

RazWaz

Mine wont touch adult food, (one is 7-8 weeks one is 14 weeks). They will only eat kitten versions, the food is in much smaller chunks as well as having extra nutrients.

jedsonack2

It depends on the age of the kitten, if it is elder, means more than 8 months then you should let it try for hunt. you know, it is their habitat, that is what a cat is.

JCS1

stir_crazy wrote: »

Are you thinking of rehoming the kittens? Kitten food is full of extra nutrients that they'll need as they are growing. I think definitely in the early stages they need it as they are growing so quickly.

I think its recommended that they eat the kitten food for around a year, however, my kitten is 8 months old and she has been eating adult cat food for the past 2 months (I have an older cat who nibbles his food throughout the day and once she got a taste of the adult food she wouldn't go back to the kitten food)

I did have homes for 4 out of the 6 lined up (I was then going to keep 2, as well as their mum - she was a stray who turned up in the farmyard and I started leaving food out for her), but long story short, we couldn't catch them. They are now 10 weeks old, never been handled, so all will be staying with me as farm cats.

RazWaz wrote: »

Mine wont touch adult food, (one is 7-8 weeks one is 14 weeks). They will only eat kitten versions, the food is in much smaller chunks as well as having extra nutrients.

The food being in smaller chunks isn't an issue for these, they've been feeding on fresh rabbits and birds

jedsonack2 wrote: »

It depends on the age of the kitten, if it is elder, means more than 8 months then you should let it try for hunt. you know, it is their habitat, that is what a cat is.

Their mum is great hunter, so I suspect she will be showing kittens in due course. They have stated to venture out of the loft the last few days out into the farmyard, with their mum keeping a watchful eye.


I think I'll keep them on the kitten food for a while longer, and then review it when they are 8 months or so old. Many thanks

stir_crazy

JCS1 wrote: »

I did have homes for 4 out of the 6 lined up (I was then going to keep 2, as well as their mum - she was a stray who turned up in the farmyard and I started leaving food out for her), but long story short, we couldn't catch them. They are now 10 weeks old, never been handled, so all will be staying with me as farm cats.

I can see now why you're asking. Its a shame its so expensive, but with mum supplementing their diet with wildlife hopefully it wont be too bad.

JennyW_2

Yes it will contain all the extra goodness required for development. I know with puppies they need extra protein. My dog was fed maize as a pup and his front legs didn't develop properly due to lack of protein

JCS1

stir_crazy wrote: »

I can see now why you're asking. Its a shame its so expensive, but with mum supplementing their diet with wildlife hopefully it wont be too bad.

Oh yes, it's going to be expensive!

I've had to buy a cat trap as my nearest 2 cats protection league don't cover my postcode. Mother cat will be going to vets to be neutered next week (going to have the fun of trapping her first). Then in a little while we need to do the same with the kittens. I know I could probably try and get vouchers, but I decided to leave those to people who need them more than me.

We have 2 adjoining farms run as one, I used to feed her where I am and she would travel between the two places. She had kittens at the other farm, so it's now me who walks a mile come rain or shine to feed them. The things you do for cats :rotfl:

Mayflower10cat

Kitten food generally has a higher amount of protein and fat than an 'adult' or 'senior' formula. They're growing and developing fast and need extra nourishment. In my very humble opinion, if you want to supplement the kittens diet, try some barely cooked lean mincemeat, or some cooked chicken. If you have leftover scraps from a Sunday roast, give them that too. I hope all goes very well and Mum and kids thrive!

JCS1

Mayflower10cat wrote: »

Kitten food generally has a higher amount of protein and fat than an 'adult' or 'senior' formula. They're growing and developing fast and need extra nourishment. In my very humble opinion, if you want to supplement the kittens diet, try some barely cooked lean mincemeat, or some cooked chicken. If you have leftover scraps from a Sunday roast, give them that too. I hope all goes very well and Mum and kids thrive!

Thanks - I've given my sister orders to keep any leftover meat and will do the same here. They picked clean a left over roast chicken last week, they seem to prefer that type of food to the processed cat/kitten food!

paddypaws101

In my opinion the idea of kitten food is a mere gimick....at best it contains fractionally more protein and fat than the equivalent adult version, which is actually more a reflection of the poor quality of the adult food than in praise of the kitten version!
If you want a decent, cheapish tinned food then Zooplus sells Animonda Carny in 800g tins.
However, if they are happy eating assorted wild life (ooh, no 'kitten' version there, tut tut ) then I would go down the raw route....get the butcher to hack a chicken up into smallish chunks, add lumps of kidney, heart or liver and feed them food the way nature intended!