My 5-month-old kitten dislikes wet food. Can she have adult wet food?

The answer is up to you and your cat. Some cats prefer dry only, some wet only, some enjoy both. Kitten food is still needed at six months of age and will be until he is a year old. Cats are carnivores, and canned, pate-type wet food is the closest to what they would get in the wild. Dry food has to have some carbohydrates in the form of grains or vegetable pulp in order to be made into dry nuggets. Cats have a very low carbohydrate requirement and some gain excess weight on dry food. Feed the best food you can afford. My personal favorites are Science Diet and Royal Canin. Both offer excellent quality, specifically formulated diets that are nutritionally complete for your pet's life stage and condition and both offer money-back guarantees if your pet doesn't like them. Just make sure when switching to a new food to introduce it gradually. Transition your pet onto a new food by offering the old food in one bowl and a mix of 1/4 new food and 3/4 old food in another bowl next to it. Do this for a week, then offer 1/2-1/2 new/old food in the second bowl for a week. Change to 3/4 new-1/4 old for a week and gradually stop putting old food in the first bowl. By the end of the month she should be transitioned to the new food with a minimum of digestive upset.

Yes, the adult food is a complete diet for all life stages. Usually kittens grow better with a kitten food as they do not have to eat as much to get the nutrients they need and the energy requirements. I usually feed kitten food until they are six months old then switch to adult food. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you get answers to your veterinary questions.

I think the schedule is reasonable and fine to stick with. Try to keep the majority of the kitten’s being the kitten food. That way most of the food intake will support their growth and development. If you have trouble finding food in the store, you might look online as you can often find it for reasonable prices. Ideally the kittens would eat all kitten food until they are about 11 to 12 months old. You could also feed a canned food that is meant for all life stages as this will support growth as well. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Nothing! :) We recommend that kittens eat mostly kitten food instead of adult food because they have different nutritional requirements for their continued growth (higher fat and different mineral ratios). Adult cats are done growing and don't need those types of things in their food.

Royal canin and hills both make wet kitten food in foil pouches and I have had good feedback on the palatability of both of these. Cats can be very fussy eaters and it is not always easy to 'insist' they eat what we try to give them and I would be most concerned that she is getting the right balance of nutrients for kittens to grow and develop and sufficient fluid intake

Great question! When Jinx is 12 months of age, you should transition her to an adult food. You can start her on wet food as well now, just make it a kitten formulated wet food. Give her very small amounts at first to make sure it doesn't upset her stomach.

It is completely fine to feed you cat only dry food if that is all she likes. If you want to give her canned food as an occasional treat any brand should be fine. Some cats just prefer dry over wet food and this should not cause any health issues. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.