Monday, May 24, 2010

What happens if you feed adult cat iams kitten food?

my friend is feeding her cat thats already fully grown ragdoll iams kitten food is this ok?

what bad things could be expected to happen such as illness or malnutrition
Answers:
Nothing bad can happen. Ragdolls actually tend to mature slowly, but are very big! Even if he looks full grown, he may be only 4-5 months old. Kitten food is meant for kittens to age 1 year. (Also nursing moms or any age, for better nutrition.)
Mainly the calories are too high %26 the cat will get fat. Is the cat over a year old or does she just look grown?
I'm not sure about illnesses but it will probably cause the cat to get fatter since kitten food contains more calories overall because kittens are growing.
not a problem...the formulas are very similar. There is more fat content in kitten food and slightly more protein...other than that they are basically the same
I had fed my grown cat iams kitten food, granted only for 2 weeks, as I bought the wrong bag by mistake. I never noticed any adverse changes in him or his behavior.
Just like human babies the kittens require more fat in their diet. All that will happen is the cat will get fatter!!
The main thing is that the cat is probably going to put on weight; both puppy and kitten food have substantially more calories than their adult counterparts.
I don't think anything will really happen it just probably is not getting everything that it needs that it would get in the adult cat food.I think maybe you should just talk to your friend.I feel that there is the adult cat food and the kitten food for diffrent reason,just like a newborn baby you don't give them milk you give them formula.
There is nothing wrong with that.
Kitten food has only slightly more calories and protein in the diet. The only real difference is in the fact that they are more digestible since kitten stomachs are more sensitive.
So the cat will not be malnourished at all.
Secondly some brands of catfood may be fed to both kitten or adults (but they recommend a particular amount to be fed to the different age groups to ensure the cats remain healthy) so it's really no cause for concern.
Finally, cats like ragolls and maine coons are slow maturing cats. They take about 3 - 4 years to reach their adult size. You did not mention how old the kitten was.
So that 'adult' cat you see could merely be a one year old cat (termed an 'older kitten' amongst fanciers) and it's perfectly alright for her to continue feeding her cat kitten food.
I had to take my cat off kitten food at 8 months of age. His vet said that's OK because he gained too much weight. Kitten food is very high in calories and protein. We put him on a light adult formula cat food and now he's at a healthy weight. They can developer serious health problems being overweight.
Why not just feed the cat the right food?
The difference between adult food and kitten food is CALORIES. Kittens need the extra energy to support their extremely fast growth. Adults don't need it and if fed kitten food, they will get fat. Rather quickly.
It will probably end up fat! Kitten food is extra high in calories, it's only supposed to be fed to growing animals.

Don't understimate how bad being overweight is for a cat or dog - it's as bad as being very skinny in that it puts too much strain on the heart. It also puts strain on the joints leading to arthritis, and makes cat prone to urinary tract infections, cancers and diabetes. Besides which a cat shouldn't BE fat, they're supposed to be lithe and supple and able to jump around!

An excess of vitamins can also have effects as bad as not having enough vitamins. Tell you friend all this to make her lose the kitten food - they should not be on it after 18 months of age. Anyway, isn't it more expensive than adult iams?!

Chalice
could start to damage the liver.
Not good. Too much fat for an adult, and not the right kind of nutrients.

1 comment:

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