11 Week Old F1 Diet

[scorpius]

That's a great list.

If it helps, when I got Shango @13 weeks (he's now 16 weeks), he was only about 4.2 lbs then. Day 1 he hardly ate probably due to shock of being at his new home (my breeder fed him some cooked chicken and some raw + kibble prior to this, as they don't know what the future owner will feed the kitten). Tried raw chicken Day 1 and he wouldn't touch it. Day 2 and Day 3 I tried some high quality canned and he ate some, but not much. Then after this up until about Day 7, fed him cooked chicken (w/ supplements), which he ate that like crazy! But then he had one throw up event, which I attribute to feeding too much cooked chicken (well only cooked chicken). So started him on raw chicken (whole ground up w/ hearts + supplements) and found out now he really likes the stuff. No more throw up events either. Now he's a wopping 6.2 lbs and super lively. --dj

 

[WitchyWoman]

Louie's Dad, have you looked at the info here http://www.savannahcatchat.com/forums/savannah-cat-diet/
Lots of good stuff to read through.

 

[Nitro]

Also check out http://www.savannahcatchat.com/threads/grain-free-natural-dry-food.1085/

I personally feed the Earthborn kibble. It's grain free, and imho seems to be a little bit better than Taste of the Wild. And these two make up the cheapest grain-free you can find. The Evo dry is higher quality than Blue Buffalo, but overall, I have a feeling your cat can't process much more protein once you surpass the 40% mark. Plus I haven't heard good things about the LifeSource bits that Blue Buffalo puts in.

The Innova Evo 95% is honestly the cheapest grain-free canned food you can get - try to source it in the 13.2 oz variety if you can, and don't buy the dog version - there's one minor mismatch in the ingredient list that isn't "FDA" approved yet for felines.

I do like your idea of wetting his kibble - also make sure he has an "interesting" water source. I've got the Petmake Fresh Flow Deluxe, and I swear Nitro drinks 8 oz a day out of it.

Overall, you will find plenty of people here who highly recommend a raw diet. If you can find the time and energy to do it, it may prove to be beneficial. But, I personally don't believe I'm harming Nitro by feeding him a dry/wet combo.

 

[John Popp]

The issues from dry food come very late in a cat's life. It all stems from their low thirst drive as in nature their meals have high water content. Servals and other wild cats often live in very dry climates with little to no water access at all. Meaning that their primary source of water is again in their prey.

The environments we place cats into are certainly quite different than their homes in the wild. They always have access to water, although their low thirst drive sees us purchasing things like fountains to get them to take on more water. As much water as we can get into them and even having a cat that is a "good drinker" doesn't displace the need of wet food to keep them hydrated.

That said, with a kitten and a need to have on demand food it's hard to totally get away from some kibble. The quantity of raw food they are served shouldn't be more than what they can consume in 15 minutes. Not the stuff you want laying around for prolonged periods of time and you don't want to open the door to other health issues. Canned food can certainly be out a bit longer, although I still wouldn't be leaving out more than they can consume in an hour.

With the dry food for on demand needs we use a puzzle feeder and dry food is for our kitten only as a complement to their raw diet. Makes for some tough work segregating the other cats and the looks of contempt you get from shooing them away from the kittens dry food aren't very heartwarming.

Pretty easy to construct a puzzle feeder out of a series of paper towel and toilet paper tubes or a shoe box with some small holes in it. Keeps them occupied and you as well as you can add on to them and repair what they destroy. Hiding some small toys in there as well keeps them entertained and in all much better for their intellect than just laying out a bowl of on demand kibble.