Is "senior" cat food necessary?

[kmkelly127]

I have 2 cats -- Vinny just turned 9 and Sherman will be 2 in August. They free feed dry food now and I can't put them on a strict feeding schedule as my husband and I work in retail and our shifts change daily.

My question is -- is it necessary to put Vinny on "senior" cat food either now or when he's older, and if I do, how do I make sure he's the only one eating it?

 

[sharky]

Are they only on dry food??

Which one are you feeding???

What did Vinnys senior blood work say>???

Senior food can be feed to both ....
Is it nessessary?? ..
I think so( if only feeding dry) as most are lower protein and fat which aids in keeping them trim... More important is the lowering of Ca Phos in senior foods as these aid in keeping kidneys , liver functioning optimally

 

[momto3cats]

IMO, it is not necessary for a healthy 9 year old cat. My 9 & 10 year olds are still healthy, active, and lean, and they eat a good adult food. I personally don't agree with the idea that a cat becomes a "senior" at age seven - that may be true for dogs, but cats live longer. My 17 year old has only started to act "old" and have age-related problems in the past 2 years.

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by momto3cats

IMO, it is not necessary for a healthy 9 year old cat. My 9 & 10 year olds are still healthy, active, and lean, and they eat a good adult food. I personally don't agree with the idea that a cat becomes a "senior" at age seven - that may be true for dogs, but cats live longer. My 17 year old has only started to act "old" and have age-related problems in the past 2 years.

IT is the inside that is senior between 7-10( I think 9-10 is senior as it =45-50 in human yrs( same a s a small breed dog ) )... If you wait for them to ACT old then it is too late

 

[icklemiss21]

My vet said to wait, with how long cats are living 'senior' is seen as much older now and she did not suggest putting Magnum or Scully on senior food yet

 

[aussie_dog]

Originally Posted by sharky

IT is the inside that is senior between 7-10( I think 9-10 is senior as it =45-50 in humna yrs( same a s a small breed dog ) )... If you wait for them to ACT old then it is too late

45-50 is senior? Hah! Whatever happened to "middle aged"? lol

 

[sharky]

Originally Posted by Aussie_Dog

45-50 is senior? Hah! Whatever happened to "middle aged"? lol

Yeah I know ... lol..

I realized one I cant spell( lmao for the newer folks I KNOW I cant SPELL

)

A 7 yr old cat is 45 so a 9-10 is 55 ish...

 

[kmkelly127]

Vinny's never had senior blood work. My vet has never told me that he was supposed to have anything special done as he aged. In fact, at my last visit in April, when I suggested starting Vinny on senior food, he shook his head and told me he doesn't need it.

Right now they're eating a mix of Science Diet Indoor and Authority Indoor, as I'm in the process of switching them to Authority. I also feed them Meow Mix wet cups once or twice a week. I'm on a very tight budget with everything in life right now so feeding them more expensive food or more wet food would be a bit difficult.

I'm not concerned with keeping Vinny "trim" as he and my Sherman are both long and lean. Vinny still plays, runs, jumps, scratches, and is friendly. He is getting a bit gray around his eyes and ears, but that's the only sign of age. He also had a minor urinary tract "problem" in April (the emergency vet said she "hesitated to call it an infection because there wasn't blood or crystals in his urine, and he wasn't blocked" but he was visiting the litter box and nothing was happening one day. He was on clavamox for 48 hours and it never happened again) but other than that he hasn't had health problems.

 

[urbantigers]

I think it depends on what his blood tests show. I feed my 10 year old a mixture of adult and senior food. I feed the senior for it's lower phosphorus levels and I choose adult foods that have a fairly low phosphorus level. That's because while he doesn't have CRF, he does have kidney values towards the high end of normal so I want to try to prevent them getting higher. It also pays to study the ingredients and nutritional information on the respective foods. Senior foods generally have less phosphorus, but some adult foods may actually have lower levels than a different brand of senior food. I would also not be happy switching from a good quality adult food to a poorer quality senior food, so it's more about what's actually in the food than whether it's labelled a senior food.

 

[goldenkitty45]

IMO unless the cat is having problems, they don't have to be put on "senior" right away. Spooky was 15 1/2 yrs old and still ate the same Iams he did when younger.