The best cat food for senior cats will take into account the following characteristics which are common to senior felines.
Cat food for weight gain in older cats.
Good quality kitten food is an excellent choice for weight gain in healthy cats.
A cat that is skin and bones is just as unhealthy as an obese feline so you need to help your cat to gain back the weight it has lost.
Dental disease can make it more difficult for your cat to chew dry food so you may need to switch to a softer canned food.
Reduced ability to smell and taste.
This is especially true the older a cat gets.
The higher maintenance energy requirements of geriatric cats in combination with their impaired ability to digest protein will lead to loss of.
If your cat is severely malnourished and needs to gain weight but has a hard time keeping down food a cat weight gain supplement is a good place to start.
Taking care of an underweight older cat can be a difficult and trying experience.
What dry food has in palatability and caloric density it lacks in moisture vital for sick cats and often protein digestibility.
Cat food options for weight gain.
Our top 5 picks.
To coax an older cat to eat first address these problems and then start feeding a high calorie cat food for weight gain.
Creating and sticking to a feeding routine is good for cats so have a structured feeding time that lasts 10 to 20 minutes instead of leaving food out all day.
Cats are picky eaters in general exhibiting much more demanding behavior towards their owners than dogs do.
And most cats enjoy eating kitten food.
Figuring out what to feed an older cat to gain weight can be difficult for even the most seasoned owner.
Proper hydration is also important for the senior cat.
High calorie nutritional gel for quick weight gain prescription formulas for weak or sick cats aka high calorie cat food for sick cats should be recommended by a vet however many vets and pet owners recommend providing a supplemental calorie dense gel such as tomlyn s see below to help add calories to your cat s meal fast.
Royal canin feline health nutrition dry cat food for young kittens is nutrient and calorie dense and tends to be highly palatable to most cats.
As kitties get older they may begin to lose interest in food.
This is often because they can t see smell or taste quite as well as they used to.
As cats age they may lose weight for a variety of reasons from dental problems to cancer.
Other diseases that are common in older cats can also require dietary changes.
Diseases like cancer may cause a cat to lose weight and therefore need extra nutrition.
While there could be a medical explanation your cat s senses may just be declining.
Tomlyn s high calorie nutritional gel for cats.
The dogma that all older cats be fed reduced energy senior diets must be questioned based on what is now known about the increasing energy requirements and nutritional needs of older cats.
Adding palatable toppings or using an appetite stimulant can also help.
Many older cats lose interest in food.