Best food for old cat?
 

Hi,

Our 16 year-old cat has had some health problems with the thyroid, now thankfully under control with pills, and she's putting on weight again having lost a lot.

But she can't eat the dry cat food she used to prefer because she gets diarrhea, she's very picky over the tinned food too, prefering only fish-based varieties. Trouble is, the wet food dries up if you leave out too much, and we're usually away all day (we come home and the bowl has been empty for hours), and she wakes us up in the night for more! The vet is very nonchalant and not too helpful...

So what would you recommend as good food for an elderly cat which does little more than eat and sleep, which can keep her healthy and will be really easy to digest?

Thanks for your ideas!

Well, for starters, wet food is really best for any cat, but especially older ones. The extra moisture is much better for their kidneys. You could add even more water to the canned food to prevent it from drying out over the course of the day (that's what I do). You might also want to try a timed feeder (some even come with a space to put a cooler gel-pack to keep things fresher if your cat is picky about that kind of thing).

Also, I'm wondering what brands of canned you've tried so far. It could be you just have to try a few more different ones to see what works. I wouldn't recommend a steady diet of the fished based varieties because they tend to be higher in phosphorous, which is thought to be harder on the kidneys, but it might be a good place to start and then work on mixing in some other flavours later on. I would look for a grain-free canned like Wellness, since it might be that your cat is getting diarrhea from the grains in her dry food. Wellness is also low in phosphorous (even the fishy ones) and a bit higher in calories, which could help with her weight.

For more info on the feline diet and some tips on transitioning to canned food, check out this link: [url]http://www.catinfo.org/[/url]

Good luck!

Alhough tinned food is great for older cats, you may not be getting adequate protein intake. You may want to boost it with some hard boiled (or scrambled eggs) salmon, something like that.
The best food (if you are using ONLY tinned) will be things without alot of extra things like veggies and such. Use these types of foods as your main food, and then use ones woth veggies and such occasionally.

I agree with what's been said already and would definitely feed one of the premium holistic brands instead of those available at the supermarket or places like Walmart.

hmm. very hard situation for the old cat and for you too. Lately i have been browsing some foods for my cat in the web and i found some foods. I found some dry ones and wet ones. But there is one food that i think very suitable for your cat. The name is Castor & Pollux Ultramix Cat. Just check it out at [URL="http://www.petsupplyonlinestore.com"]http://www.petsupplyonlinestore.com[/URL].