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When choosing the best cat food for your cat, many people focus on brand names, ingredients, and taste. While this is great, you should also ensure you choose foods that are appropriate for your cat’s current life stage. Luckily, for new cat owners who aren’t familiar with the differences between kitten food and cat food, manufacturers are required to put certain information on their food labels. Keeping your eyes open for things like, “for growth” or “for maintenance” are clear indicators of which food is suitable for your cat’s age. Let’s take a look at kitten food and cat food so you understand the differences and make the best choices for your cat, no matter their age.
Overview of Kitten Food
Kitten food is the first solid food introduced to your kitten after they’ve been weaned from their mother’s milk. This means these foods should be packed with nutrients, proteins, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins that a growing baby needs. A growing kitten also needs more calories per gram of food than an adult cat. This is why choosing kitten food for a growing cat is so important. It’s the best way to get them off on the right foot for a healthier lifestyle.
How It Works
Kitten food is designed with certain criteria in mind. To ensure a young kitten grows into a healthy adult, balancing how much protein and fat they eat is important. According to the AAFCO, a kitten’s minimal protein requirements are 30% while adult cats need only 26%, this is one of the key differences. The essential fatty acids and amino acids contained in this balance are ideal for growing healthy tissue. An adult cat doesn’t need the same amount of these nutrients since their bodies are already developed.
You will also notice that kitten food offers more vitamins and minerals than other cat foods. Kittens need a higher amount of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and copper, as well as vitamin A. This is to help a growing cat form strong bones and teeth. The same can be said for the number of calories in a kitten’s food. A kitten’s growing body needs more calories due to their fast metabolism and active lifestyle. A properly balanced kitten formula will provide all these necessities for your growing baby.
When to Use Kitten Food
Remember that weaning a kitten too early can be dangerous. Once your little one is old enough to start the transition to solid food it’s time for you as the pet parent to step in. Providing them with the proper amount of kitten food, several times a day will help them get all the nutrition they now need to grow up healthy. Kitten formula is designed to help aid your cat in the growth process up until they are 1 year old. At that point, for most cats, it’s time to start the switch to adult foods.
- Promotes healthier growth and development
- Provides the needed calories and nutrients for growing kittens
- Easier to digest
- Not as readily available
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Overview of Cat Food
The foods we feed our adult cats are geared toward maintaining their health. By the time your cat reaches adulthood and is fully developed, their energy requirements are reduced. This means the nutritional content in their cat food formulas is designed with maintenance in mind, not growth. A well-balanced adult cat food should contain all the nutrients they need but the caloric density is reduced to avoid weight gain. Since your cat no longer designates energy to grow their body organs and structures, their metabolism will slow down a bit.
How It Works
Adult cat food provides your feline with a smaller amount of proteins and overall calorie density. This is due to the life stage they are in. Older cats no longer require all the extras kittens need to support their body’s development. They simply need proper nutrition to maintain a healthy body and their daily activity. Most adult cat foods offer an array of different flavors and textures than kitten formulas. Thanks to the finicky side of cats that seems to emerge as they age, this helps ensure they eat what they need instead of refusing their meals.
When to Use Adult Cat Food
As mentioned above, once your cat is fully grown, which for most cats is when they reach about 1 year of age, they are ready to take on adult food. Be prepared to work on slowly transitioning them to allow their digestive system to adapt. With the variety of adult cat food available in pet stores, you’ll be checking labels and ensuring only the best ingredients are used. Keep in mind that if your cat gets used to only one kind of food texture or flavor, you will be more likely to have to deal with a picky cat that only accepts a specific product.
When feeding an adult cat, keep in mind that they don’t require the constant amount of food young cats need. This allows you to reduce the number of feedings your cat receives in a day. While leaving kibble available to them all day may seem like a good idea, it isn’t. Feed your cat an appropriate amount of food, twice daily to have control of their daily consumption and to avoid obesity.
