5 Best Kitten Food 2019 Reviews

Possibly the most adorable creatures on earth, kittens find their way into many unsuspecting homes. Whether you’ve scoped your new fur baby out from a breeder online or found them in a roadside box, your kitten needs nutritious food. Just like any other baby animal, the food it has as a kitten can help set up a long and healthy life.

Things to Consider before Picking Food for Your Kitten

There are many options for finding a great “value” for kitten food. Some of it comes down to preference, and some of these sections may come down to your cat. Cats are picky creatures and these habits set in early!

You’ll want to consider the type of food you’ll give your fur baby, whether the nutrients matches the serving sizes, and then if it fits your kittens’ preferences.

Wet, Dry, Fresh, or Frozen?

Gone are the days of worrying about stopping for a 30-pound bag of Purina on your way home with the occasional treat of canned tuna. We know a lot more about cats and their eating habits now, which means that we can more closely match a wild cat’s diet.

Wet food

is the best choice for any kitten for these reasons:

• Keeps them well-hydrated
• Retains more nutrients than dry food
• Easy to keep fresh
• Portion control
• Primarily meat-based

Although there’s some flex in these benefits given the brand and whether it was canned, fresh or restored from frozen. The little-known facts about cats are that most of them don’t necessarily drink water as their primary source of hydration. Cats, kittens included intake most of their water from their solid food.

Fresh food

options for cats are becoming more common, and you can even use subscription services. But, kittens are more nutritionally demanding than adult cats, and they shouldn’t eat as much. So be careful about ordering fresh food kits for kittens.

Frozen food

isn’t a bad choice and can even be useful when you’re watching your kitten grow more quickly than you can replenish your last online order. The thing is with frozen food is ensuring that you rotate it in your freezer regularly. If anything sits in there for too long, you’ll need to throw it out. You’ll also have to take time out of your day to defrost it, and in some cases with picky cats, heat the food. Remember that using a microwave to heat food can zap out the nutrients your kitten needs to grow!

The dry food

although it’s the go-to option for most pet owners, dry food comes with some serious risks for kittens. Kittens may have a hard time with the kibble if you’re not using a “kitten-friendly” formula. They may also experience dehydration, lack-luster coats, and become lethargic all because they’re not able to digest everything that is in the kibble. Fun fact, this is why dog’s love eating anything that comes out of a cat, it’s nutrient dense.

Test Out the Serving Sizes

Before you purchase food for your kitten, you should check the serving sizes. Often a serving size for an adult cat is more than what they should be eating. These companies use serving sizes to appeal to the few pet owners who read labels, so they showoff impress protein counts and low sugars. But, if you see that the serving size is 2 cups of food, you should realize that it’s not reasonable to give that much to a small cat.

Serving sizes should be about a fourth of a cup maybe twice a day for a growing cat. At first, it might be hard to tell if your kitten is getting enough to eat because they won’t stop on their own. Kittens are notorious for overeating which can lead to serious medical problems.

Kitten Food Preferences – Cats are Weird

There’s something to be said for cats because while they will overeat themselves stomach splitting medical emergency situations, they’ll also turn up their nose at top-dollar food. So how do you accommodate picky cats?

Nearly every cat has some finicky association with food. Most don’t like kibble, which is reasonable because it’s dry, dehydrates them and is hard on their digestive tract. Other cats don’t like particular flavors, and recently this could be a sign that there is some malicious chemical presence in the food. Picky Eaters

Finally, don’t force a new food on your kitten straight away. The best way to help your kitten try new things is to slowly introduce the new food with the food they already like, it’s tricky, but it works.

List of the 5 best kitten food in 2019

Cat Food	Feature	Price	Our Rated
1. Hill’s Science Diet Wet Kitten Food	Canned – Wet Food	$$		Buy from Chewy
2. Country Pet Naturals Pasteurized	Frozen	$$$		Check on Amazon
3. Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free	Canned – Wet Food	$$		Buy from Chewy
4. Iams Proactive Health	Dry Food	$$		Buy from Chewy
5. IAMS Perfect Portions Healthy Kitten	Tray – Wet Food	$$		Buy from Chewy

Top 5 Cat Food for Kittens

Here you’ll find the best food options for your kitten. We’ve made sure to include a wet, dry and even some other options, so you really can have your pick of the litter.

