Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: rachelburdett20 on March 04, 2009, 13:16:39 PM
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Hi
Back in october lucy our 14yrold cat had one of her enlarged thyroids removed, we are trying to get her to put on a bit more weight, she has gained a bit but could still do with gaining more and also seems to be getting a little stiff in joints.
we have been toping her up with pouches of oh so/ sainsburys perfectly meaty and hi life cherish because i was looking for cheep ish foods with slightly higher meat content as i thought that was important. we also try to avoid feeding pork as aparntly cats cant digest it properly.....not sure wether thats true or not
she also has the same food as our younger two for main meals ..... jwb and natures menu/ hi life pouches
i have been looking at the royal canin neutured senior and neutured mature as well as hills senior
would you recomend feeding either of these?? or is it better to stick with the higher meat content
thanks
rachel
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As long as its a complete food I think you stick with what she likes to eat.
Kocka lost weight before a thyroid was removed and she never put it on again and to get her to eat anything was a real problem,
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I would stick to what meat she likes and try some of the senior dry and see what she thinks, if she enjoys it then great but if not i think its more important they enjoy their food then eat a lifestage diet. The wet versions of lifestage diets are not normally very tasty!
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I agree, it's great if they will eat really good foods but tbh I only adopt oldies and my 2 will only really eat Whiskas supermeat but we think quality of life is more important at their age, so long as they are happy and eating.
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Hill's Nature's best senior is going down really well here. It smells really meaty and also nice big nuggets.
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Senior food is lower in calories, so not the best if you want cats to put weight on.
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Senior food is lower in calories, so not the best if you want cats to put weight on.
That's what i was thinking, i think i'd try an adult variety or even kitten food.
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My 15 yr old Max doesn't have a thyroid problem but he certainly puts on a lot of weight if I don't watch how much he eats of the RC neutered senior dry food (SO 28: the green and white packet). It's given to all oldies in France by every vet (bit like Hills here I suppose) and they seem to do well on it. I give wet food as well. Hills senior 85g can has only 80 calories I think so the dry food is definitely more calorific. How much does she eat because she'll have to eat a lot of wet food of any type really to get weight on.
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Hi
Thanks for all ur replys, i supose she has about 2 puches of food a day + jwb
i do understand keeping her on what she likes to eat but when looking at the senior food aparently its ment to be better for their kidneys, which is another thing to think about
these were the two i was looking at
this one says something about helping maintain mussle mass, so i thought it might help with the weight
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62_216&products_id=1278
this one is aimed at her age
http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=62_216&products_id=1279
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Neither of mine would touch the second one (the alutrays) although I suppose some cats must like it or it would be discontinued! It's a funny texture. The dry version of it is very palatable but maybe you want only wet food? Senior food (prescription) tends to be about 0.6g in phosphorus, twice that of renal food but still fairly low compared to commercial foods and better for muscles probably.
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I also agree with the others, I'd stick to giving her what she likes to eat. Lifestages diets arent necessary and as Des said senior foods a lower in calories so won't put weight on her. For her stiff joints you could try one of the fish oil supplements like Cosequin etc http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_240