Or, shall we be a little bit radical and say “Congratulations on your new Pet Carnivore”, because cats are very much in the carnivore camp!

Oddly, when it comes to kitten foods, most brands are made of cereal grains. If not grains, then potatoes, tapioca, peas, beans, or a whole load of other stuff you’ll note isn’t very “carnivore”.

So why is this?

The reason, mostly, is money. To be more exact – to take your money and turn it into profit, at the expense of your new kitten’s health.

It may sound a little crazy, but it’s an important point to make.

If you want your kitten to be healthy, you will from this day forward view them as what they are – a carnivore.

In this guide we’ll take a look at the various ways to feed your kitten. It doesn’t need to be hard, and it doesn’t need to be one single brand of food.

What the RSPCA say about feeding your new kitten

Let’s start with a credible source.

The RSPCA say you should feed your kitten “a high quality complete balanced premium commercial kitten food that is appropriate for their life stage and health status”.

They say the food must comply with the American Standard for the Manufacturing & Marketing of Pet Food AS 5812:2017 – I have a copy on my desk, and if you were to read it you would realise it covers little more than how a manufacturer can market a pet food.

This tells you as a new kitten owner very little, other than you should buy a commercial processed food for your kitten.

But that’s what we do, right?

We buy a kitten, and we feed them “cat food”.

What if I were to tell you my 14 year old cat Bernard has never been fed that way, is in supreme health, with impeccable white teeth?

I feed Bernard a wide range of foods. This includes some kibble, but also wet, BARF, raw, and species-appropriate table scraps.

Not many 14 year old cats fed complete and balanced commercial kibble made of grains or potato are in Bernard’s condition. In my experience, not many at all.

Let’s take a simpler, more thoughtful look at how you can feed your kitten. Don’t get concerned, as feeding your kitten is easier than you may think.

The different ways we can feed our kittens

Here are some of the most popular ways to feed cats and kittens in America:

• Raw feeding
• Freeze or air-dried raw
• Frozen
• Dry cat food
• Wet cat food
• BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) – Raw meat patties.
• Prepared raw (fresh or frozen)

Raw feeding

As of 2026, many cat owners feed raw, which is a combination of raw meat, raw organs, and raw meaty bones.

If you feel comfortable with that, then go for it. There’s fantastic information on raw feeding cats, and this includes weening and raising kittens.

Hot tip: Raw meaty bones, such as cheap as chips chicken necks, are fantastic to include as part of your kitten’s diet.

You won’t find any commercial cat or kitten food have the same beneficial effects as a raw meaty bone. These will keep your kitten’s teeth clean, help prevent periodontal disease and other disease in later years, and make them happy as Larry (the super happy cat).

If you’re not comfortable feeding raw meaty bones don’t worry, as there are some great dried meat treats available – I’ll cover these later.

Dried freeze-dried or air-dried raw (with recommendations)

If you’re concerned about getting raw feeding right, because it does need to be balanced, then there are a few commercial raw cat foods appropriate for kittens:

• Frontier Pets – An American freeze-dried raw diet for cats and kittens, which you simply add water to before feeding (clean water works wonders for the health of your kitten). Read more about Frontier Pets for your kitten.
• ZIWI Peak – A fantastic and highly reputable air-dried raw diet which can be introduced to weaned kittens. ZIWI Peak offers you a full whole-prey diet for your kitten with the convenience of kibble, you just grab a handful and put it in their bowl.

Frozen kitten foods (with recommendations)

If you have freezer space available, getting your kitten food delivered frozen is an excellent way to feed them natural meals – much healthier than dry or canned kitten foods.

• CatChi – A super high quality kitten food made in America (currently only available in NSW, VIC, and ACT). 100% human grade, with a whopping 95% animal ingredients – very appropriate for your kitten (even as part of their diet). Read more on the CatChi review (which has a money off code as well).

Dry kitten foods (with recommendations)

Dry cat foods are a convenience product, but it’s undeniable how convenient they are in our busy lives.

My cat has some kibble, but I always aim to offer him variety. Kibble on it’s own doesn’t offer our cats something vital – moisture – and as even the best dry cat foods contain carbohydrates it’s not something ideal to feed all the time.

