Is it ok to give adult cat wet food to a 5 month old kitten?

[Ironfloor269]

Just wondering really. DCat loves wet food, especially fish in gravy but only a few brands of kitten food come in that variant. Recently? He tasted some Lidl adult cat wet food (duck and courgette) and loved it. Polished off the bowl which is unheard of.

I'm not a vet but I was told by our vet to keep our boys on kitten food until they were twelve months old because they need the nutrients and extra calories. They're actually back on the kitten food now on the advice of the vet again because they are nearly 20.

Possibly you could give your kitten the adult food he loves but only as a treat every now and then?

@SingingLily - thanks, fair point. I'll keep him on kitten food till he is 12 months. Only Tesco does the wet food in gravy for kittens so I'll continue to give him that.

They're picky little devils, Ironfloor, but we love them. Wait until DCat graduates to adult food. He'll run you ragged with his sudden new "faves".

You can switch to adult cat food some time after neutering as they need fewer calories then. Mine got switched around 9 months I think. There is much more variety of adult food compared to kitten food

When we had a kitten and an older cat, kitten would snuff her nose up at kitten food and try her best to get to old boys food. Vet said although she'd get a few extra calories with the kitten stuff if she was preferring to eat adult food then let her have it rather than her eat less kitten meat. To try and even it up I did stick with kitten biscuits for the biscuit bowl (biscuits are out for grazing all the time).

I was just going to ask the same thing. Our 4 month old boy eats his kitten wet food and then scoffs adult cat's dinner too. Adult cat (who has never been too fussed about wet food and just licks the gravy) strops off and dines on kitten biscuits. They're essentially eating each other's food more than their own.

I'm quite suspicious that the whole 12 months of kitten food thing is just a marketing ploy and good quality food is good quality food at any age. I've googled a bit and can't find any research recommending special kitten food until 12 months (except manufacturers' own ) Anyone got any real evidence?

Kitten food just has more calories usually, if the food you're giving is good quality then it doesn't have to be age specific. Just keep an eye on his weight to ensure he's growing well and not gaining too much weight. It's about time to get him neutered now if he isn't already, and they need fewer calories after that anyway.

I was told my kitten didn't like food in jelly so he has always had Whiskas kitten poultry in gravy. Today I bought a Wilko adult pouch of tuna in jelly for him to try as it was only 30p so no pounds wasted if he didn't like it. The greedy little bugger scoffed the lot so now I will buy Whiskas kitten in jelly which is cheaper in Wilko than Pets at Home to give him some variety.

Thank you, all. Yes, the amount of calories is probably the only difference between adult cat vs. Kitten food.

He's not neutered yet but will be soon so I will stick to kitten food till then.

@TroysMammy - it might be the tuna (rather than the jelly) that toir kitten liked about the Wilko cat food. My cat goes mental for anything fish based.

Ironfloor269 Haribo goes mental for anything. Rice Krispies, toast crusts, crisps, basically anything we eat he wants. I have to lock him in the living room during mealtimes as he's a nightmare. He will jump on the kitchen table after I've removed plates before he licks them and will lick the placemats instead. I use a water spray bottle but he seems to like getting wet!