Balanced canned wet and raw advice for a senior

[julesb]

Hi,

My cat has struvite crystals and a bladder inflammation.The vet prescribed a med (Maropitant) for the inflammation and Hill's food for the crystals. She won't eat Hill's so I'm feeding her other, good quality low phosphorus wet food, thankfully with much success so far.

Once the crystals are gone, I want to get her back on regular food. She mostly had Wellness Core Sig Selects shredded chicken and turkey and some Wellness Complete Health Gravies. And some other random cans I tried when she was not eating much. I want to add more options to the menu, in case those foods contributed to her developing crystals.

Here's my question. What would you recommend to feed a 13-14 years old cat? What are you feeding your seniors? I'm lookin for good quality wet and raw foods with a lot of moisture and grain free, if possible. Good protein, low carbs. Not sure what the phosphorus levels should be for a healthy senior. Both of my cats like chicken and turkey flavor, no fish please.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

 

[maggie101]

Hill c/d got rid of the crystals After that I switched to weruva and they came back. So back to cd. Got rid of them. Now she ate weruva steak frites for a long time, never came back. Now any weruva she eats,nulo,instinct venison.

 

[maggie101]

Your vet should have purina proplan packets. That will get her to love the food or freeze dried treats

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

As far as lots of moisture, lots of us here on TCS actually add water to our cats wet food, just to ensure they are well hydrated. I usually add around one tablespoon of filtered water to each meal, but it does depend on what food I'm servicng. Pates can often take much more water and some of the other types of food are quite soupy to begin with, so I can't add quite as much.

For the actual food to feed, I think any brand of raw would be within your parameters (high protein, low carb), even if you were to try to freeze dried and rehydrate it. For canned food, see if this article helps with what to look for: What Makes The Best Canned Cat Food? [Answered] - TheCatSite

 

[julesb]

Thank you. I usually add a fair amount of water or broth..

 

[julesb]

Just wanted to give an update hoping nits helpful for someone.

I did not feed my cat the Hill's food the vet recommended as she did not like it (and neither did I). She was on raw and Weruva WX low phosphorus diet as well as Tiki Puka Puka chicken. No dry food. Just brought her for retesting for crystals and they are all gone. So it's possible to do it without Hill's.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Just wanted to give an update hoping nits helpful for someone.

I did not feed my cat the Hill's food the vet recommended as she did not like it (and neither did I). She was on raw and Weruva WX low phosphorus diet as well as Tiki Puka Puka chicken. No dry food. Just brought her for retesting for crystals and they are all gone. So it's possible to do it without Hill's.

Great news! Thanks for the update.