Old cat diet.

[jusjim]

I didn't want to put this on the same thread as 'Oldest Cats', but that thread got me wondering what these cats were/are fed.

What did/do you feed your older cat? Any special suppliments? I feed Missy a meal of tuna with ready mixed Metamucil. Because fish is said to be deficient in Taurine, I add a very small amount of this to the tuna. Missy sems to be healthier than when I brought her home, but this could be due to environment and human friendship.

[cinderflower]

i have a 15 year old, i don't know if that's old enough to qualify. i gave her cosequin for awhile but it wasn't doing anything so i stopped, she just eats what the other cats eat, as much as she wants because i had problems keeping weight on her. she's pretty stable now, on methimazole transdermal. other than that, nah. i think 100% canned food keeps them pretty regular, enough moisture and all.

[Marcia]

I agree. Most of my cats are quite old and I'm just glad they are eating As they age (they are all over 15 now), they have lost weight much like a human granny does, but they have healthy appetites! I feed them wet food twice a day (one can each of Fancy Feast) and leave the dry food out for between meal snacking, but in reality if they ask for yummies, I give it to them. I figure at 15+ they can have what they want since none of them are overweight.

[furryfriends251]

I feed my old cats the same as the young kittens - prey model raw

[Susan]

In the other thread I posted about our family cat, Tiffy, who lived to be 23 years old. She died about 20 years ago, before the internet, forums and all sorts of debates on cat food. Throughout her life, Tiffy was fed grocery-store kibble.

[Nell]

I think older cats should eat the same thing as younger cats unless they have a specific health issue that requires a different diet. When Trixie was suffering from renal failure in her last years, I tried to pick foods that were lower in phosphorous.

Regarding tuna,
Its not just the lack of taurine in tuna that can cause a problem for cats, but also the lack of vitamin E and the levels of mercury it can contain. Feeding your cats a diet of primarily tuna, even with taurine added, will most likely lead to serious health problems in the long run.
Is Tuna Bad For Cats? | PetMeds.org

[jusjim]

Originally Posted by Nell

Feeding your cats a diet of primarily tuna, even with taurine added, will most likely lead to serious health problems in the long run.
Is Tuna Bad For Cats? | PetMeds.org

She only gets a little twice a day. It's mainly to mix the Metamucil in. She was quite bacly constipated when I got her from the shelter, she's fine now and much livelier. If I stop the Metamucil, her problem reverts. She also had a leaky eye but that is not evident anymore.

She won't touch 'Tuna for Cats'.

[RockyandLily]

My grandparents had two cats that both lived to 19. They went outside, she smokes a lot, they feed them canned and occasional table scraps and they probably hunted themselves never dry though. They do not live in a busy area though and their street is surrounded by marsh on three sides xD. One died either in the early 80's and the other died in 2002 or 2003 I believe. Off topic but the second one was a large long haired orange tabby, I really liked him .

[scottd]

Have you tried sodium free or low sodium canned chicken chunks instead of tuna?

I fed sodium free canned chicken with Nutri-Cal added to a chihuahua that wouldn't eat dog food of any sort. It was temporary but it kept her alive until she eventually learned to eat kibble.

[katbaalew]

My 18 year old gets a varied raw food diet (normally liver, beef shank, pork bones and some mixed stew meats), with an occasional treat of canned tuna or salmon. But up until she was 12, she just ate grocery store kibble, and then she was on low quality wet food after we were told she was pre diabetic and shouldn't eat any type of kibble and couldn't seem to hold down most raw foods.

The beef and pork seem to really agree with her these days, she is healthier now then 6 years ago, but it did take trial and error to find what her tummy was ok with (she can't eat raw poultry of any kind, although she loves cooked turkey). I think it is more of a concern to keep older cats eating enough for their size and avoiding diabetes etc then perfect nutrition. Sheeba throwing up her (healthier) food was more of a concern to me then her only eating low quality wet food!