1. Hill’s Science Diet Wet Kitten Food

• First 3 ingredients protein base
• No “meal” or “byproduct.

[img_products3 img_number=”52774″ alt=”Hill’s Science Diet Wet Kitten Food” img_code=”V1469806883″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/hills-science-diet-kitten-tender/dp/37916″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]

Science Diet is the go-to food choice if you’re bringing your kitten home from a shelter. Most shelters use a dry science diet option, but this wet food will meet your kitten’s nutritional needs while setting easy on their stomachs.

This brand is also one of the few in the past couple of years that hasn’t be scrutinized for using harsh or even malicious chemicals in their formulas. Science Diet can help your kitten grow and thrive. It’s packaged well too as their 2.8-ounce cans break into 2 meal times for your kitten per day.

Without a doubt, the best thing about the Science Diet Kitten Formula is that they don’t use any artificial flavors, preservatives or coloring. The best way to be sure that your cat is healthy is to stick with a natural diet. Although there are better options if you’re looking for minimally processed or organic cat food’s this is a great choice for most kittens.

The downside is that this kitten food smells. Unfortunately, the smell can make some kittens refuse to eat it, which is an early sign of a lifelong picky eater. It’s most likely that a cat will refuse this food if they’re weaning and the mother is still around.

Overall, Science Diet is a great and very affordable kitten food option. You shouldn’t feel pressured to buy this choice just based on the Science Diet name. The nutrition is spot on for cats, and the cans are perfect to split between 2 serving portions.

But, if you are dealing with a picky cat, you might want to take the time to introduce the food very slowly. If you rush a food change, you may see diarrhea or vomiting because of the shock to their digestive system. Especially with weaning kittens who are used to gentle milk.

2. Country Pet Naturals Pasteurized Frozen Cat Food

[img_products img_code=”81Xw2va4h5L” alt=”Country Pet Naturals Pasteurized Frozen Cat Food” code=”B00R6NSSBW” reviews=”View on Amazon”]

• Manufactured in New Zealand
• 36% dry matter protein

Made in New Zealand and only from natural ingredients, this premium cat food should last you through your first 8 months with your new fur baby. Kittens can get all the nutrition they need from this frozen cat good because of its intense focus on valuable proteins.

The great thing about this product is that it stands as a good investment for your kitten. It’s likely that by the time that this order runs out you’ll be free of the kitten-focused food and be able to transition your kitten into adult cat food.

The downside here is that this is only available in such a large order and if you have a picky cat you might get stuck with a lot of food that they won’t eat. But, if you have an exceptionally young kitten that seems to eat anything, you might not face this problem.

Overall, this is a great frozen food investment. For any pet owner to commit to premium food, frozen is a great option. Unlike dry premium food which goes stale or fresh premium food which can only be purchased in small batches, this frozen option offers sustainability. The long life it could have in your freezer, along with its outstanding nutritional value make it a great option for any kitten parent.

3. Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free Wet Kitten Food

[img_products3 img_number=”75600″ alt=”Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free Wet Kitten Food” img_code=”V1481898698″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-freedom-indoor-kitten/dp/103484″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]

• Kitten Recipe
• Grain free

Blue Buffalo has taken on a lot of negative attention in the media, but they’ve turned it around and are only using top-quality ingredients now. They use high-quality chicken, add DHA into their kitten formula, and don’t use any grains. The outstanding quality that comes with the Blue Buffalo Freedom wet kitten food is nearly unmatched, and the price is affordable for nearly any pet owner.

We like that Blue Buffalo turned around their recipes to support their mission of high-quality, high-protein and well-balanced diet for animals. The information that comes with this order on the label is valuable to new kitten owners especially.

They acknowledge proper serving sizes and encourage adjusting servings and the number of feedings according to the kitten’s weight.

