switching 1 yr old felmale to adult food

Question
Hi. I have a one young female cat who has always been incredibly fussy with
her food. She has refused to eat anything except nutro maxcat for kittens
roasted chicken flavour (dry food) throughout her life. My question is, she's
just over a year old now and refuses to eat the adult food I give her (I've tried  
many types) and will starve herself until she gets her kitten food back. She's a
very very small female....is it okay to keep feeding her the kitten food? If not,
I have no idea how to get her to eat the adult! Thanks in advance!!

Answer
If you are trying to change her to adult food you should understand that kitten food is much more palatable than adult food, there is more protein and fat. This in and of itself really isn't a problem unless your kitty is a little on the chubby side. Since you have said that your kitty will starve herself, and you want to change her over to adult food you will need to do this very gradually. Mix 1 part adult to 2 parts kitten for 3-4 days then 2 parts kitten to 2 parts adult for another 3-4 days and so on, if she tries to rebel by picking out her favorite stick with half and half for awhile. She shouldn't notice changes if you wait 3-4 days at each stage before doing anything drastic. Eventually she will come to find the adult food familiar and will eat it. Remember cats do not like change of any kind so if she boycotts a stage step back to the last one, wait a little longer, then try again. You say that she is tiny, in my experience it isn't a problem to keep feeding her kitten if she isn't gaining excessive weight in the short term, however it is a good idea to perform the switch to adult food as I described before she gets too much older. When she becomes a senior cat it won't be good for her to continue with kitten food as it forces the body to work harder to digest. Be patient with her and yourself, it's not a race, slow and steady with any change in your cats life is best. If I can be of further help, please do not hesitate to contact me again.