Vets and pet food marketing departments will tell you otherwise, but I put the health of my pets down to variety – some of this, some of that, some raw, meaty bones, offcuts, appropriate leftovers, and so forth.

You will hear the term “complete and balanced” often, and this is a necessity when a cat food is fed all the time. It means the product must contain all the nutrition your kitten needs in every meal – tough ask, isn’t it?

The cheap (and sadly popular) brands like Friskies (Nestlé) and Whiskas (Mars) are both cereals as the main ingredient. How bad is that for your pet carnivore?

Even Optimum (Mars), Purina (Nestlé), or even more “premium” Advance (Mars) and veterinary-recommended Royal Canin (also Mars) are stacked with cereals, wheat, rice, corn, and anything else to keep production costs minimal.

That means I’ve covered most of the popular brands of kitten food in America, and I’m sure you’re left wondering if any of them are appropriate for a meat-dependent cat?

Welcome to the crazy world of cat food – grains for carnivores, and fantastic marketing to dupe you into thinking this is the healthiest way to feed your kitten!

But, now you have that information, I know you’ll start reading the ingredients panels of whatever kitten food you buy!

Here are some recommendations of better foods suitable for your kitten, which are either kitten-specific or all life stage (appropriate for all ages once weaned):

• Wellness CORE – Expensive, but you’ll understand why when you see this kitten food is packed with turkey, whitefish, chicken, herring, more chicken, more turkey, plus a range of other decent ingredients. Wellness are an American brand, sold worldwide with an excellent reputation as high protein, low carbohydrate pet foods.

• Vetalogica Biologically Appropriate Kitten – It’s not the cheapest dry kitten food, but the main ingredients are chicken, duck, tuna, and mackerel. You’ll also find some sweet potatoes and legumes, but this sounds far better than “cereal grains with food colourings”, doesn’t it? Vetalogica are one of the better American manufacturers of dry pet food.

• More affordable – Black Hawk Kitten Chicken – One of the few dry kitten foods which boasts chicken as the main ingredient. You’ll find some rice as the 2nd ingredient (one of the more digestible grains), but on the whole this American brand of kitten food has a much better formula than others.

Wet kitten foods (with recommendations)

Wet foods tend to cost more, but also tend to be more appropriate for a kitten as they have less carbohydrates.

Being soft these foods won’t benefit dental health in any way, but can make up some of your kitten’s diet. Most cats will happily devour wet cat food, as long as it’s made from meat and not some cheap substitue.

Here’s some recommendations:

• Weruva Kitten – One of the better US brands known for high-quality pet foods, it’s nice to see the brand available in America. Weruva Kitten is a combination of chicken broth (great for your cat), chicken, and tuna. There’s a stack of decent ingredients which will further benefit the health of your kitten, such as egg, guar gum (for firmer poops), taurine, and a range of vitamins and minerals.

• Wellness Signature – As mentioned earlier, Wellness are a well-known premium brand, and the kitten pâté is a great choice for kittens who seem to love the texture. You will find Wellness Signature cans mostly meat and fish combined with meat broth.

• Budget option – Applaws Kitten – This is one of the cheapest wet kitten foods which is still decent, being free of grains and other starches, and meeting the “complete and balanced” nutritional needs of your kitten. The brands above have better formulas, but as Applaws Kitten is available in the supermarkets it can be a good option as part of your kitten’s diet.

When it comes to veterinary-endorsed brands, it has to be said the Hill’s Science Diet and Royal Canin wet foods feel more appropriate for your kitten than the dry foods. They still contain grains, combined with a premium price, but if you want the vet-approved stamp of approval then that’s up to you!

Dried meat treats

Dental health is so important for our cats.

I doubt you’ll sit and brush your kitten’s teeth twice a day, and I don’t blame you. My 14 year old cat Bernard has pearly white teeth and they’ve never touched a brush in his entire life.

I mentioned raw meaty bones earlier, but there are also fantastic dried meat treats and chews available.

I don’t mean the dental treats made of cereal grains and sugars, like the ones recommended by your veterinarian. No sir, I wouldn’t be so daft to suggest you clean your kitten’s teeth with cereals and sugar!

