Skinny Senior Cat - Dry Food Suggestions?

I know this has probably been discussed before, but I thought other people could benefit from the answer here:

I have a 17 year old cat that is in very good health, good teeth, no thyroid problems. She is pretty thin, and I've been feeding a really high quality canned food, but I'm not 100% for sure how much of that she it getting - because I have 4 cats - and I'm not sure how much she eats of "her" food.

She seems to really like dry food more anyway, and what she really loves is Iams Hairball formula (she is longhair), and I was wondering what dry food would be the best for her to keep a little weight on - and that she might eat??? (I bought AvoDerm a while ago, and she simply refused it.)

Thanks!
Kim.

Kim, I am of the opinion that so long as a cat that needs to eat, eats - it really doesn't matter so much what you feed them. If she likes, eats and does well on the Iams dry hairball formula, then by all means, give it to her and let her eat that.

I totally agree with Gayef .... Give her what she wants... when was her last senior panel>>??/

Try some kitten food for her, or mix it in with the other food? High fat and protien - could help her gain some weight and make the food a bit more tasty too

http://www.royalcanin.us/catfood/activemature.html <-- could perhaps be something worth trying for your old girl there?

Originally Posted by sharky

I totally agree with Gayef .... Give her what she wants... when was her last senior panel>>??/

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I think her last senior panel was a couple of years ago. How time flies. When we got her, she was so skinny it made you feel bad to pet her because you could feel her bones. We had a thyroid done, and it was perfect - then.

And of course I just bought 2 cases of Merrick's canned food and she's sticking up her nose at it. LOL that's my girl!

If it's been that long, definitely get the bloodwork repeated. A lot can change in just a month or two, let alone a couple years.

Time to get a new panel ... Kandies kidney issues the second sign was wt loss...

KITTEN food should nt be given without consulting a vet as that would mask the problem

Innova HealthWise is a Cat & Kitten formula that is good for hairballs, a shiny healthy coat and seems to go over with the cats well. However, when I looked at their analysis I saw that the ash is 6.5% which I think is too high for me to use since I have a cat with struvite crystals.

I was going to switch from Chicken Soup to that till I saw the high ash content. I don't know if it would be a good food for your girl or not, but worth looking into I guess.

Originally Posted by tru

Innova HealthWise is a Cat & Kitten formula that is good for hairballs, a shiny healthy coat and seems to go over with the cats well. However, when I looked at their analysis I saw that the ash is 6.5% which I think is too high for me to use since I have a cat with struvite crystals.

I was going to switch from Chicken Soup to that till I saw the high ash content. I don't know if it would be a good food for your girl or not, but worth looking into I guess.

Click to expand...

that total ash isnt bad ... what is the magnesium and calcium and phos if listed

Originally Posted by Magnus

Try some kitten food for her, or mix it in with the other food? High fat and protien - could help her gain some weight and make the food a bit more tasty too

http://www.royalcanin.us/catfood/activemature.html <-- could perhaps be something worth trying for your old girl there?

Click to expand...

What does everyone think of the Royal Canin Active Mature? It sorta looks like it might be a calorie limited food...

That looks great for an older cat who has no corn or barley issues...

IT is NOT low cal ... it has about the same as most adult ( that said 465 , my Zoeys all stage is 477) ... It has a great fat leval for an older cat

Originally Posted by sharky

that total ash isnt bad ... what is the magnesium and calcium and phos if listed

Click to expand...

I buy this through PetFoodDirect because there is no one in my area that sells Innova products. The price is just a little lower than I can get the Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul for.


HealthWise Cat 'N Kitten



Here is the complete list of
Ingredients
their nutrition facts.

Moisture 10.0 %
Chicken Meal
Protein 32.0 %
Ground Brown Rice
Fat 20.0 %
Chicken
Linoleic Acid 3.80 %
Chicken Fat
Omega 3 0.56 %
Herring Meal
Arachidonic Acid 0.12 %
Flaxseed Meal
Carbohydrates 26.00 % \t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Oatmeal/Rolled Oats
Fiber 4.0 %
Rice
Ash 6.50 % \t\t\t
Corn Gluten Meal
Calcium 1.23 %
Herring Oil
Phosphorous 0.95 % \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Natural Flavors
Magnesium 0.10 %
Avocado Oil
Sodium 0.24 % \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Egg
Potassium 0.69 %
Dried Kelp
Chloride 0.44 % \t\t\t\t\t\t
Taurine
Iron 454 mg/Kg
Vitamins/Minerals
Zinc 309 mg/Kg
Copper 26 mg/Kg
Iodine 1.2 mg/Kg
Manganese 24 mg/Kg
Selenium 0.15 mg/kg
Arginine 2.64 %
Histidine 0.96 %
Isoleucine 1.53 %
Leucine 2.77 %
Lysine 2.12 %
Methionine 0.84 %
Met-Cysteine 1.18 %
Phenylalanine 1.41 %
Phe-Tyrosine 2.58 %
Threonine 1.36 %
Tryptophan 0.25 %
Valine 1.70 %
Taurine 0.18 %
Choline 2901 mg/Kg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 8.90 mg/Kg
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 12.97 mg/Kg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin) 136 mg/Kg
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) 9.98 mg/Kg
Folic Acid 2.67 mg/kg
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 7.82 mg/Kg
Biotin 0.32 mg/Kg
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 65 ug/Kg
Vitamin A 53793 Iu/Kg
Vitamin C 300 mg/Kg
Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) 1448 Iu/Kg
Vitamin E 300 Iu/Kg
Vitamin K1 300 ug/Kg
Glucosamine 0 mg/cup
Chondroitin Sulfate 0 mg/cup
Calories 1836 Kcal/lb
Calories 4040 Kcal/Kg
Calories 440 KCals/Cup

I see Trudy ... the Total Ash is in the really nice range for UTI but magnesium is high ... phos is high acceptable

You really, really need to have your cat seen by a vet and have the blood work done before you choose a food. The reason is because many cats will have some kidney impairment by the time they reach the age of 17. Cats with renal problems cannot tolerate diets high in protein. They need to be put on a lower protein, lower phosphorous diet to take the load off their kidneys. Many premium foods are too high in protein for a cat with kidney problems. Studies show that cats with renal problems who are put on a special diet live longer and do better than cats with renal problems who are not put on a special diet:

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00122.htm

If you find that your cat does have kidney problems you can use the following sites to choose a good quality food:

http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm
http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/dryfood.htm