How much food? - senior kitty question

I'm trying to determine if my kitty is eating enough for her age/weight. She is 15 and weighs approx 13 lbs. She doesn't always finish a whole can of food. She'll nibble a little in the morning and by the afternoon, most of it is still sitting in the dish. I'll give her another fresh can in the evening and she'll pretty much do the same thing..... I'm guessing she only eats about a quarter of it. ....and the fact that I'm trying to switch her over to a prescription diet probably isn't helping any.

How much do your 'senior' kitty's eat ?

My senior will be 18 in March and eats like a pig!!! I limit the moist food to about 3 Tablespoons/day. He eats a good cup of dry though. He also jumps on the counter to seek out other food items (ate a cocktail wienie on Sat nite) He always has a heathly appetite!! (plus he is about 10 #'s.) My other older cat is 10 1/2 yrs she rarely eats moist and probably 1/4 or so of moist. She is chubby and have dental issues which may contribute to her eating habits.

I can't believe your 18 year old 'jumps' on the counter!! That's amazing.... mine can just about jump up on the couch! She also has 'pet steps' to get on the bed.

My 18 yr old also jumps on counter s... she eats mostly canned with raw and homemade ..

What RX is your kitty supposed to be on??

We just started experimenting with these 3.....

Waltham Renal Support
Hills / KD
Purina Feline NF

She won't even touch Hills... she doesn't seem to mind the other two. I'm thinking about mixing some of her Fancy Feast in with it.... and slowly convert her.

Originally Posted by italysa

We just started experimenting with these 3.....

Waltham Renal Support
Hills / KD
Purina Feline NF

She won't even touch Hills... she doesn't seem to mind the other two. I'm thinking about mixing some of her Fancy Feast in with it.... and slowly convert her.

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PLEASE speak WITH YOUR VET.. Your cat has CRF or cronic renal failure... You DONT want to switch anything in the diet without help from your vet with this kitty... Yes many CRF cats eat regular food but it depends on many many factors...

The vet is the one who gave me the food to try.... I would NEVER just change her diet on my own.

Good ... My heart leaped from my chest

Ox (partially named for his healthy appetite) likes sitting (in all temps) out in the garage on one of the window ledges which is a good 5 feet off the ground. I've never seen him jump up their but see when he gets down. One of the vets at the clinic I take my cats too can't believe he is that "old"!!
When I had eating issues with him I tried a new food w/o mixing that worked all well as mixing the new food in with the old. You might want to be prepared for bathroom issues with new food-I went through quite a bit of that.

Sorry Sharky LOL! .... but thanks for being concerned !!

Gail - what do mean by " bathroom issues" . We're going through some constipation issues now... and that was BEFORE the new food even came in the house! That was the reason for her latest vet visit.

pumpkin is great for constipation.. my 18 yr old has CRF ... but again ask your vet with Kandie I use sweet potato since shell eat it .. are you using a probiotic>??

She was at the vet Thursday night... they gave her an enema and fluids, because she was also dehydrated. They cleared her right out. Then, she did "her thing" in the litter box on Friday night and hasn't gone again since. That's why I posted this question in the first place. I didn't know if she was even eating enough food to have to "go".

The vet told me if she doesn't go in a day or two, to give her canned pumpking "right away". Well, we bought it yesterday and I put about a teaspoon in her food, but she's not really eating much, so I don't even know if she's gotten any pumpkin in her! I'm wondering if she'd eat the pumpkin right off the spoon.... I heard that some cats love it!

Some do... strangly my anti wet girl likes it ,.... kandie will eat it if mixed with tuna..lol

Well today will be day #4 that she hasn't done "her thing"... she won't go near her food if I mix it with pumpkin. Maybe pumpkin with tuna. Sounds like a terrible combo to me.... but, I'm not a cat.
Any other thoughts??? I'm calling the vet this morning.

Ox ran the gamut from constipated to diarhea (really bad) when I switched food on him-he didn't like the pumpkin at all. I would dilute his moist food with a bit of water to get more water in her. I think Ox has gone a few days w/o pooping-I would see him try (in the kitchen) but no luck!! Then all of a sudden he would go (and go......) His system seems to be good since I switched foods about 6 weeks ago.

Well Tinker seems to have started with the constipation BEFORE I started with the new food. I've been adding a bit more water to her food also. I have a call into the vet.... just waiting for her to call me back. I just keep hoping I'll get home from work and have a nice present waiting for me in the litter box ! .... geeze, never thought I'd want poop for a present!

Originally Posted by italysa

Well Tinker seems to have started with the constipation BEFORE I started with the new food. I've been adding a bit more water to her food also. I have a call into the vet.... just waiting for her to call me back. I just keep hoping I'll get home from work and have a nice present waiting for me in the litter box ! .... geeze, never thought I'd want poop for a present!

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I know your pain... I never thought I would be happy to see stuff in the box