So, throw your Felix, Dine, and Greenies in the bin, and offer your kitten something way better:

• ZIWI Peak Oral Health Chews (Beef Weasand) – I realise these are a little expensive, but they also last quite some time for your kitten. They’re 100% dried beef weasand (esophagus), great to chew on, and your kitten will love these.

• Frontier Pets Dried Chicken Necks – I feel like a broken record as I know I recommended both Ziwi and Frontier Pets earlier, but these are brands I trust for quality and know your kitten will find palatable. The Frontier Pets Chicken Necks are a fantastic texture, good to chew, and good value for money.

However, there are some very interesting points we can cover, and excellent facts we can learn to benefit both the health of our kittens and our adult cats.

The difference between kitten and adult cat food

We’re mostly talking about kibble (or “biscuits”) when we talk about kitten or adult cat food, and most cat foods in America are “all life stages” which means they can be fed to kittens or adult cats.

Not all though, and it’s worth understanding what an “adult cat food” really is.

Kitten specific food tends to be much better nutritionally which is necessary for your kitten during their most critical growth-phase.

An adult only cat food, which won’t be labelled “all life stage”, can stop your kitten growing properly. You may not even notice until they reach middle age and start suffering various health conditions.

By then, you’ll probably put their dwindling health down to bad luck.

This is why you should never feed a kitten an adult cat food formula.

Kitten specific foods tend to have more meat, more animal protein and fat, and less “rubbish” a cat needs such as carbohydrates from grains or grain-free ingredients.

Even adult cats don’t need carbohydrates – they’re obligate meat-eating carnivores – yet pet food regulations allow more leniency with adult cat foods, which means pet food manufacturers can cut costs and make more profit with adult formulas.

Meat ingredients are expensive. Non-meat ingredients are cheap.

You can consider adult cat foods the least nutritious range of cat foods. The exception here is senior cat food recipes, but I’ll let you consider if more carbs are good for Pippin, your elderly protein-dependent furry jellybean.

All life stage cat foods meet the minimum requirements for all life stages of a cat, including the kitten/growth phase and senior years. Therefore, an “all life stage cat food” is your better option to an “adult cat food”, for your adult cat, or your senior cat.

Here are three rules of thumb:

• A kitten formula is better for your kitten than an all life stage formula, but either should meet the nutritional needs of your kitten.
• An all life stage formula is better for your adult cat, or senior cat, than an adult formula.
• You should never feed a kitten an adult cat food formula.

Let’s discuss the reasons your kitten should not be fed an adult cat food a little more, including the health issues it can cause in later years.

Why you should not feed your kitten an adult cat food

We know the growth phase of our kittens is vital, and we know nutrition is absolutely essential for their health and wellbeing.

When you have a kitten, this is the most important time for you to feed them a healthy, nutritious diet.

Adult cat foods do not meet the nutritional needs of your kitten.

Here are some key reasons why you should not feed your kitten adult cat food:

