# Can kittens eat cat/adult food?



## Kona

Hey 

We (myself and my girlfriend) got our first kitten in January, since we got him we have been feeding him ASDA's Tiger Kitten Food (both the wet and dry food) but yesterday I got talking to a guy at work who has cats and his first response to what I was feeding our kitten was a  face. He then went on to tell me how whiskers, kittikat and the other big-named brands are just as bad as what I am feeding him now and to get some proper cat food... and pointed me to this forum (specifically the Cat Health and Nutrition section) for advice.

I spent most of yesterday evening reading loads (at least 10+) posts on what food is decent and the general consensus is that Bozita is a good, affordable alternative along with Tesco's Luxury range. I popped in to Tesco's and they have the Luxury chicken packs reduced to £2.40 for 12x 85g, the fish ones are the usual £4.something so I plan on getting some of those first. 

I've read somewhere that kitten-specific (along with Senior) food is a con and cat's regulate what they eat very well. I've compared the back of the Tesco's Luxury and ASDA Tiger Kitten and the nutritional value's are similar - the ASDA's has a slightly higher Fats & Oils content than the Tesco's one but other than that, the Tesco's has higher values.

Anyway, that was a pretty long winded post for the simple question I wanted to ask: Is it OK to feed my kitten (now nearly 5 months old) adult (specifically Bozita & Tesco's Luxury) food?

Thanks,

Craig


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## hobbs2004

Hello and welcome! In principle it is fine to feed your kitten high-quality wet cat food. Most producers of really good commerical wet cat food don't actually make an age distinction.

I know Bozita but I don't know the Tesco luxury pouches. Out of interest, could you tell me what is in them? Thanks!


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## The Twins

Yes completely fine for them to eat adult wet food - kitten food is a bit of a con if you ask me! 

Bozita is good high meat content food - i used to feed it to my two from about the age of 3 months. They dont eat it now as are on a raw diet. I used to get it from Seapets (zoo plus is rubbish IMO and i had major hassles with them and they take ages to arrive as it comes from germany - allow 10 days from order to arrival just in case!!) and its about 92p from memory for one carton. 

Just one thing, it did make my two's poop STINK... and have heard this from several other people about bozita but I think any commmercial food can make their poop stink to be honest!

Cant comment on tesco's as never used it. 

Good luck!!


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## kittykat

I would have to say that feline fayre is really good too, you can buy it in Asda its £1 for 4 pouches.


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## hobbs2004

True but you need to get the black pouches as the other ones are not complete


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## Kona

Thanks for the replies - I went out and got him some Tescos Luxury (Seafood Selection & Chicken Selection) and he loves it 

He has already had the Feline Fayre tuna packets which he can pretty much eat in one go, I'll have to give the black packs a try.

And for hobbs2004, here is what is in the Tescos Luxury food:

*Tescos Luxury Cat Food - Seafood Selection, 12x 85g*

*Tuna in Jelly x4*
Tuna red meat (minimum 49%), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca

*Tuna in Crab Jelly x4*
Tuna red meat (minimum 49%), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Crab, Tapioca

*Tuna in Shrimp Jelly x4*
Tuna red meat (minimum 49%), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Shrimp, Tapioca

*Typical Analysis for all varieties*
Moisture: 84.0%
Protein: 12.0%
Oils and Fats: 2.0%
Ash: 2.0%
Fibre: 0.1%
Vitamin A: 2200iu/kg
Vitamin D3: 250iu/kg
Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol): 50mg/kg
Copper (as Cupric Sulphate): 1mg/kg

*Tescos Luxury Cat Food - Chicken Selection, 12x 85g*

*Chicken in Jelly x4*
Chicken (minimum 49%), Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca

*Chicken with Liver x4*
Chicken (minimum 45%), Liver (minimum 4%), Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca

*Chicken with Beef x4*
Chicken (minimum 45%) Beef (minimum 4%), Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca

*Typical Analysis for all varieties*
Moisture: 84.5%
Protein: 9.5%
Oils and Fats: 3.0%
Ash: 2.5%
Fibre: 0.1%
Vitamin A: 2200iu/kg
Vitamin D3: 250iu/kg
Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol): 50mg/kg
Copper (as Cupric Sulphate): 1mg/kg

