Can Adult Cats Eat Kitten Food? (All You Need To Know About Nutrition)

When choosing cat food, the age of your feline matters the most. Should you buy adult cat food or the kitty version? In that case, here’s a very commonly asked question. Can adult cats eat kitten food?

Optimum nutrition at every stage of life is crucial if you want your pet cat to live a long and healthy life. So let’s get to the bottom of this!

Can Adult Cats Eat Kitten Food?

The thing about kitten food is that its calorie content is on the higher side. The same applies to the level of fat and protein in the food. So the answer to the question, can adult cats eat kitten food, is YES. There’s absolutely no danger when it comes to feeding kitten food to an adult cat.

What might also help is knowing that grown-up female cats, during pregnancy and even nursing, are often given high-fat, high-calorie food. The only drawback to this is the possibility of obesity due to consuming fats and calories in a larger amount.

The majority of spayed adult domestic cats require around 50-70 calories per kg of their body weight each day. But this is not set in stone. Meaning it can be more or less depending on the activity level of your cat.

More often than not, the daily caloric requirement is more if your little creature has a large body type or high activity levels. Even cats that aren’t neutered demand increased calories per day.

Here’s how you can determine how many calories your feline should consumer per day:

• Let’s say he/she weighs 10 pounds.
• So, 10 pounds divided by 2.2 is equal to 4.5
• Now 4.5 x 50 gives you 225 calories

OR

• 4.5 x 70 gives you 315 calories.

The average weight of an adult cat should be 11 pounds. That’s the ideal weight even when the cat is 10 pounds. So keep the daily calorie consumption between 250 and 350 calories. But please reduce the number of calories if your little pet is not so large.

Important Nutrients an Adult Cat Needs

The chances are likely that your feline isn’t consuming the required amount of protein per day. Adult cats demand protein 2 to 3 times more than the adult version of omnivorous species. One quite unknown fact about cats is that they’ve evolved into consuming protein as the main energy source. Just like all animal eaters!

On the other hand, omnivores like humans use protein along with fats and carbohydrates. Cat food varies in its protein content. It starts from 30 percent and goes all the way up to 50 percent. So if you choose cat food with high protein, you’re making sure that he/she meets the daily requirements. It is a vital nutrient after all.

No wonder canned food is such a popular choice. Comparatively speaking, it’s packed with more protein and fewer carbohydrates. Unfortunately, cats cannot process carbs like grains all that well.

Iams Proactive Health Kitten Dry Cat Food

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But not every brand of cat food is the same when it comes to calories, fats, and protein. So you have to make it a point to read the label and nutritional information printed on the packaging. Most manufacturers mention their contact information or website to clear your doubts. This way you can compare one brand to another.

For calculating DMB, here’s an example that might help:

• Let’s say dry food fat is 5%, protein 10%, and moisture 78%.
• Now you subtract moisture from 100, which gives you 22% or 0.22.
• Then divide 10 by that number, 10/.22 is equal to 45.

So dry food contains 22 percent fat and 45 percent protein. You can use the same calculation for comparing other food brands and types.

Compare Dry Cat Food vs. Wet Cat Food|Pet Care

Proper Diet of an Adult Cat

A partially raw or completely raw diet is a healthy choice for a cat. It’s what comes the closest to what the cat would naturally eat. At the same time, a diet like this delivers the recommended amount of calories, fats, and protein.

Raw cat-specific food offers 40 percent to 60 percent protein. As for the fat content, it’s between 20 and 30 percent. For the sake of comparison, wild mouse contains 20 percent fat and 59 percent protein. It’s almost the same thing, isn’t it?

Keep a check on the weight though. If your pet’s weight doesn’t increase on a high protein and calorie diet like this, then consider paying a visit to your veterinarian. Maybe he/she might recommend simple diagnostic tests to rule out problems like IBS. A change in the diet of your cat goes a long way in promoting better health and nutrition.

The EndNote

Cats between the age of 7 and 14 years are like humans between the age of 40 and 70 years. But felines don’t have to deal with a mid-life crisis like us. Instead, they become finicky with food. So, at such times, you’ve got to make sure you feed them properly. Important nutrients going in on a daily basis with enough water is something that cannot be neglected.

The nutritional needs of an adult cat are obviously not the same as that of a kitten. And sometimes what happens is too little or too much of an ingredient starts to have an impact on their health. So you should try to keep a check on your cat’s weight when you know his/her activity levels are going to change. This eliminates the possibility of obesity.

IAMS Proactive Health Adult Indoor Weight & Hairball Control Dry Cat Food

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Keep your adult cat away from high-caloric kitten food if he/she is not a very large or active pet. Rather opt for food specifically created to meet his/her daily requirements and lifestyle.

When you keep a check on the number of calories your cat is consuming, you’re reducing the chances of the development of potential health conditions. Such as osteoarthritis, kidney disease, and even certain cancers.

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Sources:
1. https://www.hillspet.com/cat-care/nutrition-feeding/cat-food-for-every-lifestage
2. https://feline-nutrition.org/nutrition/feeding-kitten-food-to-an-adult-cat