Food for an 11+ cat?

[TheButteryPaw]

TLDR: See title. 😺

Our rescued indoor neutered male Bengal is now at least 11 years old, possibly older. He has always been a big, muscly, healthy, active, confident chap but recently he has started to look 'senior', if that makes sense? His appetite is still very healthy but gradually he seems to have lost some of the weight and muscle tone that he had as a younger cat and until relatively recently. My thoughts have reluctantly turned to how best to support him as he gets older. 'Reluctantly' because we all adore him, he is loving, great with the DCs, quirky and vocal and very much part of the family, and I don't want to consider 'the inevitable', whenever that may be.

When he came to us nearly a decade ago he was being fed on a few various cat biscuits, but mainly Felix wet food foils and similar. We were advised to keep him on that as with change he was prone to sickness and diarrhoea. He also came to us with a serious cat milk habit, but thankfully stopping the cat milk pretty much stopped the upset stomachs, especially the poops! Sickness since has usually been linked to him bolting down his wet food, bolting down his biscuits without chewing them, or licking any plastic bags he can get his paws on! Obviously plastic bags are hidden away as much as possible, (though he hunts for them!), and in recent years I've stopped the biscuits as sickness after him bolting them down and not chewing them was happening so much. He used to have 4 Felix AGAIL foils and 4 lots of biscuits as snacks inbetween, but without the biscuits now he polishes off 6 Felix Senior 7+ As Good As It Looks foils a day and has several Dentalife cat treats for his teeth after most meals. The Dentalife are the only biscuits or treats he reliably chews.

It used to be that Felix and similar was seen as good quality cat food by most people, but I realise that in recent years that's no longer really the case. As his needs are changing now he is older, I've started to wonder whether I need to gradually replace it with something better quality for him. I've found James Wellbeloved Senior 11+ wet food, which is advertised as hypoallergenic and grain free, for example. The price of it, especially as he has a big appetite, has come as a bit of a shock as it would put his food bills up by about 300%!

I've also been wondering whether his specific Bengal breed makes any difference.

Advice, thoughts and recommendations very welcome.

TIA 😻

PS Apologies for the lack of required photos for tax! My phone has broken. Imagine if you will the gentleman in question curled up fast asleep on my legs, making the most of a heated throw.

Hi OP
My lovely lady is nearly 14 and I have put her on Untamed which is human grade meat lightly cooked. They do gravy versions and jelly versions and different flavours. My cat absolutely loves it although doesn't quite manage a tin a day (probably because she spends 22 hours a day asleep 🙄)
They do a sample trial pack as a tester if that helps x

Hi OP please get his thyroid checked at the vets. It’s a quick and fairly inexpensive blood test, our 19 yr old girl was waning away despite eating lots, and now just has some easy to administer daily meds.
She’s a moggie but I’ve had tons of cats during my lifetime and thyroid is always worth a check.

Hm, our 20 year old boy gets a mix of normal brand pouches - Felix, whiskas, Sheba, Tiger , some normal, some senior - and Royal Canine dry food which he adores - probably because it smells quite strongly . Very occasionally a tin of tuna or chicken leftovers. He’s been maintaining his usual weight without changing anything since he was 7 or 8 - I remember I was sad then that he was considered a senior. He eats less but he’s also much more sedentary than in his mad hunting and outdoors strolls days

Thanks @DoveOfPiss - where do you get the Untamed from please? Is it made for seniors or is it a general adults one?
Can't see her face but she really does look like a lovely lady with all those rich autumnal colours and floof, and the chair and cushion colours compliment her very nicely!

Hi @Snooks1971 - thanks for your tip about the thyroid test. It makes perfect sense. I have also been thinking that a check up is long overdue for things like his teeth and general health now he's getting older. As he's indoor, been generally healthy and doesn't go to catteries, we've been a stranger to the vets. I've had a concern that he doesn't have the girth to reflect all the food he eats! But then I felt reassured that he'd always eaten a lot but never been overweight, just a large, muscly cat, and I was once told that that reflected the genes of his breed.
What a grand age your girl is! I'm glad the meds have helped her to thrive again. How did she cope with the blood tests? I'm just wondering if they would need to sedate our boy.
Although I've looked after a lot of pedigrees, he's our first at home - as a very neglected Bengal, he was a very steep learning curve! We've always had moggies too, either adopted, strays or feral, in the past. Sadly, because of serious illnesses, none of them made it to their very senior years, so this is a bit new to me.

Your boy is another very grand age at 20, @Pepperama ! It sounds like he's doing well and you haven't had to do much differently? Long may it continue. I agree, when our boy turned 7 it was hard to think of him as senior and he certainly didn't seem it or look it. Now he's 11+ (not sure how much +) and things have started to change. A very cat-experienced friend saw him recently and called him 'an elderly gentleman now'. I felt I couldn't ignore it any longer at that point and I felt quite sad too.

But all these grand 13+ ages are giving me more hope, thank you everyone.

It gets delivered on subscription from
www.untamedcatfood.com

It's a general adult food but as I said, mine is 14 and gobbles it up!

I fed kitten food as higher calorie, my boy died at 15 and lost a lot of weight
He adored natures menu pouches

She grudgingly obliged for another photo!!

Thank you for those food tips @MrShady . I'm sorry for your loss.

Do you know what caused your boy's weight loss?

