Feeding a senior aged cat?

Question

How many cans(regular sized cans, not fancy feast) of cat food should a senior aged cat be fed per day? How much should a cat weigh?

I'm not interested in knowing about how much dry food to feed a cat. I don't believe in feeding a carnivore, an herbivore's diet. I am not interested in knowing what brands to feed a cat either. Does anyone know how many 5.5 oz. cans of cat food a cat needs a day? If so, how many?

Answer 1

Since cats can vary so widely in size, it's simpler to go by body condition than by weight. Look at your cat and compare it to a body condition chart - here's one: http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/clinicalnutrition/bcscat.htm
A large-breed cat such as a Maine Coon cat can weigh 20 pounds and be healthy, and a small-boned cat can weigh 8 pounds and be fat. My cats range from a petite 6.5 lbs to a medium-large 12.5 pounds.

If you're uncertain, ask your vet to assess your cat's body condition and weight for you. As your cat ages, you'll want to keep a close eye on his/her weight, because sudden weight loss or gain can signal a problem.

Most cats usually go through about 4-6 ounces of canned food in a day - what your cat needs may vary depending on his or her size, body condition, activity level, and the type of food you feed. Generally, if you're feeding 5.5 oz cans of a quality food, one per day should be enough unless your cat is very active and/or large.

On the days when I only feed canned food, my 3 senior cats (one age 19, two age 13) will usually go through about one 15-oz can of Wellness brand canned food in a day, which would work out to about 5 oz per cat (the smaller cat eats less, the bigger one eats more, and they walk around and switch bowls). I split 1/2 can 3 ways in the morning, then again in the evening.

If you're feeding a high-quality canned food, you don't need to worry about senior food vs. adult food. Most senior foods are just higher-carbohydrate and lower-fat versions of the regular foods, though some senior foods have lower phosphorous and protein levels. Since higher-carbohydrate foods don't necessarily equal weight loss (http://www.catinfo.org), it's best just to stick with a good canned food, unless your cat has kidney problems. In that case it's good to watch the phosphorous content: http://www.catchatradio.com/QA/qa_crf.htm
http://www.felineoutreach.org/EducationDetail.asp?cat=KidneyDisease

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Actually I just got this last night in my e-mail:

Good news, if your kitty is a picky eater. Once she's found her favorite meal, a healthy cat can keep eating it well into her golden years.

Recent studies show that otherwise healthy older cats don't need to switch to "senior diets" or other special food formulas. Instead, they should be fed regular, well-balanced, tasty meals that contain potassium and taurine. And it's not necessary to restrict protein, which some owners do in the hopes of fending off or delaying kidney problems. Research doesn't support this practice, and it isn't good for the cat.

So according to this you don't change anything once they become a senior cat so feed it what your normally fed him before. It says on my can of Friskies to feed an adult cat one ounce per pound of body weight daily. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Usually one can is enough for a cat per day. It can depend on the size of the cat. I would hope your cat is not hyperthyroid (causing a ravenous appetite because of the increased metabolism brought on by the disease).

I WILL mention brands because it is very important that the cat have quality protein in its diet and not food that uses by-product meat. To save you searching for a quality food and reading a large number of cat can labels I will suggest you get Natural Balance, Wellness, Lick Your Chops, Avoderm and you will not find them in the grocery store. Those brands have their ingredients in high quality protein.

Answer 4

depends on what you are feeding her, if you are feeding her iams, friskies, and anything else you can buy at walmart, you should be feeding about 4 cans aday...why? cause it has less nutritional value than others like eagle pack, wellness, and natural choice. switch her to a food that has high taurine, omega 3+6 fatty acids, with no artificial preservatives, corn, soy, fillers, by-products, wheat, artificial colors. also make sure to serve both the wet and dry a day. technically the wet food should be offered once a day and usually one can when its served. id recommend switching your cat to eagle pack, i used to feed my cats purina cat chow before i went to vet school, now im looking into being a animal dietician. eagle pack is amazing, organic, has no allergins, fillers, or byproducts. this did wonders for my cat, and they love it to! and the weight of your cat depends on what kind it is, all mine are 7-10 pounds but they are generally smaller cats. remember you want to build healthy lean muscles, not fat, so maybe try the duck and oatmeal formula for cats from eagle pack.

Answer 5

Senior cats probably would benefit best from food designed for senior cats.