We don’t like that Blue Freedom has a lot of additives. Although you initially see chicken and chicken liver as the top 2 ingredients, you’ll find some chemical agents that are impossible to pronounce. Some of these additives are vitamin additions which are excellent, but others are preservatives and could be hard on a cat’s digestive tract.

You almost can’t go wrong with Blue Buffalo, and the Freedom line is a great way to ensure that there aren’t any grains in the ingredients list. But, if you’re worried about how you can take the product so far as digestion goes you might want to consider introducing this new food very slowly. They may take some time to adjust to a diet with so many additives.

4. Iams Proactive Health – Kitten Dry Cat Food

[img_products3 img_number=”75600″ alt=”Iams Proactive Health – Kitten Dry Cat Food” img_code=”V1481898698″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/iams-proactive-health-kitten-dry-cat/dp/121263″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]

• Dry food
• Chicken top ingredient

Although 16-pound bags of cat food might seem like small, the portions your new kitten would go stale if you kept a much larger bag of dry food around. The small kibble is great for kittens as they can easily crunch into them. Finally, the addition of DHA through Omega-3 fatty acids make a great bonus for developing kitten bodies.

The best part here is that IAMS has included everything for kittens to develop well. IAMS also has a long-standing reputation for using top ingredients and avoiding unnecessary chemicals. They’ve produced a great option for kittens here.

The only thing to dislike about this kitten food is that its dry food. This can leave kittens dehydrated and affect how they develop. There’s a lot of opportunity for issues with early development

This IAMS product is great for any kitten if the owner prefers dry food. If you’re looking for more methods to keep your cat hydrated, you can always add broth or water to their dry food and let it soak for about 5 minutes before you serve. Although dry food isn’t always as nutritious as the other options, the small kibble and easy to digest protein base, make this dry kitten food a top choice.

5. IAMS Perfect Portions Healthy Kitten

[img_products3 img_number=”131321″ alt=”IAMS Perfect Portions Healthy Kitten” img_code=”V1499292998″ product_name=”https://www.chewy.com/iams-perfect-portions-healthy-kitten/dp/158376″ check=”Buy from Chewy”]

• Pre-portioned
• Pate style

The label says it all, a perfect portion for your growing kitten from IAMS, a top brand that is both health conscious and affordable. That’s a lot for any brand to hold up to but IAMS does it well, they have a strong ingredients list. The top 3 ingredients are chicken, chicken broth, and chicken liver. This recipe packs a big punch when it comes to protein.

The tubs and pate-style make it easy for anyone new to cat ownership to keep their cat’s eating area clean. Although cats might be seen lazing about rotating between tongue bathing and sunbathing, they eat like pigs. These little tubs help contain the mess and are easy to clean up when they’re done.

There are 2 things that disappoint with this kitten food, and they are the feeding guidelines and the additives. Unlike the other options available on this list, this recipe has a variety of unnatural coloring and preservative additives. There’s not much doubt when it comes to your pet’s health. Natural is always better.

The food guidelines issue is more about serving sizes and how it relates to the nutrition label on the box. Because the ingredients list does focus on protein, you don’t have to worry about this kitten food lacking when it comes to nutrition But, the issue is that these perfectly portioned meals aren’t perfectly portions. The feeding guidelines suggest serving between 3 2/3 to 6 servings daily! In other words, the information on the label can’t proportionally match what you’re giving your kitten.

If you are a first-time pet owner, it won’t hurt to try these. But, be very careful with portion control. Remember that kittens won’t stop eating because they’re full and you don’t want to over or under feed them. The trick is to start them with a hearty serving and watch their bellies. You don’t want to see any bloating! Fortunately, this grain-free recipe should help with any overeating as they can eat more without having fillers such as rice or wheat.

Final Thought

Affordable, conveniently packaged, perfect portions and extra nutrients and vitamins for support to your kitten’s development are all part of the Hill’s Science Diet Kitten formula.

This balanced diet can grow with them until they’re about 1 year old and doesn’t have any artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Best of all, the wet food will help keep them hydrated, and the protein-focused recipe will keep your kitten active!