- Many tastes and texture varieties are available
- Helps maintain their body weight and daily activity
- Available in most stores
- Quality varies according to brand and products
Cat Food Options
Whether you are feeding an adult cat or a kitten, you’ll find there are two main types of cat food available in all stores: dry and wet food. However, newer options such as fresh, raw, and freeze-dried raw foods are slowly but surely making their way into the market. For the purpose of this post, we will focus mainly on the two most popular and traditional types of cat food, but you can learn more about 6 different types of cat food in this post.
Most cats seem to prefer wet food but kibble can be just as tasty and offers a bit of convenience for pet owners. Let’s take a look at both of these cat food options to help you make the right choice for both your kittens and adult cats.
Wet Food
Whether you are feeding an adult cat or a kitten, you quickly realize that this is often the one your cat will favor. When attempting to buy wet food for your cat, you’ll find several options to choose from. Compared to dry food, wet food can be more expensive. This is why many pet owners choose to mix both kinds of foods into their pet’s diet.
Two big pros you’ll discover when selecting wet food as an option for your cat or kitten are the protein and moisture content this food type contains. Both kittens and adult cats benefit from a high-moisture diet as this ancestral species evolved in the desert, obtaining hydration from their prey. Cats are classified as obligate carnivores which means that animal-derived protein is a necessity for them to live. These two important criteria will be met easily with this type of food.
Dry Food
Dry food is often the go-to for cat owners. This type of food is easier for people on the go who need to feed their cats before heading out to work or school. While cats of all ages may prefer wet food, providing your cat with kibble may be the right choice for your lifestyle and budget. Unfortunately, finding high-quality kibble may be harder than cat owners realize.
While dry food for kittens and cats can be found on most store shelves, they aren’t exactly balanced for what your cat needs. Keep this in mind when making a selection. Read all product labels, especially on kitten food, to ensure the dry food isn’t only life-stage, but offers a complete and balanced formula that includes all the protein, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins, your cat or kitten needs.
- Check the label for “Promotes Growth”, “Growth Formula”, or “Kitten Food”
- Look for a “Complete and Balanced” statement
- Compare protein content
- Ensure animal proteins are listed as the first ingredients
- Know the calorie density of the food
- Check the label for “Maintenance Formula”, “For Maintenance”, or “Adult Cat Food”
- Look for a “Complete and Balanced” statement
- Compare protein content
- Ensure animal proteins are listed as the first ingredients
- Choose textures and flavors your cat enjoys
Quick Look: Our Top Choices
| Image | Product | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
Our Favorite Kitten Food
 |
Wellness Complete Health Kitten Chicken Entree | CHECK PRICE | |
Our Favorite Cat Food
 |
Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain-Free Chicken Canned Cat Food | CHECK PRICE |
Our Favorite Kitten Food
Wellness Complete Health Kitten Chicken Entree
Our favorite kitten food is from Wellness. This formula is designed to help kittens grow healthy and strong. The first three ingredients are chicken, chicken liver, and chicken broth, in addition to the added fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals a growing kitten needs. This food is also free of unwanted additives like corn, wheat or mystery meat meals, so you will know exactly what you are feeding your kitten.
- Related Read: Best Kitten Foods for Sensitive Stomachs
Our Favorite Cat Food
Nature’s Variety Instinct Grain-Free Chicken Canned Cat Food
Instinct is our favorite cat food due to it providing cats with the same health benefits they would receive by eating a wild diet, since 95% of it is chicken or turkey. This cat food is nutritionally balanced to help your cat maintain a healthy lifestyle while providing the addition of ground flaxseed, fruits and veggies as a source of fiber and natural antioxidants.
Conclusion
As you can see, feeding your feline the proper foods is the best way to ensure they grow up healthy and stay that way. Kitten food will help a young cat learn life away from their mother and get the nutrition and calories necessary to become the beautiful, healthy cat they are meant to be. Cat food is waiting, when the time comes, to ensure that health is maintained and your cat lives a long and happy life.
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Featured Image Credit: Left & Right – MaraZe, Shutterstock
