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Getting 2 kittens to eat the same healthy food

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Ryder & Jack 1234516     Purred: Thu Feb 16, '12 9:37am PST  I have two new kittens that I adopted from the shelter. They were on cheap kitten chow dry food at the shelter. I am trying to get them to eat can food. I was giving them some fancy feast and they both loved that, but i want them to eat something that is better for them. After research I chose Blue Wilderness Kitten and Wellness Kitten to try out. Those are the only ones that seem recommended that I can find at my PetSmart. One of my kittens will eat both of those, the other one takes 2 bites and walks away from both. He unfortunatley loved the cheap stuff My question is: Do continue to try to give it to him and see if he eventually will eat it, or do i have to just try some other brand? Another question? Do you have to feed kittens kitten food? My boys are 4mos and 6mos. What other brands should I try? I might have to go find another pet supply store to find other brands of food since Petsmart doesn't carry all of them. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become friends [notify]

Ralphie &- Randy 1201140     Purred: Thu Feb 16, '12 10:01am PST  Congratulations on the new kittens! It can take a little experimenting to find a food that both kittens like and will eat, and be prepared for them to possibly change their minds too. Randy will eat anything at all - I've never given him a food that he wouldn't eat. Ralphie is choosier. It took a few tries to get him to eat raw gizzards, and he has decided that a canned food that he used to like is no longer edible. But they get a variety of foods and he happily eats most of them, so I think it's just a matter of experimentation to find some foods that will satisfy both of them. Just be sure to introduce new foods gradually so as not to upset their little tummies. I don't believe it's necessary for the word "kitten" to be on the label. I think it's much more important to make sure that the food contains high-quality protein, plenty of fat, and is grain-free. Some of our favorite foods include Nature's Variety Instinct, Hound & Gatos, and Merrick Before Grain. None of these are available at PetSmart, but there are online retailers that carry them. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become friends [notify]

Shade My name is not- Kittyfloss!     Purred: Thu Feb 16, '12 10:04am PST  Hi Ryder's pawrent, congrats on your new family members! One thing that you can try is to mix together the foods that your kitten loves and the one you want him to eat, gradually increasing the amount of the one that you prefer. No, you don't have to feed a kitten specific food. Any food that has "all life stages" on it is fine, just don't pick an "adult maintenance" food. I would recommend trying EVO Cat & Kitten, as well as the EVO 95% meat varieties and Nature's Variety Instinct 95% Meat Varieties. I fed the EVO for a long time, but now the boys greatly prefer the Instinct, I think because the Instinct is less mushy than the EVO, but both are officially pates. You can find Instinct in PetCo, but you'd have to go to a specialty pet food store for the EVO. With both foods, I've fed all the different protein sources/flavors. It is good to have variety in a cat's diet. Purrs, Shade my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Ryder & Jack 1234516     Purred: Thu Feb 16, '12 10:39am PST  You know, I was not mixing it with his current food. I might try that and see if I can convert him over. It might be the texture since the kinds he likes are more like chunks with sauce where these are pate. I think he likes the flavor because he will lick the bowl after his brother eats the food. I found a store near me that sells EVO and some of the other good brands, so I will get a few cans of those this weekend and try those out too. I am hoping to find a couple that both of them like. Edited by author Thu Feb 16, '12 10:40am PST my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become friends [notify]

Alex (sweet- angel girl) Angel on a- mission!     Purred: Thu Feb 16, '12 1:03pm PST  Yes, if you can find a Petco near you, they sell most of the foods that the others suggested. Also Nature's Variety, Soulistic, etc. I don't believe in "life stages" foods. I've read so much about it being a gimmick and I never did that with mine. Also, I have a page on my site on how to switch food slowly by mixing certain amounts: http://ibdkitties.net/switchingfoods.html. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Corbin Multipass?     Purred: Fri Feb 17, '12 12:05am PST  Like others have said, PetCo carries a fair amount of upper end wet food at, usually, a cheaper price than the specialty boutique pet food/supply stores. A lot of the good foods out there are all life stages, and those are awesome to feed. One thing about kitten food, though, is that it often has a better protein to carb ratio than adult food. So, really, even adults should be eating kitten food if their brand offers it. I personally, have a new kitten who's about 12 weeks(?) now and he eats the same thing my adult cats eat (when he's not eating raw): Before Grain Chicken/Turkey/Quail, Kitten Blue Wilderness (pretty sure that's the one), Wellness Kitten, Wellness Grain Free Chicken/Turkey/Beef & Chicken. That's our standard rotation. The only thing my adults don't eat is anything with beef as it makes them regurgitate. The one thing I would recommend doing, though, would be to add extra water to their food. Make it soupy. It's good for their kidneys, and if you have any boy kitties, the more they go, the better! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Ryder & Jack 1234516     Purred: Fri Feb 17, '12 9:28am PST  Ryder ate a little bit more of it today, but i really think it's the texture he does not like. Maybe adding the water will help. So far, won't eat much of anything pate, no matter what brand, but loves chunks. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become friends [notify]

Mac's Cat I am what is- called, a- recycled Cat!     Purred: Fri Feb 17, '12 10:06pm PST  I also recommend adding water to any pate as us cats will not eat it otherwise. Remember that us cats like our wet food better at body temp. mol So add warm water , just not hot hot. Best of luck and please keep us all updated to what works best for them. When doing work for NUTRO in the pet stores, Meowma recommend mixing the dry food; 75% current food and 25% new food, for two days, then 50x50% for two days, then 75% new and 25% old for two days. After 6 days just feed new food from there on out. CONCATS on your two new kitties! my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Ramsey Ramsey - The Bedroom Cat- Burglar     Purred: Sat Feb 18, '12 6:56pm PST  2 new kitties will be a lot of fun! Congrats on the new babies. I don't know if you have tried any of the Nutro products but all four cats in this house have thrived on it. Other premium brands of wet are used now and then to give additional flavors and textures. For dry this house uses Nutro Natural Choice Indoor formulas. All cats are doing very well on it. As far as the adult vs. kitten thing; It does not have to be a kitten food. You can check with your vet but Swiffer was the newest kitten in the house with 2 adults and 1 senior cat. Feeding became a nightmare because all of the greedy things wanted to eat each other's food. The vet said it would be okay to put them all on adult food but watch the senior cat's weight on it. It all turned out quite well. Swiffer is a big girl now. 17 pounds of Maine Coon/Siames mix. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become friends [notify]

Ryder & Jack 1234516     Purred: Mon Feb 20, '12 7:59am PST  I have not had any luck with getting Ryder to eat much canned food. He still just licks it mostly. I tried the water and that has helped as he doesn't just walk away, but he won't actually eat much. I guess I will keep trying and see if he eventually will eat more. He likes the flavors. This is so frustrating because I want what is best for my baby. I picked up some more brands at Petco. The one he seems to lick the most is Nature's Variety Instinct. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become friends [notify]