11 Yr Old Cat - Wet food recommendations?

Hi fellow cat lovers! My cat is currently 11 years old, and is very healthy and lively. He just recently got his annual check-up at the vet - Bloodwork looks good, also did an ultrasound and kidneys look fine. Teeth are good too, and we have got into the habit of cleaning his teeth for him each night too (he's really good about it!).

He is currently on Innova Senior (Dry). I have always fed him dry food only and will now switch to a wet + dry food combination, as I know older cats tend to drink less water. Any recommendations for the BEST, natural wet food for him, that I can mix with Innova Senior (Dry)? I have scanned some forums and seems like Innova, Orijen, Nature's Variety and Applaws come up a lot.

Appreciate your recommendations!

With cats, it often comes down to what they'll eat. The best brand in the world won't do any good if Kitty thinks it's yucky. Buy a couple cans of everything and see what he likes best.

Originally Posted by Willowy

With cats, it often comes down to what they'll eat. The best brand in the world won't do any good if Kitty thinks it's yucky. Buy a couple cans of everything and see what he likes best.

Click to expand...

I totally agree with this! I've tried lots of different brands, textures, and flavors with my two cats and their favorite seems to be Natural Balance Chicken Liver Pate and Turkey w/ Giblets. My boy kittie is pretty picky about canned food, but he gobbles these two right down.

If you feed just one flavor, even their favorite one, they can still suffer from flavor-burnout over time, just like us.

I feed mine a different flavor every meal, and that seems to keep em interested.

I don't worry about specific brands or anything, and recommend just learning to read nutrition labels so you can just pickup whatever happens to be on sale. If you have a REALLY picky eater, fishy flavors are often a hit.

Welcome to the site . Innova EVO wet food for sure. I feed my cats EVO and they just love it, devour it, and have gorgeous coats, and perfect poops . I also rotate this food with Wellness CORE and Instinct. Since you are already feeding Innova, I would stick to EVO wet food. Hope you enjoy your stay with us And your cat sounds very healthy for a senior and wet food will be a very good choice for your cat.

Thank you Willowy, sarathan, Ducman69, Feralvr for your responses!

Stuck with so many choices! If you had to choose your top 2 choices out of the following, what would you pick?

1) Innova - Senior Canned Cat Food:
Moisture.....72.56 %
Protein.....12.21%
Fat.....7.52 0
Fiber.....0.43 %
Ash.....2.33 %
Phosphorous.....0.36 %
Sodium.....0.17 %
Magnesium.....0.03 %
Taurine.....0.09 %
Calories:
1,226 kcal/kg
Ingredients:
Turkey
Turkey Broth
Chicken
Chicken Broth
Chicken Meal
Brown Rice
Salmon
Herring
Whole Eggs
Potatoes
Carrots
Natural Flavors
Pea Fiber
Guar Gum
Apples
Alfalfa Sprouts
Carrageenan
L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate
Sodium Phosphate
Dried Skimmed Milk
Choline Chloride
Inulin
Potassium Chloride
Taurine
Sunflower Oil
Herring Oil
DL Methionine
Vitamins/Minerals


2) EVO - Turkey & Chicken Formula Canned Cat and Kitten Food
Moisture.....71.04 %
Protein.....13.65 %
Fat.....10.72 0
Carbohydrates.....1.81 %
Fiber.....0.27 %
Ash.....2.51 %
Phosphorous.....0.38 %
Sodium.....0.16 %
Magnesium.....0.03 %
Taurine.....0.07 %
Calories:
1283.2 kcal/kg
Ingredients:
Turkey
Chicken
Turkey Broth
Chicken Broth
Chicken Meal
Herring
Carrots
Whole Eggs
Salmon Meal
Natural Flavors
Carrageenan
Cottage Cheese
L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate
Apples
Guar Gum
Vitamins/Minerals
Inulin
Herring Oil
Choline Chloride
Potassium Chloride
Salt
Sunflower Oil
Taurine
Sodium Phosphate
Beta Carotene

3) Applaws - Chicken Breast
Moisture.....77.3\t%
Protein (N x 6.25).....19.35\t%
Fat.....1.01\t%
Carbohydraye by Diff.....1.57\t%
Crude Fibre.....‹0.1\t%
Ash.....0.77\t%
Phosphorus.....164.2\tmg/100g\t
Taurine.....5.8\tmg/100g
Calories:
93 kcal/100g
Ingredients:
Chicken Breast 75%, Chicken Broth 24%, Rice 1% (couldn't find detailed breakdown)


