How quickly can I change kitten’s food?

[KittekatMP]

Gorgeous new kitten P (now 9 wks) has come to us eating Whiskas kitten pouches combined with Lidl dry food mixed in. We are feeding him the same for now.

He has a vet check on a Friday and first vaccinations.

His poo really stinks and he farts a fair bit which also stink. My plan is to get him into higher quality dry food eventually (probably iams kitten) but I heard he also needs wet food at this age.

So to take advantage of all your great knowledge, my questions are:

How quickly can I swap him over?
Does he need wet food at this stage?
If he needs wet, will a better quality one reduce the stink?

Obligatory kitten pic attached

Thanks very much.

[KittekatMP]

Made the mistake of posting at midnight so hardly anyone around.

Anyone got any tips?

[madeofstarlight]

I kept my kitten on her original diet for a couple of weeks then gradually started switching over eg. mixing some of the new food into the old and she was totally fine, no tummy issues. And I do notice her poo doesn't smell as bad if she's been eating better quality food.

However, after that first switch I tried her on a few different foods and had no issues but one week I'd run out of dry food so picked up the iams kitten stuff when I was in Morrisons and it made her ill. She spewed for about 24 hours and couldn't keep anything down. It's the only food I've ever had an issue with up until that point and since then too. It's so strange because she's a terrible food thief and nothing's ever made her ill apart from that one kitten food.

[madeofstarlight]

Oh, also I remember reading that kittens should have wet food because it's closer to what they would eat naturally or something like that. I've given my cat a mix of both since she was a kitten and it seems to work for her.

[KittekatMP]

That’s interesting re the iams. Will have to look into other good quality but decent value ones.
I will ask the vet for advice on Friday.

[theemmadilemma]

Appledaws. No Iams. Read about their ethnics.

[KittekatMP]

Hadn't heard anything at all about iams ethics so will look into that.

[GingerKittenHuman]

I switched my kittens over fairly quickly. They were on Felix wet and Wainwright's dry. Their poop stank too. I went through the reviews of wet kitten food on Amazon, zooplus and pets at home. Lots of reviews were positive for wainwright’s wet kitten food from pets at home so I made that my aim.

I continued with the wainrights dry but for 24 hours switched them to boiled chicken and rice (I know so enslaved already). Then I added in the wainwright’s wet. They transitioned really well.

[madeofstarlight]

Oh I second Applaws my cat loves the stuff. I've never seen her wolf down any other food as quick.

[GingerKittenHuman]

Mine like the Applaws dry and the tinned kitten food. I found the tins are an excellent way of disguising their worming treatment. But worth noting OP that the Applaws tins are a complementary food not a complete food so they’d need a complete dry food. They suggest one small tin per kitten per day.

[HelloJackieYouLookNice]

If you want to avoid a stinky kitten I would avoid Iams. We’ve recently swapped to applaws and the difference has been huge - I ran out this week and had to use Iams as it was all I had in and within a day we were back to farty cats and sticky poos (not envy!). James Wellbeloved and Ava didn’t agree with one of them either so it’s Applaws all the way now! For wet they have Applaws and Blink.

[neversleepagain]

We got out kitten at 12 weeks and did a straight swap to Applaws kitten tuna tins and Applaws dry kitten food. He loves it and is the only think he'll eat. Costs me £55 a month!

[KittekatMP]

Wow, thanks all. (Although most disappointed my beautiful kitten pic has had no compliments )

I have just swapped our adult cat over to iams a few weeks ago as it was recommended by the cattery lady (who is an ex breeder) so I am surprised it has so many negative reviews. Our older cat M is loving it and has been fine on it. That said the more I can avoid the stinky poos and farts in kitten P the better!!

I will look into Applaws seeing as you all seem to love it (£55 a month though - eek!!!).

I would like a complete wet and complete dry food though ideally so I won't have to worry about quantities.

Thanks again.

[HelloJackieYouLookNice]

I order cat food and litter from Zooplus, the price of Applaws is comparable to Iams from P@H and Tesco, only £1-2 more a bag. I buy the large Applaws tins as that works out a bit cheaper. Blink is complete and £25 for a months supply if you buy it on subscription directly from Blink. I probably spend about £60 a month for 2 cats altogether. I could spend less but one cat is fussy and they both seem so much better on the Applaws.

[HelloJackieYouLookNice]

And your kitten is very cute

[GingerKittenHuman]

Your kitten is gorgeous. I’ve spent an absolute fortune feeding my two. It’s worked out way more expensive than I expected. But they are in very good health and their costs are really glossy now. I think it’s worth getting decent food.

I did find a pet forum where someone had compared the £/kg and the nutrition content of different cat foods but I can’t find the link. I’ll have another look to see if I can find it.

[KittekatMP]

Thanks again. (And for the kitty complements )

I am quite happy not to feed them crappy Whiskas/go cat etc with their 4% meat content but to be honest £55 per month is a bit much.

In the longer term I would like him on dry food as it will be a lot easier.

[madeofstarlight]

He is absolutely beautiful, can't believe I didn't say it before! It is expensive to feed them a high quality diet so I usually have a mix of cheap and higher end on the go to make the better stuff last longer. I know they say find a food that suits and stick with it but my girl has been fine.

[Suzie1997]

Okay so I need help
My cats called cheeka he isn't a fussy eater basically will eat everything and anything you give him..

But the down fall is he doesn't drink water but I leave a bowl of fresh water every day he also eats 1/3 felix pouches a day and has a bowl of biscuits

What should I do