[katgirl89]

Hello everyone! I am very new here, so I do hope what I am about to ask is "ok" - but if not, I will humbly apologize and accept a virtual "slap on the wrist"!

I want the best for my kitten (who I will be getting next month). That said, I have been doing a ton of research, and despite the amount of differing opinions out there, I am decided upon natural, holistic, 100% grain free food. That I will never compromise. One thing though that seems to be very "controversial" is "wet or dry". From what I have read, I am leaning toward the wet side, but I do plan on offering dry throughout the day while I'm at work - perhaps a balance of both will be the best way to go? Another thing is, if any of you have read this article Cat Food Reviews- Healthiest Natural Cat Food, or have the time and desire to read through it, I would really appreciate hearing your opinions. I thought it was very eye opening, shocking, and informative personally. But as there is *so much* out there, it's not always wise to believe everything you read, right? In this case, I don't have any reason to doubt anything said in it other than my policy of being a bit of a skeptic (within reason), as the writer seems VERY knowledgeable...I just would like to hear what YOU think. I want to be 100% sure that I will be giving my kitten the best care possible, so I want to be able to be confident in the sources I am relying on to provide me with the information I need to do that.
Thanks in advance for your time and opinions!

 

[marie73]

No slaps necessary, the wet vs. dry debate will always be around.

I'm a little surprised that after reading this article, you plan on free-feeding your kitten kibble, while also feeding wet. My cats get a tiny bit as a treat. The best thing would be to start your kitty on wet food, either skipping kibble all together, or giving it as a treat.

 

[MowMow]

Raw is best but grain free wet is good. Dry is not only bad for them it's not needed for 'grazng' during the day. It has absolutely no redeeming qualities.

Good on you for researching and preparing for your kitten/cat ahead of time.

 

[Vivid Dawn]

Well, as you want OPINION, rather than fact, I'm perfectly able to answer this! LOL

Dry is not really good at all. Maybe as a treat, a handfull a day (some people use it for training rewards). This part is fact, actually. The rest of this post is opinion.

Depending on what type of canned food you get, it can contain "tainted" meat. As in, animals that had cancer or other disease of some sort. Very high quality and expensive canned food might be safer.
If you do feed canned, it's usually recommended to do it on a schedule. Mine is rather hectic, so I can't do the 3-4 meals a day like you're supposed to. I "free feed", meaning I portion out 2 cans among 4 cats and leave it out... it won't hurt it to be out a few hours, and they all eat it by the time it WOULD be bad anyway. Then in the evening I portion out another 2 cans and they eat at their leisure (usually they'll eat a little, and come back every 20 minutes for another little bit at a time). This equates out to 1 full can each cat in however many meals they want (I have heard that cats in the wild eat 8-10 small meals a day if they can hunt that much)

Raw diet is the best, of course. There's lots of info on this site, and on Catinfo.org too, about it.

 

[JillianS]

I feed grain-free wet, but I am one who does leave a (small) bit of (again, grain-free, high protein) dry out each day.

Everyone has their own thoughts/opinions/personal feelings. I do this so that on the (very) odd occasion that I am away for a day or two, I can leave them their daily wet food for the whole day I leave, and then enough dry to get them by the the next day. (also for when I'm away for longer periods of time, that whoever I'm getting to come in for me to feed/play/litter scoop only has to come in once every day (day and a half). For this reason, I do want my girls to still recognize dry as "food". But because I know dry food is not optimal, I am (currently transitioning) to a high quality, premium grain free variety.

Note: my two girls have very good "thirst drives" and both drink out of their fountain regularly. If they didn't, I'd be more hesitant about the dry food.

 

[marie73]

I couldn't free-feed dry if I wanted to. In fact, when they get their dry treats, I have to put Charlee in another room. If there was a Charlee clock, it wouldn't meow, it would snort!

 

[katgirl89]

No slaps necessary, the wet vs. dry debate will always be around.

