Hill's Science Plan Kitten Dry Cat Food with Chicken - 1.5kg + 3 Pouches (Short-Dated Stock) - 1.5KG

Kitten Dry Cat Food with Chicken - 1.5kg + 3 Pouches is a 1.5kg bag of complete dry kitten food with three wet kitten pouches included, from short-dated stock. Both are the everyday Science Plan kitten recipes, for kittens up to a year old and for pregnant and nursing cats.

Key Features

• Brain And Eyes: DHA from fish oil for brain and retinal development.
• Growth: Balanced energy and protein for steady growth rather than fast growth.
• Immune Support: An antioxidant blend including vitamin E and vitamin C.
• Also For: Pregnant and nursing cats.
• Bundle Contents: One 1.5kg bag of dry food plus three wet pouches.

About The Short-Dated Stock

• This listing is short-dated stock, which is why the three pouches are included at the same price as a standard 1.5kg bag. The food is the same recipe in the same packaging; it simply has less time left before its best-before date.
• Check the date printed on the pack when it arrives and plan around it. A 1.5kg bag feeds one kitten for several weeks, so for most people the date is not a constraint, but it is worth knowing before you buy rather than after.
• Use an opened bag within about six weeks regardless of the printed date, since that is when kibble starts to go stale in UAE conditions. If you want the exact date before ordering, message us and we will check the shelf.

Feeding A Growing Kitten

• Kittens need more of almost everything per kilo than an adult cat, especially protein and energy, plus DHA for brain and eye development. A kitten recipe is built for that, so feed it as it comes rather than supplementing.
• Offer food little and often, around four meals a day while small, dropping to twice daily by about a year. Kittens have tiny stomachs and high demands at the same time.
• Keep going to about twelve months, then move to an adult food. Nursing and pregnant cats can stay on kitten food, which is why these recipes are usually labelled for both.
• The three pouches are a useful start on getting a kitten used to wet food as well as dry. A cat that has only ever eaten kibble is often impossible to switch later, which matters if it ever needs a therapeutic diet.

Why Cat Food Looks Like This

• Cats are obligate carnivores: they cannot make enough taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A or vitamin D for themselves and have to take them in ready-made from food. That is why a complete cat food is not just a dog food with a different picture on the bag, and why cats should never be fed a vegetarian diet.
• Taurine is the one most people have heard of. Without enough of it cats develop heart muscle disease and go blind, which is why it appears on the front of every bag. Any complete cat food supplies enough, so this is a reassurance rather than a differentiator.
• The balanced minerals Hill's mention are about keeping magnesium, phosphorus and calcium in proportion rather than simply low, because both too much and too little cause problems.

Cats And Water

• Cats evolved to get most of their water from prey and have a weak thirst drive, so a cat on dry food alone often runs mildly short of water. That matters for the urinary tract and the kidneys, which are the two things most likely to shorten a cat's life.
• Practical fixes: more bowls than you think you need, away from the food and the litter tray; a wide shallow bowl so the whiskers stay dry; and a fountain, since many cats drink more from moving water. Adding some wet food to the day is the single most effective change.
• In UAE heat and air conditioning, check the bowls twice a day. Cats drink less from water that has sat out and gone warm and dusty.

Feeding, Storage And The Range

• How much: start from the chart on the pack by weight, then adjust to what you can feel. Count the pouches towards the daily total rather than treating them as an extra on top of the kibble.
• Changing over: move across gradually over about seven days. A sudden switch is the usual cause of a loose stool that then gets blamed on the food.
• Storage: keep the bag sealed, cool and out of sunlight and use it within about six weeks of opening. Refrigerate an opened pouch, use it within about two days and serve it at room temperature, since cold food smells of much less.
• Who makes it: Hill's was founded by an American vet, Mark Morris Senior, who formulated a kidney diet for a guide dog in the 1940s. They run feeding trials on their recipes, which is why they can say clinically proven where most brands cannot.
• Science Plan is not Prescription Diet: this is the everyday range for healthy pets. Prescription Diet is the separate therapeutic range for diagnosed conditions, sold on a vet's recommendation, and the two are not interchangeable.

Good To Know

• This listing is one 1.5kg dry bag plus three wet pouches.
• Short-dated stock. Check the printed date on arrival.
• Both are complete foods. Nothing needs adding to a complete diet.
• Keep fresh water available at all times.
• Store the bag sealed, cool and out of sunlight. Refrigerate an opened pouch and use it within about two days.
• Science Plan is a non-prescription everyday food, not a veterinary therapeutic diet.
• Made by Hill's Pet Nutrition, part of Colgate-Palmolive.