4) Nature's Variety Instinct - Chicken Formula
Moisture (max).....75.0%
Crude Protein (min).....11.0%
Crude Fat (min).....8.0%
Crude Fiber (max).....3.0%
Ash.....2.206%
Phosphorus.....0.307%
Sodium.....0.114%
Magnesium.....0.029%
Taurine (min).....0.05% / 1020 mg/kg
Calories:
1,423 kcal/kg
Ingredients:
Chicken
Turkey
Chicken Broth
Chicken Liver
Ground Flaxseeds
Montmorillonite Clay
Eggs
Peas
Carrots
Lecithin,
Vitamins (Choline Chloride, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid)
Dried Kelp
Potassium Chloride
Tricalcium Phosphate
Salt
Taurine
Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide)
Artichokes
Cranberries
Pumpkin
Tomato
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cabbage
Kale
Parsley

Any advice, greatly appreciated! It seems like all four foods are equally good (if my analysis is correct) - I may just stack up on all of them to rotate. Not sure if there are any "alarm bells" for any of the above nutritional analysis or ingredients - please let me know if there is one I should clearly avoid!

P.S.
The nutritional requirements for his current dry food (Innova Senior) are:
Moisture.....7.5 %
Protein.....38.22 %
Fat.....13.3 0
Carbohydrates.....31.99 %
Fiber.....3.05 %
Ash.....6.82 %
Phosphorous.....1.09 %
Sodium.....0.23 %
Magnesium.....0.11 %
Taurine.....0.174 %

I plan to mix 50/50 wet and dry.

He also tends to vomit every so often, from hairballs (though I am feed him malt paste occasionally)...

Thanks for all your advice!

Originally Posted by catpurr10

Hi fellow cat lovers! My cat is currently 11 years old, and is very healthy and lively. He just recently got his annual check-up at the vet - Bloodwork looks good, also did an ultrasound and kidneys look fine. Teeth are good too, and we have got into the habit of cleaning his teeth for him each night too (he's really good about it!).

He is currently on Innova Senior (Dry). I have always fed him dry food only and will now switch to a wet + dry food combination, as I know older cats tend to drink less water. Any recommendations for the BEST, natural wet food for him, that I can mix with Innova Senior (Dry)? I have scanned some forums and seems like Innova, Orijen, Nature's Variety and Applaws come up a lot.

Appreciate your recommendations!

Click to expand...

As others have indicated in the thread; sometimes it comes down to what the cat will eat. Looks like you are doing your research Don't know if you've looked into the Nutro lines but Nutro Natural Choice has a senior line of food. Picky eaters seem to like it. This is the ingredient list and the guaranteed analysis for the Nutro Natural Choice Indoor Senior Chicken and Lamb wet formula:

Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Cod, Ground Rice, Lamb Liver, Lamb, Peas, Rice Protein Concentrate, Red Peppers, Tricalcium Phosphate, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Flax Seed, Guar Gum, Carrots, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Oxide, Sodium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Copper Proteinate, L-Carnitine, Beta-Carotene, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Niacin, Potassium Iodide, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein (minimum) \t9.00%
Crude Fat (minimum) \t5.00%
Crude Fiber (maximum) \t2.00%
Moisture (maximum) \t77.00%
Ash (maximum) \t2.25%
Linoleic Acid (minimum) \t0.75%
Magnesium (maximum) \t0.02%
Iron (minimum) \t50 mg/kg
Manganese (minimum) \t8.5 mg/kg
Zinc (minimum) \t77 mg/kg
Vitamin D (minimum) \t295 IU/kg
Vitamin E (minimum) \t60 IU/kg
Taurine (minimum) \t0.05%
Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C) (minimum)* \t20 mg/kg
L-Carnitine (minimum)* \t30 mg/kg
Beta-Carotene (minimum)* \t0.50 mg/kg
Alpha-Linolenic Acid (minimum)* \t0.03%
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)(minimum)* \t0.02%
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles.

Originally Posted by Willowy

With cats, it often comes down to what they'll eat. The best brand in the world won't do any good if Kitty thinks it's yucky. Buy a couple cans of everything and see what he likes best.

Click to expand...

Exactly! Bob the Himmy, I have learned through expensive experience, doesn't always go for top-of-the-line anything. I have tried to spoil her and she laughs at me! She likes a medium price range of a good food line. Experiment. When I had three cats, they all had different favs. Go cats-train your owners!

Why not feed Innova Senior Wet food?

He will probably be used to the formula and it's formulated FOR senior cats. Just a thought!