# Senior cat food



## Lottiecat (Sep 28, 2010)

I know the vitamins and minerals tend to be at different levels in adult and senior cat food. Can anyone tell me which tend to be different and why in relation to a cat's health/age/

Also, if anyone can recommend a senior wet cat food that would be great.


----------



## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

I'll be intersted in this too. I've never seen a cat's natural prey labelled kitten, adult or senior


----------



## thelioncub (Feb 9, 2009)

I used to feed senior specific food to our elderly boy, but after a lot of research I decided that it was actually better to feed a better non-age specific food, than one that was meant for seniors, but was full of rubbish.
There are some excellent posts by hobbs on cat food, both wet and dry, so I would take a look at them before you make a decision.
Personally I believe that our boys are much, much better off eating food with a high meat content, no grain, and raw meat dinners. I also think that these 'senior' labelled foods are a bit of a con to get you to choose their brand (as the choice is limited) You'll notice that the better quality foods don't specify and age of cat they are meant for, which I take to be a good sign!


----------



## buffie (May 31, 2010)

havoc said:


> I'll be intersted in this too. I've never seen a cat's natural prey labelled kitten, adult or senior


I believe you have just answered the question


----------



## Colette (Jan 2, 2010)

Personally, if the decent quality brands like bozita, smilla etc. did age specific foods I might be interested, but as the only senior diets I've seen have been brands I wouldn't touch with a bargepole I will stick to basic adult food.

Good answer by Havoc there!


----------



## hobbs2004 (Mar 12, 2010)

Somehow this question doesn't crop up as often as the one re kitten vs adult food. 

According to pet food manufacturers who offer senior foods, cats aged 6, 7 or 8 years + need to have special food because they need to consume fewer calories as they aren't as active, need to have less protein and phosphorus to lessen the impact on the kidney, need to have more vit e to help prevent aging and to convert essential fatty acids, and need to have more fibre because their digestive system is getting a bit slack. 

And it goes without saying that the consumer pays for the privilege of feeding food that typically tends to contain more fillers (e.g. grains), less meat etc. 

Personally I think this is a clever or actually not so clever marketing ploy. Cats under the right care and with a bit of luck can live easily to be 15+. So, according to pet food manufacturers, they spend most of their lives as oaps being fed a food that is inferior to normal adult food in terms of meat content etc. As Colette has observed, manufacturers of high quality pet foods don't tend to have so called lifestages food; they only have one to suit the needs of a cat no matter what age. 

As Havoc has rightly pointed out, kittens, cats and older cats in the wild wouldn't be getting different foods. What older cats might be doing is to eat less, kittens would be eating more compared with "medium" aged cats. However, they might just eat exactly the same as raw food doesn't quite have the impact on the kidney and liver as commercial cat food, particularly the cheap stuff, that is full of stuff that cats wouldn't normally eat a whole load of - thinking grains, vegetables, sugars, EEC additives, herbs etc. 

So, my advice would be to find a good quality wet food that contains few other things apart from meat, minerals and vitamins so as not to put too much pressure on the kidney and liver and to just feed that. Perhaps feed less of it but I would be very much guided by my cat. 

I would also be looking into salmon oil or other oils that contain a load of fatty acids, and I would look into glucosamine as a possible supplement to keep joints supple. 

Hope that helps


----------



## havoc (Dec 8, 2008)

The kitten food is something I looked at (vaguely) when manufacturers first started this 'value added' game. Because I'd fed raw food for years I have to admit to feeling a little pressured by other breeders who had started buying special kitten varieties. I wasn't overly worried because the argument put forward by others was that kittens needed higher protein levels and I certainly wasn't concerned about that aspect. 

What I found was that in any given brand the listed protein was higher in the kitten food. However, because the levels vary between brands one manufacturer's adult food could have the same level as another's kitten food. Didn't look any further than that, told me everything I needed to know


----------



## billyboysmammy (Sep 12, 2009)

my personal feelings are that is a lovely little con to get more money out of the pet food industry.

Naturally there are certain times that certain dietry restrictions make sense (kidney, liver, bowel, fat, calcium etc etc etc), but for 99% of healthy cats regardless of age then a normal diet is all that is needed.

It is up to the consumer to make the choice between raw, wet, dry or a combination. However i fail to see any real reason for these age related foods other than profit.


----------



## Lottiecat (Sep 28, 2010)

Thank you for your replies, especially the information given by Hobbs - I'll bear the glucosamine and salmon oil in mind at well!

I prefer to feed mostly wet in any event. I'll stick with the adult cat food for now, as I'd noticed that it's mainly brands like Whiskers and Felix that do the wet senior food.


----------