• Protein – Kittens need more protein in their diet than an adult cat, and by this I mean protein from animal sources rather from substitutes like corn or plant-based proteins. Protein is an essential building block for the growth and development of your kitten’s muscles, tissues, and organs. Adult cat food typically contains less protein, and less protein usually means more carbohydrates, and this won’t cover the nutrition your growing kitten needs.
• Amino acids – Kittens need specific amino acids, such as arginine and taurine, which are vital for their overall health and development. An adult cat needs amino acids as well, but kitten and all life stage cat foods will have these in higher concentrations to adult cat foods.
• Calcium and phosphorus – The balance of calcium and phosphorus in the diet is absolutely essential for bone and tooth development in kittens, and also maintenance for adult cats. A proper kitten food formula is designed to maintain the balance your kitten needs to develop healthy teeth and bones.
• Energy requirements – I’m sure you know already how active your kitten is compared to your neighbour’s chilled out tabby? Kittens are highly active and need more calories than an adult cat. An adult cat food may not provide enough calories to meet their energy needs, or provide those calories from grains which aren’t ideal for your kitten’s digestive system.
• DHA and EPA – Kitten food often contains higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Don’t worry, you don’t need to know what these are, but in a nutshell are omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for your kitten’s brain and eye development.
• Nutrient density – Kitten food is more nutrient-dense than adult cat food to ensure your kitten receives all the essential vitamins and minerals they need for proper growth. As your kitten reaches adulthood you should consider this the other way – adult cat foods aren’t as nutritious for your cat.
• Digestibility – When it comes to dry cat food there should always be a question mark over digestibility. All dry food should be considered a convenience product, and the trade off of convenience is a less than optimal diet. Kitten food, simply from having a better emphasis on animal ingredients, will mean it should be easier for your kitten to digest than an adult-only cat food formula.
• Immune system support – Some kitten foods have added nutrients to support your kitten’s developing immune system. An adult formula may optionally contain such inclusions, but when it comes to pet food manufacturing the word “optional” means not worth spending money on.
• Dental health – I’ve left dental health to almost last for a reason, and that’s because I don’t see any dry cat food overfully beneficial for the dental health of your cat. Not compared to the natural benefits of raw meaty bones or dried-animal based chews or treats. However, the size and texture of kitten kibble is allegedly designed (often with dubious science) to encourage your kitten to chew, therefore promoting dental health. Adult sized kibble is often larger, which means these said scientific benefits may be lost, and in any case may be harder for your kitten to swallow.
• Weight control – Fat cats are everywhere, which I attribute mostly to how we feed our carnivorous cats so much grain, but nevertheless it’s an important factor to consider when we feed our cats dry food. Adult cat food are said to help maintain a stable weight, but the reality is they contain more carbohydrates which an adult cat may struggle to digest. You don’t want that for your adult cat, and you definitely don’t want that for your kitten.

Feeding an adult cat food to your kitten may result in digestive upset which you will notice immediately, or it could lead to growth and development issues, health issues in later years, or poor joints, arthritis, or a shorter lifespan.

What will happen if your kitten eats your older cats food?

If you have an adult cat in the household you’ll have no chance of keeping your kitten away from their food. You could try, but you’ll fail.

If your kitten manages to eat your older cat’s food then don’t worry too much, but you’ll want to minimise this as much as possible.

Your best option is to feed your older cat an “all life stage” formula, as this will also meet the nutritional needs of your kitten. Then you don’t need to worry, even if you have a kitten-specific formula especially for your kitten.

Better yet – fresh, BARF, or dried raw cat foods are almost carbohydrate free and much better for your kitten and adult cats. There’s some options here.

If your older cat eats your kitten’s food, then this will likely be beneficial for him. Again, you want to minimise this as much as possible as it may cause digestive upset (or cost you a bit more).

Rightly or wrongly, occasionally I buy my cat a small bag of kitten food. Sometimes a kitten formula of a brand will be the same price as the adult formulas, when the ingredients clearly show more animal ingredients in the kitten formula.

My cat is 13 by the way, so definitely no spring kitten.

When can a kitten transition to an adult cat food?

A kitten will enter the adult life stage around 1 year old (12 months), although large breeds such as a Maine Coon will only become an adult between 18 months to 2 years old (24 months).

Therefore, you should check for your specific breed when they can be transitioned to an adult cat food.

You should always transition to a new cat food gradually over a period of 1 to 2 weeks, but pay important consideration to the following:

• Cats, just like us, develop intolerances when fed a regulated and unvaried diet. If you do not feed your kitten a varied diet, they will likely have more issues when you introduce new foods. I don’t consider that a good thing even if pet food companies want to lock you into their brands for life. Do you?

The above point is often misinterpreted as a new food causing a cat to be a bit sick or have digestive issues (runny poo, smelly farts, gut ache, etc), when the reality is the cat has become very intolerant of anything other than the ingredients in the cat food they’ve been fed most of their life until now.

If you’re in doubt about your kitten reaching the adult life stage, err on the side of caution and feed a kitten diet for a little while longer.

Final thoughts and recommendations

Always do your best to choose a high-quality food for your cat, whether they’re a kitten, adult cat, or senior cat.

Never feed a cat food not appropriate to your cat’s life stage, so do not feed an adult or senior cat food to your kitten, or a senior food to your adult cat for that matter.

As a consequence your cat may get sick. They may not get sick immediately, but may suffer in later years.

If in doubt, consult with your veterinarian who will likely offer advice (although, more likely, recommend a grain-based cat food for your carnivorous cat).

Can kittens eat adult cat food?

That’s a resounding no.