You might find he eats a smaller quantity of higher quality food as it's higher in protein.
Mine have the James Wellbeloved dry food but bolting can be an issue - I mix in some of the oral health biscuits as they're much bigger and have to be crunched up. I also have a bag of Royal Canin older cat food which they find very appealing..I use it as a sort of topping for their biscuits! The royal canin wet food is an occasional treat too..

Thanks again @DoveOfPiss

And what a beauty. Yes, her expression definitely seems to be letting us all know that she's doing us a monumental favour by allowing herself to be photographed. Tell her we appreciate it, as if she doesn't know...

Thanks for those clever/sneaky ideas @Beamur and that's a second vote for Royal Canin.

You might find he eats a smaller quantity of higher quality food as it's higher in protein.
This is a really good - and hopefully correct if I go down that route! - point.

One thing I've also noticed recently is that if he eats his meal and goes to sleep, but then I or someone else disturbs him and he wakes up after only a few minutes, he then thinks it's already time for his next meal. I can't decide whether he is starting to get forgetful or whether he's just chancing his luck.

He's now standing stubbornly in front of the laptop - I'm having to type this peering round him, with my arms underneath his stomach - so I think that means my time is up for tonight!

He was a weirdo
No honestly, he was. Always a small cat, ate for England and the vet was "he LOOKS like a thyroid cat but his bloods are perfect"
They put it down to age related weight loss

I should add he point blank refused to eat dry food as well
I have my new cat on purr and miaow dry from Amazon which is decent quality with thrive tins once a day

Hi @TheButteryPaw she was absolutely fine for the blood tests - just a sample taken then brought her home whilst they tested the blood in house and phoned later with the results and prescription. I felt awful because had presumed she was just getting scrawnier because of old age. She eats mostly chicken and tinned fish, drinks cream…. She was also pretty much a stranger to the vets, mostly indoor cat. We had only taken her to the vets because she had a tooth abscess. The vet tested her bloods pre anaesthetic and hey presto - thyroid issues. The vet said that thyroid issues can cause weight loss, muscle wastage and general loss of condition in the coat etc. Really worth a check.

Thanks again @MrShady

It sounds like he was quite the character!

Glad to hear you are a cat slave again.

I did try Thrive - but biscuits - in the past but they made him sick. I'm sure it was the bolting and lack of chewing though, rather than there being anything at all wrong with the Thrive!

Hi again @Snooks1971 She looks very well accommodated on her queen's throne and princess and the pea depth cushion, her china saucer of bespoke food only a snooty head turn away! I can't see her face - it looks like she was either disapproving of the photo or the food! - but she looks absolutely gorgeous and in very fine shape indeed for 19. From that angle at least she reminds me of a much loved cat of mine, sadly lost some years ago now too young to feline leukaemia.

How long has she been on that rather nice diet and the thyroid meds? A friend has suggested kidney function tests too for our boy. He isn't drinking more though and has always done the giant wees he's doing. The reduced condition is hopefully not related to kidney issues, but she thinks it would be useful to get a marker of his kidney function at this age. I will ask the vet for that and the thyroid test, thank you.

When we took him to our vets in the early days, he was always too strong and reluctant for them to be able to do anything much at all without sedation. Luckily they understood his breed, had great sympathy with his past and liked him very much despite him being an awkward customer! Hopefully now he is older and very settled with us the gladiatorial struggles won't be so much the case! Like you with your lady, I just thought he was getting older and I'm hoping I won't be kicking myself for not taking him sooner.

I suppose the worry I have about taking him to see the vet now he is much older and unvaccinated, is that there will potentially be a lot of bugs around there and that feels risky.

I swapped Cheddar and Magic to senior Iams. Cheddar was so offended that I thought she was old. That she got colitis and a trip to the vet. Had to throw away a barely used 10kg bag of food.

That doesn't sound good at all, @Toddlerteaplease . I know colitis can be caused by other things too, like parasites, infections or eating something they shouldn't, but do you think, or did your vet think, it was caused by intolerance to the Senior Iams in Cheddar's case?

I knew it was the food. Swapped straight back and there had been no further issues. She is a delicate petal anyway. She came to me on on Royal Canin, that made her sick. She was better on Iams indoor cat. But it still made her sick. And she's get brown marks round her eyes. Swapped her on to grain free. About 6 months ago. And she's a different cat. No more brown marks. Still serial vomiter but it's more under control.

Am I the only person who had an image in her mind of your cat sitting the 11+ exam?

Hello again @TheButteryPaw (great username btw!) Have you managed to speak to the vets yet - if your chap is a reluctant visitor like you said maybe worth asking which vet is the most experienced with reluctant gladiatorial gentlemen cats. Or maybe they would let you hold him whilst they draw a blood sample. Sorry, I’m sure you’ve thought of all of the above already but thought I would mention.

I learnt the hard way that it’s best to have a bit of an MOT health check before probably going down the expensive food route which can be a big outlay then hit n miss. They don’t always eat it and you don’t know whether to battle with them knowing that they will always win 😀then meanwhile they aren’t eating arghh

I put our girl on some expensive frozen “all real, no additives” food, obviously she wouldn’t touch it with a furry barge pole.

She’s always been indulged tbh, she was a 3-4month old stray when we adopted her. Her diet is probably a feline nutritionist’s nightmare; wafer thin chicken, cream, tuna, all regularly rotated, supplemented by Lick E Lix and when she’s in the mood for some crappy stodge she demands a Sheba fix.
She also likes a cheese sandwich or a Dairylea triangle.

She’s been on thyroid meds for 5-6 months now. Good luck with your special boy and keep us posted