phosphorus and old age

Phosphorus is an essential element in the feline diet, so it must be present in adequate amounts. It is, however, hard on diseased kidneys. For that reason, IF your cats have any degree of renal insufficiency (as demonstrated in bloodwork), it's best to choose foods with lower levels of phosphorus. If your senior cats have healthy kidneys, then phosphorus levels found in most cat foods should present no problem.

The best thing you can do for your seniors is to have regular bloodwork run on them (at least once yearly - twice would be better, if you can afford it). Bloodwork will help catch an early diagnosis of most of the disease processes common to elderly cats, and early diagnosis is the key to successful management or cure of these diseases. Bloodwork will also identify increases in serum phosphorus that will indicate when dietary adjustments need to be made.

Laurie

Thanks for replying.
My 3 senior cats's blood counts from last month came out normal. The vets still recommended either senior or renal diet for all old cats because he believes lower phosphorus is better for kidneys of old cats. These vets always recommend Hills dry to owners though. I wonder if it's true we should moderate phosphorus level for old healthy cats.

What do people on this forum feed their cats who are older than 10?

Renal diets do a lot more than lower phosphorus. They also have a substantially reduced protein content, which can cause serious problems for cats of all ages. Reduced protein diets are generally recommended only for cats in late-stage renal failure. Restricting protein in healthy cats can undermine their health.

The best thing you can feed your elderly, healthy cats is a canned or homemade diet with high quality, meat-based protein sources. In my opinion, Hill's dry foods are about the worst possible dietary choice you could make, and Hill's renal dry diet is what I would consider to be the absolute worst option for cats with healthy kidneys.

Laurie

Thanks for the information.
Should I watch for phosphorus level of raw and canned food for my senior cats? I think raw diets give my cats energy, but I wonder if I should watch for phosphorus level in raw and canned food.
What do you guys think?