I'm a little surprised that after reading this article, you plan on free-feeding your kitten kibble, while also feeding wet. My cats get a tiny bit as a treat. The best thing would be to start your kitty on wet food, either skipping kibble all together, or giving it as a treat.

Phew no slaps! Well, my only reasoning for offering just a *bit* of dry during the day initially is because I am gone 7am-4:30pm 5 days of the week, and I read that very young kittens should be fed at least 3 times a day, and since dry kibble is something that i could leave out while I'm at work for her "lunch"...well I guess that was my reasoning! I have also heard that others leave dry out during the day, but if you and other experts here deem it needless and unhealthy, I won't even bother!

I feed grain-free wet, but I am one who does leave a (small) bit of (again, grain-free, high protein) dry out each day.

Everyone has their own thoughts/opinions/personal feelings. I do this so that on the (very) odd occasion that I am away for a day or two, I can leave them their daily wet food for the whole day I leave, and then enough dry to get them by the the next day. (also for when I'm away for longer periods of time, that whoever I'm getting to come in for me to feed/play/litter scoop only has to come in once every day (day and a half). For this reason, I do want my girls to still recognize dry as "food". But because I know dry food is not optimal, I am (currently transitioning) to a high quality, premium grain free variety.

Note: my two girls have very good "thirst drives" and both drink out of their fountain regularly. If they didn't, I'd be more hesitant about the dry food.

That was also a thought of mine..but perhaps if I offer on occasion some dry (all natural, grain free) as a treat, then it will accomplish the same thing(?)

Well, as you want OPINION, rather than fact, I'm perfectly able to answer this! LOL

Dry is not really good at all. Maybe as a treat, a handfull a day (some people use it for training rewards). This part is fact, actually. The rest of this post is opinion.

Depending on what type of canned food you get, it can contain "tainted" meat. As in, animals that had cancer or other disease of some sort. Very high quality and expensive canned food might be safer.
If you do feed canned, it's usually recommended to do it on a schedule. Mine is rather hectic, so I can't do the 3-4 meals a day like you're supposed to. I "free feed", meaning I portion out 2 cans among 4 cats and leave it out... it won't hurt it to be out a few hours, and they all eat it by the time it WOULD be bad anyway. Then in the evening I portion out another 2 cans and they eat at their leisure (usually they'll eat a little, and come back every 20 minutes for another little bit at a time). This equates out to 1 full can each cat in however many meals they want (I have heard that cats in the wild eat 8-10 small meals a day if they can hunt that much)

Raw diet is the best, of course. There's lots of info on this site, and on Catinfo.org too, about it.

Thank you very much for your opinion! That's what I like, just straight up opinions (that are, of course, based on facts and experience) such as yours, and others' here. Here is the canned food that I am so far planning on buying - could you tell me if this is a good choice? BLUE Wilderness Canned Kitten Food - Food & Treats Center - Cat - PetSmart

I couldn't free-feed dry if I wanted to. In fact, when they get their dry treats, I have to put Charlee in another room. If there was a Charlee clock, it wouldn't meow, it would snort!

Hmm that is a good point too! If I did leave dry out all day, over eating and obeisity could be possibilities!

 

[Pixall]

Yeah, I feed RAW to my dog and the kitten. The (nearly)two year old cat and I have been in a Mexican stand off for the last couple days. She wants kibble, I want her to eat raw. She won't eat high quality canned anymore, either. Only some cheapy chunky gravy type canned food(11 or 12 bux for a 24 pack at walmart kind of crap).

My advice, feed a bit of EVERYTHING while your kitten is young. That way if you decide to switch the lil one to raw when she is two or three years old, you CAN. /sigh. I wish I had known what I know now when I first got Kyra. :neutral:

Just DO NOT do kibble for at least a few hours before/after a raw feeding session. Apparently it can slow down the meat in their systems and give them a touch of sour stomach.

