# difference between kitten and adult cat food???



## xzhou (May 19, 2011)

OK, I'm just wondering whether there are significant differences between kitten and adult cat food??? Are they different in terms of the nutrient content??


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

Nope.

Well I imagine there are some differences but nothing vital nor huge. I did a comparison with two types and the ash content was like 0.5% different and the fat content was 0.5% different. The rest was exactly the same.

Kitten food does tend to be more expensive though.... take form that what you will


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## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

The differences are only applicable within any given brand. For example the percentage protein may be 11% for adult and 14% for kitten in brand A but brand B may have 14% in it's adult food. There is no industry standard so each company can label any food 'kitten' if it chooses and charge a premium if people are stupid enough to pay it.


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

You'd think it'd make more sense for kitten food to be cheap and adult food to be expensive... as that's the one you're going be using longer. Hmmmm. Best not give them ideas.


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## AnimatedApe (Oct 18, 2010)

xzhou said:


> OK, I'm just wondering whether there are significant differences between kitten and adult cat food??? Are they different in terms of the nutrient content??


I think that the general consensus is that a good food is good for any cat regardless of age. I've noticed in some of the cheaper brands that chunks are sometimes smaller in the kitten foods, or some are more of a Pate consistency. But the best food that you could feed them as an adult is probably the best food that you can feed them as a kitten as well.


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

It is a tough one though. If one were to feed the foods available in supermarkets than it would make sense to buy the kitten food as it tends to contain more protein, fat and minerals than the adult version alongside a similar amount of filler (jelly/gravy). Although the adage is that a kitten can eat as much as s/he wants you really don't want to do that with the food that is high in fillers, such as jelly/gravy, as it is just wasted space nutritionally and one would inadvertently feed quite a lot of it. 

Contrary to what many people think there are actually *guidelines* as to what a kitten food should contain nutritionally compared to an adult food - or what the guidelines call food for growth vs food for maintenance (other such guidelines for other lifestages foods, such as for senior foods, don't exist). 

However, most of the good quality foods that you can get online are really foods that are suitable for all life-stages (largely because they often follow the guidelines set out for growth food to be able to satisfy both the kitten and adult needs); you just need to feed the kitten more of it. 

It makes sense if you consider that in the wild kittens would feed off mum before being weaned on to food that the grown up cats would be eating too. 

Having said all this, the catch to the whole story though is to find a good quality food that your kitten is happy to eat.


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## xzhou (May 19, 2011)

thank you all for you useful insights! :thumbup1:

Apart from cat food, i sometimes give him a little bit of homecooked chicken (boiled) with scrambled eggs which he seems to like. 

The only thing is that his appetite has gone up so much that he can go through a box of cat food (usually contains 10-12 pouches) in 5 days!!!! I've been trying to feed a little and more often so that he thinks he's getting more food... Not sure if I'm doing the right thing though. :S


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

Honestly it sounds like you might be feeding a bit too little...

Kittens can eat as much as they want, really. They burn it all off. If he is happy to eat him more, please feed him more.

Pouches are usually 100g ish yeah? I used to feed my kittens FOUR pounches a day, and when they moved to canned I still feed 400g a day...

So I would definitely up the food if he's happy to eat it!


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## xzhou (May 19, 2011)

gloworm*mushroom said:


> Honestly it sounds like you might be feeding a bit too little...
> 
> Kittens can eat as much as they want, really. They burn it all off. If he is happy to eat him more, please feed him more.
> 
> ...


That was what I thought, hence the massively increased appetite. Ever since he puked (about a week ago) probably as a result of eating too much too quickly, I have been more cautious with giving him more food. I want to feed him more as he'd be less moany (which he has been more than before, perhaps for the lack of sufficient food). But the thing is how do i avoid him puking again having fed him as much as he want???


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## gloworm*mushroom (Mar 4, 2011)

Little and often. He might have scoffed it all too fast as he was starving


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