Older Cat Nutrition

compmom42

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Our kitty is of undetermined age. But we are sure she is at least 16 and she could be 18. Summers are always rough on her and she lost some weight over the past 4 months - about a .6 of a pound.

She is currently having Purina Special Needs dry food and Fancy Feast canned food. She loves her food and eats quite well. But since she eats in the garage, there is a sneaky cat that comes to steal her food. I've stopped letting her have free choice when the garage door is cracked. When it is shut and the weather is cool, I'll leave food out for her.

She went to the vet today. Her physical exam was excellent but they drew blood to check for thyroid and other problems.

If those tests come back okay, what kinds of things should she be having as an older cat.

I've never had a cat this old before and am just unsure of the care and feeding.

Thanks for any insight you can provide.
Lizzie's mom
 

sandie

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Usually putting them on a diet made for seniors is your best best. I don't know if it's an option, but feeding her in the house may be a good idea. This way, you can keep track of how well she is eating. If you have been feeding her free choice, you should continue to let her eat when she feels she needs to.
Caring for an older cat isn't much different than the younger ones, you just need to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. You did a great thing by having the vet do bloodwork to look for anything you may not be able to see.
 
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compmom42

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Lizzie B passed all her medical. All her bloodwork came back fine. He said it is aging and summer doldrums.
We are back to feeding her inside. We have quite a feeding routine. The dog can't be inside when either cat is fed as the dog will wolf the food. And the kitten can't be around when the older cat is eating as that causes problems. Whew!
We'll have to have a feeding schedule.

The vet said to up her protein. She is now getting canned chicken with her food and I'll be cooking a bunch of chicken up this weekend as that will be cheaper.
He said she could also have fish, but only fillets. Kitty is going to eat better than I do


I'm just so relieved that there wasn't any unusual illness involved.

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sandie

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I'm glad to hear her checkup went well. It's always a relief when you get good news!!
We had the same problem at feeding time, but after chasing the dogs, we finally just got a nice table to keep the food up on. Now, if I could just get the dogs to NOT eat each others food..lol.
 
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compmom42

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Lizzie was less than pleased with the chicken. She slurped up all the juices and left the chicken. Guess I'm going to have to cook it for her. One of my coworkers who is a long time cat owner suggested baby food - the meats. I'll give that a try.
Right now I'm doing multiple feedings - the older cat first, then the dog and younger cat. What a schedule.
Is there a thread anywhere for owners of older cats? or is it just all blended in.

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sandie

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There was a guest who popped in to talk about older cats. It's the "sharing golden moments" Forum
 
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compmom42

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I'll check the thread out. Since it was inactive, I didn't know if anyone would be checking it.

Lizzie has come around to enjoying the canned chicken. Now I'll have to find out if she likes it when I cook it.

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hissy

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The forum is closed to posting now, but there could be answers for you in some of the posts that are there.
 

momofmany

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My Shep is also of undeterminable age - somewhere probably between 15 and 18. She has gum problems and while she can eat dry food, prefers soft moist kinds. I will cook her chicken about once a week - she likes it a lot, but I know it doesn't give her all the nutrician that she needs. I typically boil it until it is really soft, then mash it up with some gravy - she can chew it much more easily that way. The rest of the week she is on Science Diet A/D - very mushy and she basically laps it up. Our primary issue with Shep is getting her things she can eat, and trying to make those things as healthy for her as we can.
 
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