Senior kitty - any food changes needed?

[mizzely]

Lydia turned 12 in October, and of course I can't leave well enough alone and want to be sure I'm doing the best by her.

Currently she's eating a mix of wet foods: Primarily Tiny Tiger, Fancy Feast, American Journey, WholeHearted, Sheba... Occasionally other stuff as I find it on sale. She does get a bit of dry, about 1 Tbsp a day of Purina Pro Plan.

She is SUPER picky. She will not eat a lot of foods, both wet and dry. No Dr. Elsey's, Friskies, Whole Earth, Merrick, Tiki Cat (except mousse), Canidae, Weruva, BFF, Wellness, KOHA, I and luv and U.


I do give her glucosamine every day as she does have some arthritis and I've definitely noticed a positive change since starting it a couple months ago. She is otherwise healthy, confirmed with bloodwork and urine analysis a couple weeks ago.

Basically all this boils down to: should I be be feeding senior wet food specifically? Or is there anything in particular I should be looking out for in her food?

I know when Jasmine got to about 15 she started losing muscle mass and the vet suggested kitten foods because of the extra protein. It definitely seemed to help but I just want to start making changes now for Lydia if I should be.

 

[maggie101]

Sounds like you are doing great! Tiny tiger is mostly which you need to avoid. Some of the American journey is high protein low fat. So not every day. Lots of water bowls. The tops of my litter boxes are off so I can check when she pees and poos. I use this to show the protein,fat,carbs,and price of wet food. Protein in kitten food is not much different than adult. I also feed nutroperfect portions
catfooddb.com

 

[mizzely]

What about Tiny Tiger needs to be avoided?

What is considered "low fat" and what should my target be? The dry matter basis for the AJ she eats most is 45% protein and 27% fat.

She won't eat a food two days in a row, so she gets nothing every day besides the Pro Plan kibble.

She won't use covered boxes and I scoop twice a day.

Multiple water bowls and fountains in the house on all levels.

Nutro she is hit or miss on. Its too expensive of a food for me to feed when some days she eats it and others she won't.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Tiny Tiger is nothing more than a Chewy knock off for Fancy Feast, so I wouldn't worry about if she eats it. Many cats as they age tend to want a variety of foods, so that they don't eat the same thing - sometimes up to a week at a time (as is with my cat).

I guess I want to know if you are just trying to be proactive since her most recent bloodwork did not signify any issues The blood work must include a chemistry panel, not just a CBC, in order to capture a more complete picture.

If her only issue is pickiness with food, and not health related, I would just feed her whatever she will eat. I would not put too much emphasis on a specific protein or fat.

 

[mizzely]

Hi. Tiny Tiger is nothing more than a Chewy knock off for Fancy Feast, so I wouldn't worry about if she eats it. Many cats as they age tend to want a variety of foods, so that they don't eat the same thing - sometimes up to a week at a time (as is with my cat).

I guess I want to know if you are just trying to be proactive since her most recent bloodwork did not signify any issues The blood work must include a chemistry panel, not just a CBC, in order to capture a more complete picture.

If her only issue is pickiness with food, and not health related, I would just feed her whatever she will eat. I would not put too much emphasis on a specific protein or fat.

I am mostly wanting to know if there is any targets percentages for protein, fat etc, that might prevent the muscle loss that I experienced with Jasmine.

We did a complete senior panel including CBC, urinalysis, biochemistry, thyroid. Only thing of note is that she needs a dental cleaning.

 

[Furballsmom]

that might prevent the muscle loss that I experienced with Jasmine.

This can be caused by several things, where the digestive system itself or organs thereof don't function as well, either because of a disease or something that occurs due to undetermined reasons (such as with hyperthyroidism where the cause isn't clear).

You may not want to change the current diet for a finicky cat who just had a good checkup. You have her eating different brands which in my mind can be a good, viable approach, because of the different ingredients and nutritional densities.

The Science Behind Cat Nutrition – TheCatSite Articles

This article mentions information regarding nutritionists;

https://thecatsite.com/c/raw-food-for-cats-interview-with-pet-nutritionist-dr-martha-cline/

What you might consider, if you aren't already (sorry if I missed it) is a pre and probiotic, in order to get and keep your cats gut working the best it can be.