Cheers,

Craig


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## Cazzer

my six month old wegies eat mainly Bozita plus some raw and their poop is ok. They've been eating this from about four months. Did find that the tinned kitten Bozita made really smelly and runny poop but the adult stuff is ok. I get mine from seapets or R and L if I go to a show as it is 3 for 2. I would avoid zooplus from past experience as well


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## hobbs2004

Kona said:


> *Tescos Luxury Cat Food - Seafood Selection, 12x 85g*
> 
> *Tuna in Jelly x4*
> Tuna red meat (minimum 49%), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca
> 
> *Tuna in Crab Jelly x4*
> Tuna red meat (minimum 49%), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Crab, Tapioca
> 
> *Tuna in Shrimp Jelly x4*
> Tuna red meat (minimum 49%), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Shrimp, Tapioca
> 
> *Typical Analysis for all varieties*
> Moisture: 84.0%
> Protein: 12.0%
> Oils and Fats: 2.0%
> Ash: 2.0%
> Fibre: 0.1%
> Vitamin A: 2200iu/kg
> Vitamin D3: 250iu/kg
> Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol): 50mg/kg
> Copper (as Cupric Sulphate): 1mg/kg
> 
> *Tescos Luxury Cat Food - Chicken Selection, 12x 85g*
> 
> *Chicken in Jelly x4*
> Chicken (minimum 49%), Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca
> 
> *Chicken with Liver x4*
> Chicken (minimum 45%), Liver (minimum 4%), Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca
> 
> *Chicken with Beef x4*
> Chicken (minimum 45%) Beef (minimum 4%), Vitamin & Mineral Supplements, Tapioca
> 
> *Typical Analysis for all varieties*
> Moisture: 84.5%
> Protein: 9.5%
> Oils and Fats: 3.0%
> Ash: 2.5%
> Fibre: 0.1%
> Vitamin A: 2200iu/kg
> Vitamin D3: 250iu/kg
> Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol): 50mg/kg
> Copper (as Cupric Sulphate): 1mg/kg
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Craig


Thanks for the info Craig.

This type of food labelling always makes me wonder. If there is a minimum of 49% of let's say chicken declared then what constitutes the rest. They don't declare that their food contains any fillers, such as cereals, which is good, but the next biggest ingredient according to them are the vitamins and minerals. 

Maybe I am being anal but I so wish that the whole wet cat food industry and their labelling would be more tightly regulated.

Just to point out that there is not an awful lot of fat in these pouches - so unless you feed dry, you need to supplement this with some other, more fatty food. Generally the advice is for commercial wet cat food to contain about 5-6% fat.

Also, and people probably know that I am a stickler for this, but you may want to supplement the taurine in your kitten's food. You can buy a powder that you just need to mix with a little water and add to the food. Or you can get some fresh prawns or chicken hearts and feed those a couple of times a week.

You cannot really overdose on it but a lack of it has serious consequences for your cat. Unfortunately, commercial cat food manufacturers don't always include enough because it is expensive.

No harm in giving Bozita a try - certainly got a higher meat content then these pouches, which isn't bad....


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## Kona

hobbs2004 said:


> This type of food labelling always makes me wonder. If there is a minimum of 49% of let's say chicken declared then what constitutes the rest. They don't declare that their food contains any fillers, such as cereals, which is good, but the next biggest ingredient according to them are the vitamins and minerals.


It made me wonder too. I checked out a few labels in Tesco (I got a few strange looks as I spent ~20 minutes on the cat food isle ) and nearly all the cat food doesn't list what the other "filler" is - they really should list exactly what is in it. I'm happy for the price though - £2.40 for 12x85g was a bargain, cheaper than the ASDA Tiger Kitten food.



hobbs2004 said:


> Just to point out that there is not an awful lot of fat in these pouches - so unless you feed dry, you need to supplement this with some other, more fatty food. Generally the advice is for commercial wet cat food to contain about 5-6% fat.


I noticed that, the Tiger food we were feeding him before had ~5% I think. What would you suggest I supplement his diet with? Can I alternate between a good dry food and the Tescos Luxury pouches or is that not enough?



hobbs2004 said:


> Also, and people probably know that I am a stickler for this, but you may want to supplement the taurine in your kitten's food. You can buy a powder that you just need to mix with a little water and add to the food. Or you can get some fresh prawns or chicken hearts and feed those a couple of times a week.


