Cats who’ve had long healthy lives?

[Time 2 Recognize]

Hi,
im still struggling with what brands to try for my cat and how to best feed her for the healthiest happiest kitty. I never thought when I adopted her that I’d have such a confusing and difficult time with picking food! She’s my first feline, so I don’t have previous experience to go by....

I’m wondering for those more experienced cat keepers who have or have had cats live long and relatively healthy lives, what are/were they fed? I know it’s anecdotal on a forum and at the end of the day, some cats are predisposed to some issues regardless. Not to mention newer brands didn’t exist 18-20 years go and other things do factor in to lifespan... But I thought it would be interesting to have a thread like this.

One main brand, or a mix? Homemade? How old are they/did they live to be?

I asked on a cat Facebook group and got a mix of answers, but couple people said they had cats live till 20+ on Royal Canin or near 20 on just friskies. I plan to email any well rated feline vets I can find in my state, but expect they will answer the usual 3-4 veterinary diets with odd ingredients (I’m ok with some by-products but don’t understand soy derivatives and wheat based ingredients?)

 

[Kieka]

Another thing to keep in mind with asking people about their food, formulas are constantly changing. Cat food prior to WWII was basically canned meat and it wasn't until WWII that they started even making kibble. With kibble came more carb heavy food to be shelf stable. The friskies of today might as well be a different food from the friskies of 40 years ago.

In general and in no particular order:

• The best food is the food your cat will eat.
• Nutritionally, cats are obligated carnivores and need high protein, moderate fat and low carbs.
• Most commercial foods main goal is to keep your cat alive and you buying it.
• I won't deny that a good homemade diet is superior to any commercial but you have to research and dedicate the time to making it. If you aren't comfortable or can't do homemade, freeze dried commercial with minimal fillers are close. Next in line would be a wet commercial food diet with minimal fillers. Dry food has it place and if you choose to feed it, try to find one with low carbs.
• Since formulas are constantly changing and may vary by region its hard to say a specific food or formula.
• Check the foods in your budget for meats listed first, minimal fillers and good nutritional profile. Or check out our raw forum for advice to do homemade food.
• Try to stay away from carageenan and agar agar gum (gums in general really). They are thickening agents that can cause digestive issues.
• Pea protein is one to avoid since commercial manufactures have found that they can cheaply boost the protein but cats can't use plant based protein so it is useless.
• Grain free isn't bad for cats. The whole grain free problem is a dog centric one and likely related to taurine content not the grain free aspect.
• Vegetables and fruit in general don't have a nutritional benefit for cats. Commercial foods add them to appeal to the human. BUT, pumpkin can help with hairballs or digestive issues because of the fiber content so I like to add a small bit to food if it doesn't already have some (1/2 teaspoon a day for maintenance and a little more if having specific issues)
• I personally prefer having multiple foods in the rotation so my crew doesn't lock onto a specific food. This comes in handy for the inevitable formula change or if you need to change for some reason.

 

[kittenmittens84]

Not sure how useful of a question this is with regards to longevity, like the above response says you’re probably better off following general guidelines for feeding cats well rather than ascribing individual cats’ longevity to specific foods. Growing up we had a cat who was born under our stoop and lived to be 21 - he only ate basic Iams adult kibble his whole life and wouldn’t touch wet food. Despite living to 21 I do not recommend you feed your cat only iams dry food.

 

[fionasmom]

My longest lived cats were 17 and 16 with a Jack Russell who lived to be 17 as well. All my dogs have had homemade meals but I have always been afraid to do that for cats despite the fact that you can find recipes, supplements, etc. My cats who have passed away at a relatively young age from an illness seemed to have gotten a bad hand dealt to them aside from anything diet could do.

I agree with Kieka 's guidelines so am not going to repeat them all over again. None of my cats ever ate true budget cat food but most like Fancy Feast as a brand generally, along with Weruva and BFF. I have also used Royal Canin dry as the wet never appealed to them.

Reread bullet 1....cats have to eat what you give them. I have brought home very expensive foods from time to time that looked like it could be spread on a cracker and served at a cocktail party and the cats have looked at me in horror and raked their paws over the dish.

 

[She's a witch]

The best food is the food your cat will eat.

I agree with this, cat needs to eat after all, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t work on changing cats preferences, as hard as it is. My boy was a kibble addict when I first got him, successfully transitioned to all wet diet. My girl wouldn’t even try the raw food for months I was giving it to her, and now it’s her favorite type of food. They were both young luckily as it’s easoer to make these kind of changes with young cats, although I’ve seen even senior cats going from kibble to wet only. So this rule shouldn’t really discourage people if they want to feed their cats something totally different than a cat is set to eat. It requires an effort and tons of patience, but it’s possible.

 

[Willowy]

My first cats ate dry Friskies their entire lives and lived to be 21 (they were sisters, and died about a month apart). I haven't managed to get another cat to 21 again, a couple of 20-year-olds but not past that, despite feeding "better" foods. So who knows. And, as mentioned, Friskies 30 years ago was maybe different than Friskies now.

Most cats do well on a mostly canned food diet, with some kibble for snacks (optional). This seems to help with hydration and bladder problems.

 

[Azazel]

Longevity is not really a good indicator of healthy nutrition. While it is true that a healthy diet is probably going to help you live a longer life, it won't guarantee it. Nor will a poor diet. Just like some humans smoke cigarettes all their life or eat junk food every day still end up living past their 80s, many cats will also survive long lives on a poor diet.

The pet feed industry gives me a headache so I no longer bother with it. I make my own homemade raw food and my cats are all doing well.

 

[aliceneko]

My cousins cat is 15 nearly 16 and he just has the supermarket own label food, and sometimes Felix and Whiskas 11+, which are all fairly cheap brands so I agree that it doesn't necessarily depend on nutrition. Nutrition certainly helps, but there are all sorts of other factors that determine a cat's lifespan too.

 

[Time 2 Recognize]

Thank you all for your replies! All so true. It's hard when vets sometimes very strictly recommend diets that . . . don't make a ton of sense ingredient wise. I had a vet tell me the foods I feed are "bad" and the only ones they recommend are the typical: Purina pro plan, Hills, Royal Canin.
I've been having such a time trying to find the right foods for my girl and what is "healthy" or best, literally for the past 2 years. I'm now thinking the foods I've been giving actually are too fatty for her, but that's a story for a different thread I posted in health forms. Oddly, Purina One seems better ingredient wise than Purina Pro Plan...

She's my little girl, and I think while I've literally wanted a cat since I was 5 years old, I never realized until I got one how BIG a thing it is to be in charge of their wellbeing. I've had hamsters, fish and have a snake. They were all so easy and straight forward. Somethings we can't help, but I often get overwhelmed with the aspects I do re: decide like food, which vet to trust, whether or not to make this or that change...etc. Exactly one year ago now, we had a very traumatic loss of our sweet 13yo maltese dog Estelle. She was my mother's companion, but my sister-dog, you know? She died horribly from sepsis because vets gave us incorrect home care instructions, no antibiotics after feeding tube insertion, and dismissed our concerns days 5-10 (multiple vets did, not just one). It was truly something out of a nightmare....and there's a lot of trauma from that which has made me a nervous cat mom. But I'm trying and all I can do is my best I guess.