Older cat/kitten food?

I might be an alarmist about this, but I think my Miss Kenzie (16 yrs now) is showing signs of aging fairly quickly. I've had trouble with her appetite since last summer, now her fur appears to be kind of separated "nappy" looking. I'm having difficulty in getting her to eat even her moist food now but desparate to keep her weight up. I bet if I were to get her some kitten dry food to add the carbs on she would gain and probably would eat it since it's easy to chew. Is there any reason why and elderly cat should not eat kitten food? What's the difference in the formulations from Sr. vs. kitten food? Thank you.

Have you taken your 'senior citizen' to the vet to determine why she is having difficulty eating and her appearance is suffering? There are a number of medical conditions that could be a major factor in what you should feed her. Generally, kitten food is designed to satisfy a kitten's growing metabolic needs. A senior cat may not be able to cope with the higher fat, or higher protein if she has certain medical conditions - or it may be what will provide her with necessary calories. Your vet is the best one to advise you of your cat's specific dietary needs. So, if you haven't had her in to the vet about this, I would suggest doing that first and then adjusting her diet to fit her exact needs.

Kathryn

I dont know...
but my kitty is only 5 months old and he wont eat the whiskas adult food.
i have no more kitten food as im waiting for my next money to come in but i dont understand why he wont eat it?? It smells the same just the food is bigger

Originally Posted by Kathryn41

Have you taken your 'senior citizen' to the vet to determine why she is having difficulty eating and her appearance is suffering? There are a number of medical conditions that could be a major factor in what you should feed her. Generally, kitten food is designed to satisfy a kitten's growing metabolic needs. A senior cat may not be able to cope with the higher fat, or higher protein if she has certain medical conditions - or it may be what will provide her with necessary calories. Your vet is the best one to advise you of your cat's specific dietary needs. So, if you haven't had her in to the vet about this, I would suggest doing that first and then adjusting her diet to fit her exact needs.

Kathryn

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ditto and talk to your vet asap

Originally Posted by captiva

I might be an alarmist about this, but I think my Miss Kenzie (16 yrs now) is showing signs of aging fairly quickly. I've had trouble with her appetite since last summer, now her fur appears to be kind of separated "nappy" looking. I'm having difficulty in getting her to eat even her moist food now but desparate to keep her weight up. I bet if I were to get her some kitten dry food to add the carbs on she would gain and probably would eat it since it's easy to chew. Is there any reason why and elderly cat should not eat kitten food? What's the difference in the formulations from Sr. vs. kitten food? Thank you.

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Chris, she needs a senior panel done, sounds like her kidney values OR her thyroid values are changing...both of which can be addressed - the thryoid more easily with just medication. Coat/weight/appetite change can go along with either.

You do not want to use kitten food to try to put weight on her - kitten food has higher protein content which a senior cat does not need.

Pat,

I've had two panels done already this year (2004). She even had a dopler blood pressure done. I insisted on the second blood work to the tune of another $190 dollars. He tells me she's doing remarkably well for a 16 yr old cat. I guess I just need to take her in again.

Originally Posted by captiva

Pat,

I've had two panels done already this year (2004). She even had a dopler blood pressure done. I insisted on the second blood work to the tune of another $190 dollars. He tells me she's doing remarkably well for a 16 yr old cat. I guess I just need to take her in again.

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Gee Chris, that does put a different spin on it, but honestly, that's what my intuition is saying...I'm not a vet though. Has he given you a printed copy of the results? In Patrick's case, his thyroid was normal, but high normal...but I urged my vet to consider that at his age, it was really too high...and we watched it creep up - always staying still high normal, but the trend was there, so he is on a tiny dose of tapazole, and it did make a difference for him. I'm going to ask Dr. Doolittle to comment, maybe she'll have a better feel as a vet tech as to what to advise,

He really did suspect her thyroid. She even had a lump in her throat so that was the first thing he went for. We brought her in for a weigh in a couple of months ago and he noticed it had gotten larger. Just ended up being a fluid filled cyst of some sort. He mentioned giving her pills to increase her appetite, but I really don't want to use that until I have to. You know how stressfull that can be. I've had to resort to holding her and her food on the couch in the morning and evening to get her to eat, but then she tries to steal George's DM prescription food. Maybe I'll have him draw blood and check again when we take her in (we run her in to get her weight when I think it's down). I appreciate your responses. I'm getting concerned again because I'm leaving her with DH a few days and he's not as patient as I am and doesn't push the eating issue with her and you really have to.

Another thing you might try in the meantime would be to heat her food a little? Sometimes as the kitties get older, their sense of smell weakens, and heating the food can make it more appetizing for them. I agree that the thyroid may be an issue, as it will definitely make them look scraggly. You might have them listen to her heart too, as a heart murmur may be caused by thryoid problems, even when the values aren't super high.

Kitties can be very expensive, can't they? It's a good thing we love them so much.

Hi Chris, sorry for the late reply. I agree with all of what has been said here and it sounds like you have done all the right things so far. If her thyroid and kidneys checked out OK on her bloodwork then that is probably not the problem. Has she had a dental recently? Sometimes cats can get very painful lesions on their teeth that are hard to find when the cat is awake. If she hasn't had her teeth cleaned in awhile I would consider doing that. Pain may be putting her off eating.
As Pat said, kitten food is really not good for senior cats. I would stick to a good quality senior diet- try several to find one that she likes.