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Senior Diets - what do you feed?

post #1 of 15
1/28/11 at 5:58pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I have been having a hard time finding foods to feed Gracie... She is going to be 13 this year; aside from her thyroid, her CBC is impeccable. She does show some signs of arthritis, but is doing much better since I added Hyaluronic Acid to her diet.
Are senior diets really necessary, or not? I will continue to supplement her with HA, so her joints will be taken care of. the majority of her diet will be wet, with a little bit of kibbles, Royal Canin HP 23, which is what all my cats are eating now due to Bugsy's and Hope's needs. She eats very little of it though.

Any suggestions are welcomed, I live in a metropolitan area and have access to most brands -

Thanks!
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post #2 of 15
1/28/11 at 8:35pm
For wet food : FORGET the label of stage ... due to the Hyperthyroid she burns up more calories lb for lb... You will get an earful off of here

For dry since you have the allergies leave her with the RC23
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post #3 of 15
1/28/11 at 8:47pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sharky View Post
For wet food : FORGET the label of stage ... due to the Hyperthyroid she burns up more calories lb for lb... You will get an earful off of here

For dry since you have the allergies leave her with the RC23
Well... Right now she is actually Hypothyroid due to overmedicating. I will know in 2 weeks how her levels are, but at the moment her body is not burning more calories...
Besides the thyroid issue, what should I look for in a wet - suggestions?
Yes, dry she is going to eat RC 23, but that is a minimum percentage of her calories. Less than 1/8 cup if I would guess, so for nutrition I really need to count on the wet....
Problem is, I don't see many options out there... Don't know why, but I don't. Do I just feed an adult? Do I look for an adult with lower levels of certain things? What do I look for in an adult food to feed for a Senior?
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post #4 of 15
1/30/11 at 12:00pm
Sorry, to bump this up but I am also looking for information on what to feed senior cats.
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post #5 of 15
1/30/11 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sassylemon View Post
Sorry, to bump this up but I am also looking for information on what to feed senior cats.
What ?s do you have?
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post #6 of 15
1/30/11 at 12:24pm
Just a few questions about both dry and wet food for seniors. I recently adopted a couple of 16 year olds, who according to the vet quite healthy for their age. I just need suggestions on varieties and what not.
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post #7 of 15
1/30/11 at 12:36pm
I feed my senior the same food as all my other cats. Until recently this was Orijen dry and usually Wellness canned (any of the grain-free varieties.) However since one of my younger cats has developed allergies, I'm now feeding everyone Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Rabbit formula (dry and canned) and Instinct canned rabbit.
Sneakers (the senior) is at least 15, and her bloodwork and etc is good.
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post #8 of 15
1/30/11 at 12:47pm
I feed Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging Dry and various grain free wet canned brands.
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post #9 of 15
2/5/11 at 9:35pm
I am not going to be much help because it is not a top notch food...but Blue eats Purina Senior formula. He is a VERY picky eater and refused every good brand I came in the door with. Purina is the only "senior cat" food he would eat. *sigh* And, when we tried to change him recently, we started with the diarrhea...so, back to the Purina we went.
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post #10 of 15
2/6/11 at 3:31am
I no longer feed senior food, unless they are overweight, as they were losing too much weight on senior food. Buster is at his ideal weight now, so if he puts more weight on, i might give him some senior a couple of days a week.
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post #11 of 15
2/6/11 at 8:18am
My vet says you have to be careful of too much protein in the senior cats...harder on their kidneys.

Thoughts?
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post #12 of 15
2/6/11 at 8:23am
I don't find that an unreasonable comment - in most mammals, as I understand it, a heavy protein load can be tough on kidneys, which face more challenges as the years progress. I know that's true with humans - or so my internist says. I have diabetes - so far no kidney issues, but my doctor tells me to not over do protein to help my kidney function. Diabetes is tough on kidneys to start out with.
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post #13 of 15
2/6/11 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by farleyv View Post
My vet says you have to be careful of too much protein in the senior cats...harder on their kidneys.

Thoughts?
Within reason. You wouldn't want to feed the highest protein food you can find, but research doesn't show that average protein amounts in most dry foods (high 20s%- 30s%) to be a problem. Senior formulations should have lower phosphorus levels, though, which is important.
Wet is different as far as protein goes.

My senior kitty doesn't have any health issues, yet I wouldn't feed him the TOTW the kittens eat since it has a 42% minimum protein. Since he regurgitates most grains (haven't tried strictly oatmeal yet, having not found a good one the suites what I want for an older cat) he gets the LID NB duck and pea. I do worry about phosphorus levels in it..
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post #14 of 15
2/7/11 at 2:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
Within reason. You wouldn't want to feed the highest protein food you can find, but research doesn't show that average protein amounts in most dry foods (high 20s%- 30s%) to be a problem. Senior formulations should have lower phosphorus levels, though, which is important.
Wet is different as far as protein goes.

My senior kitty doesn't have any health issues, yet I wouldn't feed him the TOTW the kittens eat since it has a 42% minimum protein. Since he regurgitates most grains (haven't tried strictly oatmeal yet, having not found a good one the suites what I want for an older cat) he gets the LID NB duck and pea. I do worry about phosphorus levels in it..
All my seniors get wet food...why is it different in the protein?
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post #15 of 15
2/7/11 at 4:46am
It's from a food that doesn't tax the kidneys as much as dry food does. And hopefully both foods you use have an easily digested protein for a senior.
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