Thanks for the info - I'll take a look around my local pet shop for some taurine supplement. Fresh prawns may be a little too expensive but where would you find chicken's hearts (apart from inside chickens )? Would my local butcher be able to get a hold of some? I can't imagine them being all that expensive!



hobbs2004 said:


> No harm in giving Bozita a try - certainly got a higher meat content then these pouches, which isn't bad....


Yup, they are next on my list after he runs low on these pouches. I'm also looking for a decent dry food for when we go to work so he can graze on that during the day 

Thanks for all the advice!

Craig


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## hobbs2004

Kona said:


> .I noticed that, the Tiger food we were feeding him before had ~5% I think. What would you suggest I supplement his diet with? Can I alternate between a good dry food and the Tescos Luxury pouches or is that not enough?


There are several ways to get more fat into a diet that is low on fat. The easiest would be if you find some other food your cat will eat that is higher in fat. Then you can alternate the food. That way you also get them used to some variety in their food in case one manufacturer stops producing their food or changes it so that your food doesn't eat it anymore. You would be surprised how frequently that happens. Also there is no commercial food that is truly balanced. So feeding different foods makes it more likely that they get all that they need. 

Alternatively, you can choose a fatty dry - but see below. Or you could get some unadulterated goose fat and just put a little of that in the food.



Kona said:


> .Thanks for the info - I'll take a look around my local pet shop for some taurine supplement. Fresh prawns may be a little too expensive but where would you find chicken's hearts (apart from inside chickens )? Would my local butcher be able to get a hold of some? I can't imagine them being all that expensive!


One bit of advice. Try to go for a powder supplement, not a treat that contains taurine. Typically they do not really contain enough to even it all out. If you ever buy online, there is some good powder you can get on zooplus, called felini.

Theoretically you should be able to find chicken hearts at your butcher's but not all still stock something as basic as that. Mine doesn't. Hopefully you are more lucky than I am!

Also, when you are there it may pay to get your kitten used to eating raw chicken wings, bones and all. A great way to keep their teeth in good order.



Kona said:


> .Yup, they are next on my list after he runs low on these pouches. I'm also looking for a decent dry food for when we go to work so he can graze on that during the day


Personally I don't think cats need to free feed, but opinion is very much divided over that. In the wild they would not be able to feed whenever they want as they would need to hunt for it and then nothing is guaranteed. Also, it is a bit of a myth that dry food is good for their dental health. Much better to give them a raw chicken wing to eat once a week or some pieces of beef.

However, if you really want to feed dry, then orijen is a good option as it doesn't contain grains/cereals. Quite fatty though I think.

Ooh, this has turned into an essay!  Perhaps I am a bit anal after all....


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## billyboysmammy

if you are feeding a high quality WET diet (or dry for that matter) you will not need to supplement taurine.

You will ONLY need to supplement taurine if you are feeding raw, and not ensuring you are feeding the right taurine rich muscle groups.

If you want to supplement taurine naturally then:
Prawns, chicken wings, cheek, heart, tongue are all packed with taurine.


Just to clear up some of the worries expressed on this thread...

the percentage of meat is the minimum amount of that NAMED meat. So if a food is 60% chicken, then thats exactly what it means. The rest of the food will be whatever is the cheapest on the market for them (usually reclaimed meat). 

The difference between a high quality wet food and a low one, is that with 60% real meat they are having much better quality nutrition. Something with 5% real meat will have 95% reclaimed crap.


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## hobbs2004

billyboysmammy said:


> if you are feeding a high quality WET diet (or dry for that matter) you will not need to supplement taurine.


I think we will agree to disagree on that.

Very few manufacturers declare taurine levels or what they add to the food. Heat destroys taurine, any wet tinned food that has been cooked in the manufacturing process thereby will have diminished levels. Incidentally, apparently freezing raw food also depletes taurine levels.

Considering how important taurine is to cat's health and well-being, and the unlikelihood of one overdosing, I would err on the side of caution and supplement, whether I feed commercial wet, dry or raw.


