Best Cat Food for Senior Cats

As your cat gets older, you may notice changes in their approach to food. This can be anything from eating less to losing weight in spite of eating. This is why it’s so important to be aware that senior cats need a shift in diet to stay healthy as they enter their later years.

With this in mind, what is the best cat food for senior cats that meets their nutritional needs? We’ve created this guide to help you better understand not just what you should be feeding your senior cats, but why they need these considerations to be made for their health.

When is a Cat Considered a Senior?

It’s widely accepted by most experts that around 11 years old is the beginning of seniority for cats. However, there isn’t a specific age where your cat is considered to be definitively a senior, particularly with different species of cat having different lifespans, but with lifespans ranging from 13 to 17 all the way to 18 to 25, it’s safe to say 11 years old is the start of being a senior cat. When they peak over 15 years old, they are then labelled ‘geriatric’.

Why Does my Senior Cat Need Different Food?

As cats age, like humans, their nutritional needs are incredibly different to when they’re kittens or even adults. This is due to the fact that as their body gets older, their organs’ ability to process nutrients slows, as does their digestion.

One of the key dietary elements they need more of is good quality proteins and fats. Fats in particular get more difficult to digest for senior cats, meaning they don’t get calories as easily as when they’re younger. Combine this with their weight and muscle mass needing additional protein to be maintained, upping their intake of both is crucial to their diet.

Similarly, an increased amount of omega 3 fatty acids can help keep your senior cats joints, fur, and skin healthy and in good condition, as well as increasing vitamin and mineral intake to keep their brains healthy and functioning.

Why is My Senior Cat Not Eating?

It’s perfectly normal for your cat’s appetite to change and eat less as time goes on, due to their digestion slowing. However, there are other factors that could contribute to a reduced appetite:

• Kidney disease: kidney disease in senior cats is incredibly common, and is usually associated with a lack of appetite. If you notice your senior cat drinking more water and losing significant weight, consult with your vet immediately.
• Dental or gum issues: when a cat develops dental or gum issues, the pain stops them from wanting to eat. Check for bad breath or red and inflamed gums.
• Cat flu: if your cat is experiencing a significant flu, it can greatly affect their appetite, making them not want to eat.
• Stress: has there been a lot of change in your home recently? Maybe a move or a significant adjustment to your life or schedule? Cats are creatures of habit, and stress can massively impact their will to eat.
• Change of diet: changing your cat’s food without allowing for a proper transition can put your cat off eating. 

What is the Best Cat Food for Senior Cats?

Whatever you choose to feed your cat, be sure that what you’re buying is specifically made for senior cats. This is food that takes into account their dietary needs with an increase of protein and fat with a decrease in phosphorus to keep their kidneys and organs healthy.

Raw diets are ideally suited to senior cats, as the high quality protein and nutrients in raw meats match exactly what senior cats require to lead a happy, healthy life.

Many senior cat owners find that as their pets get older, raw food diets tick the boxes for their nutritional requirements due to the high protein and good fat content. The Senior Cat Food Range that we offer has been specifically formulated for cats of 11 years old and above to maintain lean body mass.

It includes added joint care ingredients, DHA for their cognition, and yeast as a source of prebiotics alongside the high protein. There’s plenty of flavour options to choose from, and they contain premium cuts of human grade meat, minced with bone and offal. The fine texture contains slightly smaller bone pieces than our standard adult raw food, perfect for anyone seeking vet recommended senior cat food.

How to Transition Your Senior Cat onto Raw Cat Food

If you’re thinking of transitioning your senior cat onto raw food, the best way to do so is allowing for a gradual change over a week or so, usually 8 to 10 days. Mixing their existing food with the new raw cat food can encourage them to engage and eat the new food, especially with older cats being resistant to change. For raw cat food, serving it at room temperature, rather than straight from the fridge, can also make your senior cat more willing to eat it, and we have a full transition to raw food guide you can follow along with.

If you’re considering moving your cat onto a raw food diet, the 450g tubs we offer are complete foods, so they provide all the protein, nutrients, minerals, and amino acids, including taurine, that your senior cat needs on a daily basis. Browse our range and order today.