Congratulations on your new fluffy companion! Chances are that the breeder or rescue group also sent you home with a small amount of kitten food. But if you’re interested in looking at other options for your kitten, you’ve come to the right place.
We know how time-consuming it can be to research the multitudes of pet foods out there, particularly as a Canadian pet owner! Here are reviews of the best kitten foods available in Canada, both canned and dry. Hopefully, reading through this list will save you time, and you’ll discover the best food for your adorable kitten.
A Quick Glance at Our Top Picks (2024 Update)
| Image | Product | Details | ||
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Best Overall
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Purina ONE Healthy Kitten Dry Food |
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Best Value
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Purina Kitten Chow Dry Food |
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Premium Choice
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Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Dry Kitten Food |
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| Vet’s Choice |
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Hill’s Science Healthy Cuisine Canned Kitten Food |
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Hill’s Science Diet Dry Kitten Food |
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The 10 Best Kitten Foods in Canada
1. Purina ONE Healthy Kitten Dry Food — Best Overall
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken, corn gluten meal, rice flour |
| Protein Content: | 40% |
| Fat Content: | 18% |
| Calories: | 462 kcal/cup |
The best overall kitten food in Canada is Purina ONE Healthy Kitten Dry Food. It’s affordable and has real chicken as the first ingredient. It’s high in protein, which helps support your kitten’s growing muscles, and DHA, which supports brain development and vision. It has four antioxidant sources, including vitamins E and A, to contribute to a strong immune system. It doesn’t include any artificial preservatives or colours, and it’s easily digested.
The flaws with this food are that there’s the potential for kittens to end up with smelly poop and that the ingredient list includes many of what you might consider fillers.
2. Purina Kitten Chow Dry Kitten Food — Best Value
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken by-product, corn gluten meal, rice, soy flour |
| Protein Content: | 40% |
| Fat Content: | 13.5% |
| Calories: | 414 kcal/cup |
The best kitten food in Canada for the money is Purina’s Kitten Chow Dry Food. It’s inexpensive and high in protein for lean muscles and has added DHA for all-important vision and brain development. It also includes antioxidants for a robust immune system and essential nutrients like those found in a mother cat’s milk. It doesn’t contain artificial flavours or colours.
The issues are that this food contains many ingredients that can be considered fillers and that some kittens might experience stomach upset.
3. Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Kitten Food — Premium Choice
| Main Ingredients: | Deboned chicken, pea protein tapioca starch, menhaden fish meal |
| Protein Content: | 40% |
| Fat Content: | 20% |
| Calories: | 457 kcal/cup |
Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness High Protein Dry Kitten Food is our pick as a premium food. It’s made with high-quality protein in the form of real chicken and contains DHA, ARA, and taurine, which all help with vision and brain development. The kibble is made with “LifeSource Bits,” which include vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide overall body health. Blue Buffalo is formulated by animal nutritionists and holistic vets in order to ensure that your kitten will grow healthy and strong. It doesn’t contain any by-products, wheat, soy, corn, or artificial ingredients.
However, it is expensive, and the kibble is a bit big for tiny mouths.
4. Hill’s Science Canned Kitten Food — Vet’s Choice
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken broth, chicken, pork liver, carrots |
| Protein Content: | 6.5% |
| Fat Content: | 2% |
| Calories: | 71 kcal/2.8 oz. can |
Our vet’s choice goes to Hill’s Science Healthy Cuisine Canned Kitten Food for its tasty formula that helps support a healthy urinary tract and normal uric acid levels. It’s a high-quality protein source that features chicken and rice in a stew recipe that most kittens love. It includes taurine for your kitten’s eyes and heart and doesn’t contain artificial flavours or preservatives. It’s easily digested and has a balanced combination of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals for your kitten’s immune system, as well as healthy teeth and bones.
The issues are that the food is expensive and that very young kittens might not like the stew texture and might do better with a pâté instead.
5. Hill’s Science Diet Dry Kitten Food
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken, brown rice, wheat gluten, chicken fat |
| Protein Content: | 33% |
| Fat Content: | 19% |
| Calories: | 568 kcal/cup |
Hill’s Science Diet Dry Kitten Food provides a balanced diet with high-quality and easily digestible kibble. Natural DHA from fish oil is added for vision and brain development, and there’s a balance of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins for a healthy immune system. It’s made in the U.S., and it doesn’t include any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives.
The main disadvantages are that it is expensive and that some kittens might experience stomach issues (primarily diarrhea).
6. IAMS Perfect Portions Healthy Kitten Wet Food
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken, water, liver, chicken broth |
| Protein Content: | 9% |
| Fat Content: | 5% |
| Calories: | 45 kcal/serving |
IAMS Perfect Portions Healthy Kitten Wet Food comes in small trays that you peel open and serve, so you don’t have any leftovers cluttering up your fridge. It contains real chicken and the usual DHA, in addition to nutrients commonly found in a mother cat’s milk. It also includes vitamin E and antioxidants for immune system support, and there aren’t any fillers or artificial preservatives.
However, depending on how much of an eater your kitten is, you might find that you’re paying a great deal of money for not that much food. Additionally, you might find the trays challenging to open.
