Holistic Select Staff Vet - Dr. Al
This month, Dr. Al answers your questions about when to switch a kitten to adult food and rotating favors of canned cat food.
Q: I have a five month old kitten who has been exclusively on Holistic Select kitten dry food since we got him. When should we switch him to adult food?
A: It is generally recommended that you feed a diet designed for growth until the majority of growth has occurred. Most agree that one year of age is a appropriate time to switch to an adult diet. However, a convenient benefit of the Holistic Select® Radiant Adult & Kitten Health Chicken Meal Recipe that you have been feeding to your kitten is that it is specifically formulated to meet the nutritional requirements for all life-stages, so you need not make a switch when your kitten becomes an adult cat.
I would also suggest that you consider adding a canned recipe to your feeding regimen, such as Holistic Select® Chicken & Lamb Recipe Canned Cat Food. The most common medical problems requiring pet parents take their cats to the veterinarian are urinary issues. Water consumption is essential to helping prevent the issues. An exclusive dry diet can significantly reduce the total daily water intake and encourage urinary issues. Adding, or feeding exclusively canned cat food will increase water consumption considerably and help prevent the most common urinary issues for cats.
Q: Must cats always eat the same canned food or is it okay to occasionally rotate the flavor given? If alternating, how do you transition wet food, or can you just switch over to a new one with no transition as long as you keep the dry food the same?
A: Many pet parents rotate the flavors of canned food and their cats love the variety. In my experience, if you rotate canned the flavors within the same brand, the risk of problems is minimal.
Keep in mind that there are cats that have food allergies and/or intolerances. They are not common, but they do occur. That would not be a problem with rotating recipes, but rather a particular sensitivity your cat has with one or more ingredients in a diet. If you find your cat does well on fish based diets, you could try rotating between Holistic Select® Ocean Fish & Tuna Recipe and Holistic Select® Salmon & Shrimp Recipe to keep protein sources similar in your cats diet while maintaining enough variety for her to enjoy.
