Recommended food for elderly, arthritic cat.

Miss_J

Been for a check up with my 18 year old cat. Normally a sprightly soul, but we had to have his brother put to sleep last month and so he's a little more mopey around the house. I've noticed in the last couple of weeks that his back leg is a lot more stiff when walking and hips have a funny gait when walking. He still attempts to jump up onto the bath, desk, other furniture etc but can't always manage it.

Asked the vet today about medication, his last bloods (he has these checked every few months due to hyperhtyroidism) showed changes in his lier/kidney function test, which the vet says is normal for his age, but he wouldn't want to start him on Metacam straight away before trying other nutritional supplements. He recommened looking at foods in Pets at Home and said I could get food with supplements in.

Anyone have any recommendations for good foods to try him on, he's been getting spoilt recently with gourmet foods since losing his brother, so is probably getting a little choosy with his menu.

springer211

zooplus have some really nice food, my cat loves animonda carny, which is not too expensive and much better quality compared to supermarket food.
She also loves hilife which is not bad, but it's not a complete food, just complementary, and cannot be given regularly as the main food.

personally I think that supermarket 'senior' cat food is just a rip off, and never used to for my previous cat when she became a bit older, and particularly not at the recommended age of 8yo. Can't see why they have to charge more for what is basically the came carp...
(rant over )

McKneff

Sainsbury's Senior cat food is relatively inexpensive. A lot lot less than the Whiskas one.

Celli

I'm a bit surprised your vet thinks supplements added to food will have any appreciable effect, they won't, typically supplements are never in high enough amounts to make much difference to very creaky oldies.
Either try a joint supplement for cats, or try a different vet who's a bit more up to date in geriatric cats.
When my 19 year old cat Polly got stiff and couldn't tolerate Metacalm she was prescribed Tramadol which worked brilliantly. It is just a pain killer, but at that age I was just interested in keeping her comfortable.

bacardi66

My cat is 19 I noticed he was getting a bit stiff in his back legs - he already has Yumega cat oil in his food for his coat and I now also give him Stride Plus Mobility supplement for cats in his food.

He does seem agile for his age and can still run up the stairs, can jump about 3 foot onto the garden wall and enjoys being outdoors.

In terms of food he has turned into a right fuss pot in his old age - he seems to really enjoy Gourmet and Sheba Fresh Choice. He still has Royal Canin Outdoor Mature dry food and Whiskas Senior but he doesn't seem as keen on the Whiskas as he used to be.

I hope your cat gets less mopey - mine lost his brother 5 years ago and he did mope for a while but then seemed to relish being on his own and getting all the attention

Miss_J

Thanks for the advice folks.

Celli, was a different vet to my normal vet, think he thought it was a bit soon to jump in with metacam when he seemed well in himself and did mention that it was still very soon after losing his brother so will be feeling the effects of this.

Bacardi thanks for telling me about your 19 year old boy, it gives me hope, I've been moping myself since I lost our other cat last month, wondering how long we have left with my other boy. It's upset me to see him lose his happiness for life and to look so stiff at times. You've given me hope though that I do still have some quality time left to enjoy him.

I've decided to order some Seraquin supplement when I get his next meds next week, it seems to have excellent reviews and will hopefully give him the boost he needs to start enjoying life again.

Celli

Is Seraquin prescription only ?
It's just that you can often get some supplements a lot cheaper and pretty easily if there's no prescription required.
My vet suggested a lysine supplement for my two kittens who have mild cat flu, from him it was £21, from Vet UK it was just over £13.

~Chameleon~

Have a look at the Royal Canin range of foods. If he's starting to get weak in the back end in he may start to have difficulty in defecating due to muscle wastage. His appetite may also start to decline with resultant weight loss.

One of my cats is now 23 yrs old and I've switched her diet to RC Convalescence wet food to help stabilise her weight, alongside RC Fibre Response dry food which helps her with defecation. She was previously vomiting every time she tried to defecate but this hasn't happened since and she's also gained a little weight.