7. Wellness Natural Pet Canned Kitten Food
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken, chicken liver, chicken broth, carrots |
| Protein Content: | 11% |
| Fat Content: | 6% |
| Calories: | 97 kcal/can |
Wellness Natural Pet Canned Kitten Food was made by nutritionists and veterinarians to ensure that your kitten will grow and develop the right way. It contains whole chicken as the first ingredient and is full of nutrients and protein to fuel your cat’s energy and growing muscles. It contains DHA for brain development and taurine for a healthy heart and eyes. It doesn’t contain corn, soy, or wheat or any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives.
The issue here is that it’s expensive! Also, picky kittens out there might decide that they don’t want to eat it.
8. Purina Pro Plan Dry Kitten Food
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken, rice, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product |
| Protein Content: | 42% |
| Fat Content: | 19% |
| Calories: | 534 kcal/cup |
Purina’s Pro Plan Dry Kitten Food has real chicken as the main ingredient, with added DHA to support vision and brain development. It contains live probiotics and antioxidants, which support your kitten’s digestive and immune system health. It also has omega-6 fatty acids to help your kitten grow a healthy coat. Finally, it includes phosphorus and calcium to maintain teeth and bone health.
The cons are that it is pricey and that it might cause stomach or skin issues in some kittens.
9. Whiskas Dry Kitten Food
| Main Ingredients: | Chicken by-product meal, ground whole-grain corn, animal fat |
| Protein Content: | 38% |
| Fat Content: | 15% |
| Calories: | 387 kcal/cup |
Whiskas Dry Kitten Food has high protein for your growing kitten and includes antioxidants to support their immune system. It is a completely balanced diet that is nutrient rich and has included little treats that are filled with tastiness. There are no added artificial flavours or colours.
However, while the kibble is a nice small size for kittens, the “treats” mixed in are large, and your kitten might reject them for this reason. Also, the main ingredients aren’t as good as what you can get with some other brands.
10. Fancy Feast Variety Pack Wet Kitten Food
| Main Ingredients: | Turkey, liver, milk and ocean whitefish, liver |
| Protein Content: | 11% & 12% |
| Fat Content: | 5% & 4% |
| Calories: | 95 kcal/can & 85 kcal/can |
Fancy Feast Variety Pack Wet Kitten Food has two flavours that you can try out on your kitten. There are six cans of turkey and six cans of ocean whitefish, which is a great way to experiment to see if your kitten prefers one flavour over the other. It’s enhanced with added vitamins and minerals, including taurine for your kitten’s eyes and heart health. It’s also made with real broth and milk, which adds extra nutrients and moisture and supports a healthy urinary tract.
The problems, though, are that this food does have artificial colours and preservatives and that some kittens might experience diarrhea while on this food.
Buyer’s Guide: How to Select the Best Kitten Foods in Canada
When you’re deciding on what kind of kitten food you should purchase, there are a few things that you need to consider.
Grain Free
There is a bit of controversy over giving cats grain-free food. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they are literally obligated to eat meat. They have a harder time digesting plant matter than dogs. However, unless your vet has told you to put your cat on a grain-free diet due to food sensitivities and allergies, there’s no need to be concerned if your cat’s food contains grains.
Most cats with allergies or food intolerances tend to be allergic to the protein source, particularly chicken, fish, and beef, as well as dairy. If you think that your cat is having an allergic reaction to their food, see your vet.
Nutrition
Kittens need the right balance of nutrients because they are still growing. The dry food should be at least 30% protein and 15–20% fat. Canned or wet foods should be 10–15% protein and 3–6% fat.
Wet Food
Many cat owners prefer to give their cats both dry and wet food. Ensuring that your cat has plenty of moisture in their diet can potentially help keep future health conditions from developing, like kidney failure. Most canned food is about 70% water, so that combined with constant access to fresh and clean water can set up your kitten for a long and healthy life.
Food Transition
If you are switching your new kitten to a new food, it needs to be done quite slowly and gradually. Most pet food manufacturers include directions on the food packaging to help you through this transition. You’ll want to start by adding a small amount of the new food to the old, and slowly increase that amount every day until your kitten is only eating the new food.
This is particularly important for kittens because they have such sensitive stomachs. It can also explain why your kitten might suddenly develop diarrhea — it could be the food itself, but it might also simply be too fast of a switch to the new food.
In Conclusion
Our overall favourite is Purina ONE Healthy Kitten Dry Food, as it’s affordable and is high in protein, which helps support your kitten’s growing muscles. Purina’s Kitten Chow Dry Food is inexpensive and includes DHA for vision and brain development. Our premium choice pick is Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness High Protein Dry Kitten Food, which is made with “LifeSource Bits.” These include vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and are formulated by animal nutritionists and holistic vets. Finally, our vet’s choice is Hill’s Science Healthy Cuisine Canned Kitten Food for its tasty formula that helps support a healthy urinary tract and for its high-quality protein source.
Hopefully, these reviews will assist you in finding the right food for your kitten. We all want those adorable kittens to grow into healthy and happy adult cats!
Featured Image Credit: MaraZe, Shutterstock