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## Kona

Wow, a lot of information to go through there - thanks 

When you say to feed prawns & chicken wings as a taurine supplement, do you give them to your cat cooked or raw? I know in the wild they don't have tiny cat stoves to cook on but y'know - I wanted to double check 

Craig


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## hobbs2004

I know - sorry for the info bombardment 

Definitely raw - particularly important when it comes to feeding bones; they must be raw.


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## billyboysmammy

raw raw raw i cannot stress this enough with regards to bones. NEVER feed a cat cooked bones. All meat can be fed raw, as could prawns however i tend to give these cooked (which yes depletes some of the taurine content, but they have amongst the highest levels of taurine and so can afford to lose a bit).

me and hobbs are always gonna disagree on the taurine points lol, weve been over this before in the past. I do not like supplementing with synthetic drugs full stop. At the moment there is no research into the effects of a taurine overdose, and yes its unlikely because it is not stored in the body, any excess is excreted. However as the liver and the kidneys are involved in the excretion i see no need to intentionally overdose, particularly with a synthetic substance. I prefer to supplement naturally with natural sources, others feel differently, it doesnt make either of us wrong. 

I do agree with hobs that the processing of food depletes the taurine levels in a product. It also depletes the longer it is dead (so a well aged piece of meat would have less than a fresh kill). Its why i did my research (as did she) into getting a complete diet. I supplement naturally, she supplements artificially, both are simple, both are right.


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## Colette

Just as a brief aside - do you think Thrive prawn treats would be good for taurine? The ones we get are just 100% freeze dried prawns.


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## billyboysmammy

the more processed they are the less taurine they will retain so no i wouldnt give them those as a taurine boost, just a tasty treat


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## Colette

Thanks - I never even considered the taurine content until I read this thread, I just wondered as prawns got mentioned. I only use them as training treats!


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## hobbs2004

In case you want to artificially supplement, this is good: Felini Taurine: great deals on cat food and supplements at zooplus. Just add a little tepid water, stir to dissolve and pour over the food. It is tasteless, so easily accepted.

Otherwise, chicken hearts are also a good natural source of taurine. There is taurine in all sorts of meat, more so in darker meat and fish, but prawns and chicken hearts are the taurine bombs I believe.


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## billyboysmammy

yep, actually heart muscle of any sort is an excellent source of taurine

The most readily available are ox, chicken and lambs hearts


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## hobbs2004

And I am finding it hard to find any of these in sunny ole Guildford 

My butcher's (and there is only one at the outskirts of town) doesn't do any, though must ask about ox and lamb. We tend not to shop in supermarkets, choosing to shop in local or independent shops but maybe I need to venture into a big Sainsbury or the like to have a snoop at their offal counter. 

But at least it is included in the raw minces I get.


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## billyboysmammy

ask your butcher for lambs hearts, i can almost guarentee they will do them. 


oops i left pigs hearts off the list, and as per another thread... goat!


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## Tje

billyboysmammy said:


> oops i left pigs hearts off the list, and as per another thread... goat!


phew.... I was just about to report you to the goat promotion board


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## billyboysmammy

lmao

god forbid!


i'll go sit on the naughty step 

talking of using local butchers etc.... if you are in the countryside... ask your gamekeeper for rabbit hearts, pidgeon hearts, any other game bird etc. You can also ask for the whole carcass (providing they have been gutted, you dont want stomach or intestines)


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## Eleanor Stewart

Adult food is not the same as kitten food. Kitten food has more calorie density, protein, fat, DHA, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and is more digestible. However, you should check at the nutritional adequacy claims on the goods to get a better picture. There are foods for "Adult maintenance," foods for "All life phases," and foods for "Growth/Lactation." You don't want your cat consuming "Adult maintenance" food.


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## SbanR

Eleanor Stewart said:


> Adult food is not the same as kitten food. Kitten food has more calorie density, protein, fat, DHA, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and is more digestible. However, you should check at the nutritional adequacy claims on the goods to get a better picture. There are foods for "Adult maintenance," foods for "All life phases," and foods for "Growth/Lactation." You don't want your cat consuming "Adult maintenance" food.


This is a thread from 2010 that you've replied to.


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## Eleanor Stewart

SbanR said:


> This is a thread from 2010 that you've replied to.


sorry, my bad !!


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