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- Nov 17, 2005
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- Purraise
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I'm curious of other's thoughts/opinions on this. As my population ages, more & more are hitting the senior years every year that goes by.
Indoors I have "the babies" Gumby (not quite 1 y/o) & Lola (1 year 4 months old). Then I have the "middle aged" Dory, Eden, Lily, Margo, & Molly who are around 4 - 6 years old. Then I have the "seniors" Twitch, Tabitha, & Ophelia Rose (about 8 - 11 years old).
Outdoors I have "the babies" Billy Bob & Tony Bob who are 4ish years. Nemo's a young-in, probably under 3 years old? Then they're all old, over 6 years of age - Goat-Head, Cow, Slinky. Then there's the two that are "older than dirt" - Fafeena & Squishy are 16 - 18 years old. I'm not sure how much longer I'll have them, as age is definitely showing hard on both of them.
Now - I don't feed any senior dry food, and occasionally give senior canned to the indoor kitties. I have them split as far as who gets what dry. Lola eats anything. Eden has food intolerances so gets a Natural Balance allergy diet mixed with Purina ONE hairball (works for her - no more barfing). That's what half the cats eat along with her (Tabitha, Gumby, Lola, Dory, & Ophelia). The other half eat Taste of the Wild mixed with Felidae & Purina ONE hairball (Twitch, Lily, Molly, Margo & Lola eats their food too). At least some of them get Taste, which is an all lifestages food. Some certain indoor kitties who shall remain nameless are starting to having "expanding waistlines" as they age. *cough cough* Margo & Twitch. Yet at the same time I cannot keep weight on Eden, Lola, & Molly - they snack non-stop.
Outside kitties, believe it or not are my more expensive ones. Cow had a urinary blockage & Squishy has had a history of UTIs, crystals, and peeing straight blood. So they get Science Diet C/D dry (supervised feedings so I'm not wasting it!). Everyone is free fed Purina ONE urinary dry & *knock on wood* I've had no further major UTI problems. But you'll notice there is no senior food being fed to them. They do get canned food (esp. those who've had urinary issues in the past) at least 1x/day - but it's not a senior food.
I've talked to my vet repeatedly about this - and he's on the fence. Obviously those with the urinary issues in the past need the C/D, however he thinks that senior food may prove beneficial to some. His suggestion is Science Diet.
With so many cats, there is no one food that will cater to them all, hence me mixing foods (some won't eat certain foods also). If I hadn't failed fostering Gumby & Lola, my entire population would all be seniors in 3 years!
Indoors I have "the babies" Gumby (not quite 1 y/o) & Lola (1 year 4 months old). Then I have the "middle aged" Dory, Eden, Lily, Margo, & Molly who are around 4 - 6 years old. Then I have the "seniors" Twitch, Tabitha, & Ophelia Rose (about 8 - 11 years old).
Outdoors I have "the babies" Billy Bob & Tony Bob who are 4ish years. Nemo's a young-in, probably under 3 years old? Then they're all old, over 6 years of age - Goat-Head, Cow, Slinky. Then there's the two that are "older than dirt" - Fafeena & Squishy are 16 - 18 years old. I'm not sure how much longer I'll have them, as age is definitely showing hard on both of them.
Now - I don't feed any senior dry food, and occasionally give senior canned to the indoor kitties. I have them split as far as who gets what dry. Lola eats anything. Eden has food intolerances so gets a Natural Balance allergy diet mixed with Purina ONE hairball (works for her - no more barfing). That's what half the cats eat along with her (Tabitha, Gumby, Lola, Dory, & Ophelia). The other half eat Taste of the Wild mixed with Felidae & Purina ONE hairball (Twitch, Lily, Molly, Margo & Lola eats their food too). At least some of them get Taste, which is an all lifestages food. Some certain indoor kitties who shall remain nameless are starting to having "expanding waistlines" as they age. *cough cough* Margo & Twitch. Yet at the same time I cannot keep weight on Eden, Lola, & Molly - they snack non-stop.
Outside kitties, believe it or not are my more expensive ones. Cow had a urinary blockage & Squishy has had a history of UTIs, crystals, and peeing straight blood. So they get Science Diet C/D dry (supervised feedings so I'm not wasting it!). Everyone is free fed Purina ONE urinary dry & *knock on wood* I've had no further major UTI problems. But you'll notice there is no senior food being fed to them. They do get canned food (esp. those who've had urinary issues in the past) at least 1x/day - but it's not a senior food.
I've talked to my vet repeatedly about this - and he's on the fence. Obviously those with the urinary issues in the past need the C/D, however he thinks that senior food may prove beneficial to some. His suggestion is Science Diet.