Food for longevity

Anyone have cats that have made it over the age of 15 or even 20? If so, what did you feed them? Anything in particular you believe contributed to their longevity? Any other habits?  

My last cat lived to be 18.  My parent's fed her junk just because they didn't know any better at the time (cheap no name dry food, and wet food at night).  She was an indoor/outdoor cat.  I think she must of had healthy genes or something, not because of any certain diet.  I remember when we took her to the vet a few days before she died, the vet said her teeth were perfect...never had a dental done before.  If I was a bit older when we had her I would of bought her much better food!  Poor cat.  

My Frannie passed when she was 18 and my Wheezie is currently 15. Until I learned more about feline diet, they both ate only Iams dry for years. I believed the ridiculous 'dry food is better for their teeth and wet will rot them' myth. Iams was a better quality food 15 years ago, before they were bought out, but I don't know if that helped my girls or not. I think a lot of longevity has to do with genetics. And, of course, the best way to give any cat a longer life span is to keep them inside at all times.

In the past 6 or so years, I've fed them the highest quality foods I can reasonably afford. We do Friskies pates, with cans of Wilderness and other premiums mixed into the rotation. They always have a bowl of dry out for free feeding and for that we use Authority from Petsmart. Honestly, if they would eat it, I would love to switch them to raw. My older ones are so set in their ways, I'll have do the switch with our next generation of cats.

happybird said:

In the past 6 or so years, I've fed them the highest quality foods I can reasonably afford. We do Friskies pates, with cans of Wilderness and other premiums mixed into the rotation. They always have a bowl of dry out for free feeding and for that we use Authority from Petsmart. Honestly, if they would eat it, I would love to switch them to raw. My older ones are so set in their ways, I'll have do the switch with our next generation of cats.

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have you tried cooked cat food? i just cook some meat (chicken breast, chicken liver, or turkey) i grind it up, cook it in water. and add some vitamins. I use U-stew, but there are many other brands, and you can even buy the vitamins and mix it up yourself. But my cats love this stuff! I switched them from canned food, to home cooked food.

Havent been able to convince them to eat raw. lol But this is working thus far.

The reality is how long they live has a lot to do with genetics and less to do with what we feed them. Although i think that food is incredibly important so feeding the best you can afford will just help them. I think raw or home cooked is the best, but the next best is high quality commercial foods. 

terestrife said:

have you tried cooked cat food? i just cook some meat (chicken breast, chicken liver, or turkey) i grind it up, cook it in water. and add some vitamins. I use U-stew, but there are many other brands, and you can even buy the vitamins and mix it up yourself. But my cats love this stuff! I switched them from canned food, to home cooked food.

Havent been able to convince them to eat raw. lol But this is working thus far.

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Yep, I've tried home-cooked. No go.
Every time I cook a whole chicken, I fix the giblets for the cats. But they always end up sitting there in the dish until I have to throw them out. I've done them raw and diced down teeny-tiny, and cooked and mashed. Even tried it without the liver in case that texture was turning them off. Picky boogers!

We have issues getting them to eat some of the chunkier premium foods. They are not even very chunky, just not super-fine. I have to mash everything with the back of a fork until it is almost a paste. I do want to get a meat grinder to see if that fine texture they produce will help. One of my new, adult cats seems to be more adventurous in his eating habits, so I am going to try to switch him and my youngest over once I get that meat grinder. I've been eyeing up my Mom's, but she's not letting go of it, lol! I'm hoping my not-so-subtle hints will result in a Christmas present.

Wesley lived to be 19 and ate Friskies canned food all his life - with some Purina kibble thrown in at night. I think he just had great genes. He did get regular vet care and lived inside after he turned 11 which helped as well.

happybird said:

Yep, I've tried home-cooked. No go.

Every time I cook a whole chicken, I fix the giblets for the cats. But they always end up sitting there in the dish until I have to throw them out. I've done them raw and diced down teeny-tiny, and cooked and mashed. Even tried it without the liver in case that texture was turning them off. Picky boogers!

We have issues getting them to eat some of the chunkier premium foods. They are not even very chunky, just not super-fine. I have to mash everything with the back of a fork until it is almost a paste. I do want to get a meat grinder to see if that fine texture they produce will help. One of my new, adult cats seems to be more adventurous in his eating habits, so I am going to try to switch him and my youngest over once I get that meat grinder. I've been eyeing up my Mom's, but she's not letting go of it, lol! I'm hoping my not-so-subtle hints will result in a Christmas present.

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Oh my goodness, cats sure are picky arent they? It tooks me a few weeks and a few recipes to get my cats away from canned food. I do use a meat grinder for the liver, and half the chicken, although i do cut some of them, as one of my cats likes the chunky pieces.

I love how cats have their own likes and dislikes. they really are unique, arent they?

Thanks for all the input. I had a cat that lived to be 18, and she mostly at Meow Mix dry her whole life. She was also an outdoor cat until she was 16, so she got a lot of exercise and was a terrific mouser. Once she moved completely indoors at 16 she ate only Fancy Feast grilled chicken wet as well as a few other flavors of fancy feast. My cat now is 3, lives strictly indoors, and is very picky...she only wants the fancy feast wet with cheese varieties or two specific flavors of purina pro plan wet (beef with carrots and rice; and white meat chicken with vegetables.) I mostly give her the purina pro plan and save the cheese flavors for special treats. I want her to eat better, but she wants none of it. She runs away from any pate style like the plague. 

She also gets 1/4 cup of Nutro Natural Cat dry each morning, but I'd like to transition to just 1/8 cup with some of her wet given in the morning. She was eating Wellness for a while, then gave it up. Having trouble getting her to eat better. 

My friend's indoor cat, Yoda, lived to 22 or 23. She was fed generic dry food all her life. I think genetics are going to be the biggest factor. 

I also believe cats that go out supplement their diet, get more exercise and enrichment, but alas it only works if they do not get killed or succumb to poison or disease.

bonepicker said:

I also believe cats that go out supplement their diet, get more exercise and enrichment, but alas it only works if they do not get killed or succumb to poison or disease.

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or harmed by sick humans.

a good way for cats to get all that you say, and go outside safely is a cat enclosure. its what i plan on doing. to enclose part of my yard for my cat.

terestrife said:

 
or harmed by sick humans.

a good way for cats to get all that you say, and go outside safely is a cat enclosure. its what i plan on doing. to enclose part of my yard for my cat.

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Which is sad but true. Our new enclosure is great: it's basically a screened in porch so there's nothing to supplement their diet :-) but watching chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and bugs close-up sure keeps them busy... and totally exhausts them by the end of the day! I wish we'd done this sooner, for them and us.