 

[Vivid Dawn]

Blue is a good food. At least compared to Friskies or 9-Lives, anyway!
If I could afford it, I'd get Nature's Variety. I also found a PetGuard kind at the local grocery store that was good, and $2.50 for a 14 oz can - which is pretty good (that's like $1 for a 5.5 oz can).

Try to stay away from food with fish in it. I guess fish oil is alright, though I haven't heard any solid evidence either way about that one.

 

[marie73]

I adopted the twins when they were almost 10 weeks old, and they survived all day while I was gone without kibble. :grin:

I feed my girls a good meal in the morning, a lighter meal when I get home, and then another big meal a little before my bedtime, because it helps settle them down during the night (doesn't always work).

 

[katgirl89]

Yeah, I feed RAW to my dog and the kitten. The (nearly)two year old cat and I have been in a Mexican stand off for the last couple days. She wants kibble, I want her to eat raw. She won't eat high quality canned anymore, either. Only some cheapy chunky gravy type canned food(11 or 12 bux for a 24 pack at walmart kind of crap).

My advice, feed a bit of EVERYTHING while your kitten is young. That way if you decide to switch the lil one to raw when she is two or three years old, you CAN. /sigh. I wish I had known what I know now when I first got Kyra. :neutral:

Just DO NOT do kibble for at least a few hours before/after a raw feeding session. Apparently it can slow down the meat in their systems and give them a touch of sour stomach.

Thank you very much!! I think I will eventually want to bring raw into her diet - I guess if I want her to want raw, I should give her raw at least a couple times a week, right?

Blue is a good food. At least compared to Friskies or 9-Lives, anyway!
If I could afford it, I'd get Nature's Variety. I also found a PetGuard kind at the local grocery store that was good, and $2.50 for a 14 oz can - which is pretty good (that's like $1 for a 5.5 oz can).

Try to stay away from food with fish in it. I guess fish oil is alright, though I haven't heard any solid evidence either way about that one.

Thank you very much!! I'm not sure if I can get Nature's Variety here - but I may just have to shop outside of Petsmart for it, or maybe it's just not on their website. Would you say Nature's Variety or PetGuard is better than Blue?

I adopted the twins when they were almost 10 weeks old, and they survived all day while I was gone without kibble. :grin:

I feed my girls a good meal in the morning, a lighter meal when I get home, and then another big meal a little before my bedtime, because it helps settle them down during the night (doesn't always work).

Ahh! Thank you! That what I really needed to hear! Well then, no kibble for my kitty! High quality canned and raw food will be the only things on the menu.

 

[MowMow]

There are automatic feeders that will pop at a certain time. Some of them have a cold pack in their base so you can put canned food in it and it will keep until the feeder goes off.

 

[katgirl89]

There are automatic feeders that will pop at a certain time. Some of them have a cold pack in their base so you can put canned food in it and it will keep until the feeder goes off.

Oh really?? I had no idea those existed!! I am definitiely going to look into that, thank you!

 

[JillianS]

I can get quite a few premium brands at my Petsmart. (Blue, HALO -there are differing opinions on HALO-, Wellness)

For some silly human reason, I was obsessed with wanting my girls to eat Merrick, but alas it did not go over well with the 2year old , So now I'm on Blue (I'm going to eventually try wellness).


MowMow-talk to me about the automatic feeders that work for wet food! The only one I saw that claimed that it did, the reviews on Amazon were sketchy with regards to wet food.

 

[katgirl89]

I can get quite a few premium brands at my Petsmart. (Blue, HALO -there are differing opinions on HALO-, Wellness)

For some silly human reason, I was obsessed with wanting my girls to eat Merrick, but alas it did not go over well with the 2year old , So now I'm on Blue (I'm going to eventually try wellness).


MowMow-talk to me about the automatic feeders that work for wet food! The only one I saw that claimed that it did, the reviews on Amazon were sketchy with regards to wet food.

Thanks so much! Ok, so I think I will start with this: BLUE Wilderness Canned Kitten Food - Food & Treats Center - Cat - PetSmart, that I know I can find at my local petsmart. Oh, but would you be switching to Wellness though because it is better than Blue?

