What do you think of this kitten food?

[Davespecifico]

We’re getting a kitten at 14 weeks. Owner feeds it Pets at home wet food pouches and Iams dry kitten food. Does this sound ok? My friend feeds her kitten some very expensive raw meat recommended by the breeder. Is this the best thing to do?

It really depends! Is the kitten a pedigree? The breeder I got my Norwegian forest cat from recommended a raw food diet. I spent a small fortune on butcher's morsels and frozen raw food from a specialist company and she couldn't have been less interested. But I found if I gave her mid-priced 'quality' brand wet food it gave her diarrhoea. Eventually found that she could tolerate a wet food that didn't have wheat/grain fillers in it so even though she's a bloomin massive cat, she'll nibble at Gourmet Mon Petite and shredded chicken pouches like Applepaws and Almo Nature (which I buy in bulk from Amazon). But she mostly eats a good quality dry food that's got a good protein content, like James Wellbeloved ( you can get grain free or rice-based). She also loves Belvita yeast flakes which have loads of vitamins. think pedigrees are prone to more health problems so it's worth watching their diets. Or perhaps are generally more fussy. On the other hand I've got a moggy who wolfs down Sheba wet food and generally turns his nose up at everything else. I think Sheba is fairly good quality but the pedigree won't entertain it. If the kitten likes raw then it's fairly cheap to maintain the odd raw meal but I think a decent quality wet food is fine. It's probably worth forking out a bit more for a quality dry food. I also worried about the bacteria that raw food carries, not for the cat obvs but if it's eating raw chicken then grooming itself and you're touching it... ugh.
At the end of the day your cat will soon let you know what it likes!

Thanks Ellen. That’s all really useful. Our kitten is a British Shorthair pedigree. Friend’s kitten with the push food is a Pedigree Bengal.

Posh not push

Make sure any food is grain free as cats can't digest them and it's just a cheap filler for many foods that can cause health problems. Also buy the highest meat content you can afford, cats are obligate carnivores they need meat to survive. Some brands contain as little as 4% meat! Also wet food is important, dry can be given as well but never dry only as cat's don't drink enough water naturally and the low level permanent dehydration leads to kidney and urine problems, especially in males. Hope that helps x

Shorthairs are beautiful...
@CatchingBabies got to the point better than I, raw or not your best bet is def the highest meat content you can afford!
Enjoy your new puss.

Have a look at Nature's Menu food, they have both raw and cooked options of grain free, high protein food. And it's complete food, unlike most of the good brands that are only complementary.