Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
- Growing kittens require a minimum of 30% protein and 9% fat in their diets to fuel healthy growth and development.
- It is also recommended that you choose an all-natural product made with plenty of meat and limited carbohydrates.
- Loaded with more than 80% real animal ingredients, Nature’s Variety Instinct Original Kitten Grain-Free Recipe delivers a protein-packed dose of healthy nutrition and natural flavor to support your kitten’s growth and development.
When kittens are born, they weigh no more than a few ounces. Over the next 10 weeks, you can expect your kitten to gain about two pounds and to start eating solid food. He’ll continue to grow quickly over the next four months or so, at which point his growth will slow down until he reaches his adult size around 11 to 12 months of age.
Kittens start sampling solid food around four weeks of age, but most don’t transition completely onto a commercial diet until about six weeks. From the moment your kitten starts eating solid food, it is important to provide him with a healthy, high-quality diet that provides for his nutritional needs. He’ll need plenty of protein to fuel his growth and development with omega fatty acids for heart health, immunity, and healthy skin and coat.
Shopping for kitten food can be overwhelming due to the sheer number of options available. Fortunately for you, we’ve taken the time to learn the details about kitten nutrition, and we’ve scoured the reviews to bring you our top picks for the best kitten food.
Here is the best kitten food you can buy in 2019:
- Best kitten food overall: Nature’s Variety Instinct Original Kitten Grain-Free Recipe
- Best affordable kitten food: Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Healthy Kitten Recipe
- Best wet kitten food: Wellness Complete Health Kitten Formula Grain-Free Canned Food
- Best dry kitten food: Blue Buffalo Healthy Growth Kitten Recipe Dry Food
- Best grain-free kitten food: Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free Kitten Indoor Recipe
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
The best kitten food overall
Amazon
Why you’ll love it: Made with 80% animal ingredients, Nature’s Variety Instinct is a protein-packed kitten food that is highly digestible and loaded with nutrition.
Starting your kitten off with a healthy diet is the best thing you can do to support his long-term health and wellness. Your kitten’s diet should be built around premium animal proteins like poultry, meat, and fish with essential fatty acids for energy and coat support. Our top pick for the best kitten food overall is Nature’s Variety Instinct Original Kitten Grain-Free Recipe because it is made with wholesome, natural ingredients in a recipe formulated to meet your growing kitten’s nutritional needs.
This food is loaded with more than 43% protein to help your kitten develop strong, healthy muscles. Most of that protein comes from four premium sources, including fresh chicken, turkey meal, salmon meal, and menhaden fish meal. This recipe also contains digestible grain-free carbohydrates and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables to ensure balanced nutrition. It also contains supplemental fiber and probiotics to support healthy and regular digestion as well as optimal nutrient absorption.
The Idle Cat recommends this kitten food and highlights the fact that 81% of the ingredients come from animal products and comment that it is "tailor-made for the needs of a growing kitten." Feline Living also gives this food a favorable review, commenting on the lack of artificial additives and the inclusion of antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies.
Nature’s Variety Instinct Original Kitten Grain-Free Recipe carries a solid 4.3-star rating on Amazon. While this product has a relatively low number of reviews on both Amazon and Chewy, they are overwhelmingly positive. We love the fact that this recipe contains nothing other than high-quality ingredients that contribute toward your kitten’s healthy growth and development.
Pros: Premium all-natural ingredients, several sources of animal protein, 81% animal ingredients, fresh fruits and vegetables, over 40% protein and 20% fat
Cons: Fairly expensive compared to other brands, contains more than one source of protein (some kittens develop allergies to common proteins)
Buy Nature’s Variety Instinct Original Kitten Grain-Free Recipe on Amazon for $19.99
The best affordable food for kittens
Amazon
Why you’ll love it: An affordable choice that offers high-quality nutrition, this Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Healthy Kitten Recipe comes in both dry and wet food form.
Top-of-the-line kitten food can be expensive, but it is well worth the cost when it comes to the benefits for your kitten’s health. If premium kitten food is out of your price range, choose the highest quality product you can consistently afford. Though the quality of your kitten’s diet is important, it is also important to avoid frequent changes to his diet.
If you’re looking for an affordable kitten food that offers quality nutrition, we recommend Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Healthy Kitten Recipe.
Available in both dry food and wet food form, this food is uniquely formulated for both indoor and outdoor kittens. It features both chicken meal and turkey meal as concentrated sources of protein with grain-free carbohydrates like potatoes and peas. Chicken fat provides a nutrient-rich source of energy while dried fermentation products offer probiotic support. Plus, the brand is created by Merrick Pet Care, one of the most trusted pet food brands in the industry.
Breedsy features the wet food version of this food in its top 11 picks for the best kitten food, noting its high protein content and low carbohydrate content. Kitty Catter reviews the Whole Earth Farms brand as a whole, giving it a 4.5-star rating for its high-quality and the fact that it is made in the US and has a very short list of product recalls (specific to Merrick Pet Care, not Whole Earth Farms products).
This Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Healthy Kitten Recipe is surprisingly affordable for a grain-free recipe and carries a 4.5-star rating on Amazon with more than 100 reviews. Cat owners love the price and quality, though there are comments about some kittens refusing the food.
Pros: Affordable price (especially for grain-free), concentrated source of animal protein as first ingredient, nutrient-rich chicken fat, plenty of omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics
Cons: Contains some plant protein (peas and pea protein), some kittens don’t like it
Buy Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Healthy Kitten Recipe on Amazon for $24.99
The best wet food for kittens
Amazon
Why you’ll love it: Rich in protein and moisture to improve palatability, the Wellness Complete Health Kitten Formula Grain-Free Canned Food offers complete and balanced nutrition for kittens with wholesome, natural ingredients.
A kitten’s baby teeth start to grow in around three-weeks-old and their permanent teeth grow in around three to four months. As your kitten transitions from his mother’s milk to solid food, he may find wet food more palatable and easier to chew.
Many cat owners choose to continue feeding their kittens wet food because it tends to be higher in both moisture and protein content than commercial dry food. Our top pick for the best wet food for kittens is Wellness Complete Health Kitten Formula Grain-Free Canned Food.
This food comes in a smooth, palatable loaf loaded with fresh chicken and chicken liver. As a grain-free recipe, it features fresh carrots, cranberries, and flaxseed as the only carbohydrate ingredients, all of which supply essential nutrients. This formula is rich in omega fatty acids for healthy skin and coat with chelated minerals nutritional balance. These are mineral supplements that have been chemically bound to protein molecules to increase absorption.
The Idle Cat says this food is easy for kittens to eat and highly appealing flavor-wise. The reviewer also notes that it contains taurine, a nutrient essential for heart and eye development. The Spruce recommends this food because of its high-quality, natural ingredients.
With more than 300 reviews on Amazon, this Wellness Complete Health Kitten Formula Grain-Free Canned Food has a 4.1-star rating and carries an Amazon’s Choice award.
Pros: Real chicken as first ingredient, grain-free for digestibility, rich in moisture and natural flavor, plenty of omega fatty acids, chelated minerals for increased absorption
Cons: Contains some thickeners (some kittens may be sensitive), some kittens don’t seem to like it
Buy Wellness Complete Health Kitten Formula Grain-Free Food on Amazon for $29.52
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Kate Barrington)