This is a specific conversation about Kitten food — the right nutrition from the start — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
A kitten who's flatly rejected two wet foods already — that tells us something useful straight away. Some kittens, Tonkinese included, are genuinely texture-averse rather than just fussy in the passing sense, and fighting that battle too hard at four months can create real stress around mealtimes. Before I point you anywhere, a couple of quick questions: which two wet foods did you try, and do you know whether it was the texture, the smell, or just total refusal from the bowl? And on the dry food — is that something they discovered themselves, or did you introduce it deliberately?
She tried Royal Canin wet kitten and a Lily's Kitchen pouch — both times she sniffed it and walked off. The dry food was actually what the breeder had her on, a supermarket own-brand kitten kibble, and she eats that fine. I'm just worried it's not good enough nutritionally.
inparticular.ai
That's a really sensible concern, and honestly your instinct is right — supermarket own-brand kibble for kittens is usually light on protein quality and often bulked out with cereals, which isn't ideal for a breed like the Tonkinese that's quite muscular and active by nature. The good news is she's already proven she'll eat dry food happily, so we don't need to wage a wet-food war. We just need to upgrade the kibble. Can I ask — is she fully indoor, or does she go outside at all? And is her weight looking good, or has the breeder or vet flagged anything?
She's fully indoor for now, and she had her second vaccination last week — vet said she looked healthy and well-proportioned. No weight concerns.
inparticular.ai
Perfect — healthy weight, clean bill of health, and a clear preference for dry food. That makes this straightforward. I'd move her onto Royal Canin Kitten dry food. I know she rejected the Royal Canin wet, but the dry is a completely different product and experience — it's a small, easy-to-crunch kibble specifically shaped for kittens under 12 months, with a protein profile and calorie density that's properly calibrated for growth. It's also one of the most extensively researched kitten foods on the market, which matters at this stage when her bones and muscles are developing fast. Because she's already on Royal Canin's flavour profile from the wet food trial, there's a decent chance she'll accept this one without any transition fuss — though I'd still mix a little of the old kibble in for the first few days just to be safe. It's widely available on Amazon UK, usually in 400g or 2kg bags.
That makes sense. Should I keep trying to introduce wet food, or just accept she's a dry-food cat?
inparticular.ai
I'd leave it alone for now and revisit at around six months. Some kittens come around to wet food once they're a bit older and less sensitive to texture — and there are real hydration benefits to wet food long-term, especially for indoor cats. But at four months, forcing the issue usually does more harm than good. Once she's settled on the Royal Canin dry and eating consistently, you could try a smooth pâté style rather than chunks or gravy — brands like Animonda Carny or Bozita do a very smooth texture that converts some dry-food holdouts. For now though, a quality dry is absolutely fine, and she'll thrive on it.
Brilliant, thank you. I'll order the Royal Canin Kitten dry food today.
inparticular.ai
Great choice — she's in good hands. One small tip: the 2kg bag is better value and at four months she'll get through it well within the recommended use period. Keep an eye on her coat over the next few weeks; a good-quality kibble usually shows up in glossiness and condition fairly quickly, so that's your early sign it's working well for her.