 

[Vivid Dawn]

Once again, my OPINION, based on what I have researched

It's not necessarily brand that's important, but ingredient list.
Meat (pure meat, not "meal" or "by products") should be first. Meal is better than by-products, if there's a choice between the two. Water sufficient for processing or "broth" is not really bad, and in fact can be good for cats with bladder/kidney issues.
Grains should be 3rd, 4th, or lower in the list. Corn is absolutely horrible. Wheat isn't so great for cats to have. Rice is alright. I haven't any idea about soy or flax, but haven't heard anything definitely negative about them.
Most of the high quality foods will have stuff like peas, carrots, potatoes...cat's don't really need them, but oh well. Paizly licks all the mush around the peas and carrots and leaves the veggie-bits at the bottom of the bowl! LOL

Paizly would throw up food with any type of corn (corn, corn meal, corn gluten, etc.). She could handle rice okay, so the kibble I used to feed was: chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, and other stuff. I also used to feed 9-Lives canned, and had to be careful about getting the flavors with no fish or corn-stuff.

PetGuard was found at Harmon's... which is a Utah-only store, I think. Petguard website says they distribute to many sorts of health food stores and grocery stores.
Most online food places such as PetFlow, or PetFoodDirect would have Nature's Variety.

 

[Sinatra-Butters]

I like wet and my boyfriend (who pays for half of their things so he does get a say) won't budge and thinks they should get only dry. We compromise and feed both.

Don't flame me, peeps!

 

[doodlebug]

A great place to start is Petfooddirect's list of grain free canned foods. Every food on the list is a good one. They all have many positives, maybe a slight negative here or there. Rather than trying to determine if any one food is the "best", I'd recommend picking a selection of flavors, brands, and textures (pate vs chunky vs shredded) figure out which ones your kitten likes (afterall, she's the one with the control :lol and creating a rotation of many foods.

The advantages of rotation feeding is that the cat is less picky. If you feed only one food and they change the formula or it's no longer available you may have a hard time getting your cat to eat something else. Also, while these food brands rarely have a recall...it does happen occasionally. If you're feeding a mix of brands/flavors your cat is much less likely to be affected by whatever the issue may be.

Here's the link to the PFD grain free canned food list:

Grain Free Cat Food & Treats Cat | PetFoodDirect.com

I would also add the GF flavors of TikiCat to the list, not sure why they're not on it, but with the caution to minimize fish.

As for kibble....my cats do get a little (less than 1/8 cup per day). Not the best thing for them, but hey, we all eat a lot of things that we like that aren't good for us too. I want the convenience for when I have to be away overnight and they like it...so I use it as a treat. I compensate by adding a little water to their wet food, they're not overweight, diabetic or have digestive issues and I don't feel like they get enough of it to cause those issues...so I don't consider it a major negative in their diet.

 

[Cinnacracker]

I too feed a wet dry / mix (not at the same time). The comment about being able to leave dry kibble out if im out of town for a day is a good reason why. The other is, darn it, they like it more!!! But I guess im curious why some think dry is a better way to go overall (like the boyfriend mentioned above). Other than cost and convenience, I cant think of a reason. I've heard some people say dry keeps their teeth cleaner and I used to believe this, but then someone told me its like saying you keep your teeth clean by eating hard candy. Doesnt make sense! Also, think of how a cat's pointy teeth would shatter a piece of kibble. Its like using a chisel on a rock. The food doesnt scrape the teeth to keep them clean.

Well i just throw that out there for consideration.

 

[Vivid Dawn]

Yeah, I'm going to feed a bowl of dry once a week or so, mostly on my REALLY busy days.

I go on vacation for 5 days at a time once a month during the warm months (May - September) for camping trips. My sister tends my cats, and works 2 full time jobs...doesn't really have time for much more than scooping the boxes really quick. So I have to use convenient foods... meaning a HUGE bowl of kibble, and a HUGE bowl of water to last that short week.