# Best Kitten dry food



## kittiegirl (May 11, 2010)

I have been asking the breeder which food she uses but she has been a bit vague with the brand, which one would you recommend for an 8 week old kitten?

Obviously i dont want to spend the earth on the stuff and i dont want to just buy cheap rubbish, but which is the best value for money as far as nutrition and taste i guess, goes?

I was thinking of going with Tesco premium dry food for kittens. anyone used this?


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## Kiona (Apr 7, 2010)

Applaws is a very good dry kitten food. 80% meat, no grains.


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## kittiegirl (May 11, 2010)

Kiona said:


> Applaws is a very good dry kitten food. 80% meat, no grains.


Thanks for that, do you know how expensive it is?


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Hi, a 2kg bag, which should last you a while is £13.50 on zooplus: Applaws Kitten Food - Great deals on natural cat food at zooplus

Other good dry brands are orijen, acana and ziwi peak, which don't have specific kitten ones, you just feed the same stuff throughout the cat's ages. Again, these don't contain any grains etc.

They may appear to be slightly more expensive but you don't need to feed as much as other stuff.

Have you considered feeding your kitten wet food?


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## alisondalziel (Oct 8, 2008)

Hiya,

I would feed a mix of wet and dry, in different bowls.

My favourite dry food is Royal Canin kitten36. It's just under £10 for a 2kg bag in Pets @ Home just now, it's normally just under £15.

Another one to try which isn't too expensive is the Pets @ Home purely range.

Good wet foods are royal canin, applaws, orijen, hi life, natures menu, bozita, encore and feline fayre (black tins).

Really any food with a high meat content (above 30%). Just read the labels.

Hope your little one is settling in well


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## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

I agree that a mix of wet and dry would be better than just dry but only wet would be even better!

Cats are not really natural drinkers but dry only contains about 10% moisture compared to 70-80% of moisture in wet. Dry food also contains a lot more filler carbs (e.g. cereals) than high quality wet ones. Finally, it is a myth that dry food is good for their teeth. Most of the time the kibble is too small to be chewed, it just gets swallowed. Just to give you some examples of why dry is not necessarily the best food to feed.

if you do want to feed dry then I would repeat the brands I mentioned earlier - applaws, orijen, acana or ziwi peak, which contain a high amount of meat and no cereals or other fillers. They are almost the same price as Royal Canin, which contains a high amount of carbs.

alisondalziel has mentioned some good wet food brands. Here is a list of high meat wet complete foods that i had pulled together for a different thread that don't break the bank:

- *Bozita* - 93% meat content in their tetrapacks and available to order online from seapets, e and r, and zooplus. (about 4% fat). Bozita also do a tinned version, which is a pate that has 97% meat and 5% fat
- *Purely* has got a meat content of 50% I believe and is available from Pets at home. About 2% fat
- *Natures Menu* has a 70% meat content, and is available from Pets at home too as well as other places. About 6% fat
- *Feline Fayre *is often fed by people here - the black pouches are complete- available in Asda, Morrisons etc (about 2% fat)
- *HiLife* - also has a good meat content - varies from 45% to 70% depending on type. About 2% fat
- Tesco also do a wet food that has a high meat content - I believe it is called *Tesco Luxury* 49% and *Tesco Finest* 49% +. The meat versions of *Tesco Just Nature* contain 60% meat. 
- *Porta 21* - tends to be whole meat tuna (46%) and the rest broth; very low fat 0.5%; available from zooplus. Porta is a bit like complementary food in terms of its texture but it is a complete food. Just low on fat. You could add some goose fat to fatten it up a bit.

If your cat eats pate, then you could try these:
- *Pet's Kitchen* (Joe & Jills) - 90% meat content, about 8 - 10% fat - available from them directly - Pets Kitchen - Experts in natural pet food, developed by Joe Inglis TV Vet
- *Lily's Kitchen *- 65% organic meat; 5.5% fat - available from them directly: Lily's Kitchen • Organic Dog Food, Organic Cat Food • Natural Complete Pet Food • Certified Holistic, Ethically produced • Natural dog food, Grain free cat food.
-*Grau *- 89% meat content and 4% wholegrain rice; 5.5% fat - available from zooplus
- *Herrmanns* - 97% organic meat, about 4-6% fat - available at zooplus but pricey but only need 1 pouch per day

Considering that you want to feed commercial cat food, then I would suggest that you start looking at the ingredients and analysis stuff on the tins/pouches. It really is not hard at all. 
- Does the tin mention how much meat is in it - most high end ones advertise their 'goodness' by the percentage of meat; more crappy ones just list meat and animal by products, without telling you any more. 
- Does it mention grains? These are cheap fillers that are useless to cats (but save the manufacturers some pennies).
- Does it say that is contains sugars? Now, it is slightly controversial as to whether sugar is or isn't related to cat's dental health but it is used for food consistency/appearance purposes. I personally don't think there is any place for it in good cat food.
- Does it say that is contains vitamins and minerals? If yes, then it is a complete food; if not, then it is a complementary food that should only be fed as the occasional treat (unless you feed dry, in which case one presumes that the dry contains enough minerals and vitamins to balance it out).

Oh I forgot to say that you can safely ignore the kitten sachets - that is just commercial wool-pulling. A lot of the high end brands don't do separate kitten food; their food is for cats of all age. Just feed any high quality wet food, and your cat will thank you!

I strongly believe that by feeding complete wet food (or perhaps even raw) you give your kitten the best start in life!


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## Tje (Jan 16, 2010)

a year ago, I would have agreed with Alison Dalziel... I was the poster child for Royal Canin dry food. Now I don't use it (apart from with my rescues, and that is a requirement of the shelter, not my personal choice). I detest the stuff with a passion, lol. 

Now I would agree with Hobbs.

Wet is far better than dry. 

but if you're heart set on dry... Orijen/Applaws/Ziwi etc is FAR better than Royal Canin and similarly priced.


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