Help me pick a dry cat food for my elderly cat

November 23, 2015 12:48 AM

Help me pick a dry cat food for my elderly cat, who is thinner than I'd like.

It has to be one of the following brands, which I can get home-delivered - due to health reasons I am not able to buy catfood in stores. Also due to health reasons, I am not able to feed wet food, so please don't suggest it.

Wellness Core
Advance
Eukanuba
Nutro Natural Choice
K9 Naturals Freeze Dried
Holistic Select
Ideal Balance
Pro Plan
Royal Canin
Wellness
Supercoat
Science Diet
Optimum
Iams

posted by Year of meteors to Pets & Animals (18 answers total)

I'm a big fan of Wellness Core, and so is my cat!
posted by destructive cactus at 2:06 AM on November 23, 2015

My extremely picky cat also likes Wellness Core. He was underweight when we got him and though he still eats less than what is suggested for his size he gained the weight and muscle he needed and has kept it on without getting chubby. He is 5 though, and we also feed him wet food. My previous elder cat ate Royal Canin for senior indoor kitties (and wet food) but she was always huge, not fat, just huge.

Since you can't do wet food, look into a fountain or something to attract your cat to make sure they get enough water. There might also be some treats that work for both of you to get some of the things that can be missing in a dry food only diet, as a supplement.
posted by Mizu at 2:58 AM on November 23, 2015

My three do well on Wellness Core as well.

They also go over the moon for Liv-a-Littles freeze dried chicken treats, which I dole out liberally to the one who needs fattening up, if that's an option for you. (They love the fish treats from the same company as well but those smell super-gross to me and I can't deal. So, chicken.)
posted by Stacey at 3:04 AM on November 23, 2015

Nthing Wellness Core! All my kitties love it! My Ragdoll Daenerys has auto-immune issues (stomatitis, now thankfully gone away) and Wellness Core is the only dry food she can tolerate.

And my cats, like Stacey's, also love the Liv-A-Littles chicken treats.

I get the Wellness Core from Amazon's Subscribe And Save program. Amazon also has the Liv-A-Littles, and so does drugstore.com.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 3:13 AM on November 23, 2015

Have you had medical issues ruled out? If weight loss is due to something like chronic kidney disease, for example, feeding the wrong type of food could make your cat worse.
posted by amarynth at 5:40 AM on November 23, 2015 [3 favorites]

I was going to ask the same thing as amarynth. Our vet thinks our older cat has a kidney issue but also, since she was getting very thin, we got her prescription kidney food plus a low dose steroid. The food alone didn't help her with her weight but I think the steroid has made a big difference.
posted by kat518 at 6:05 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

Our senior kitty likes the senior Science Diet food. The bag has a purple label. Don't give her the blue label, no no, she'll look at you like you're the stupid human who doesn't understand squat. Sometimes I add fish crispies on top for extra fun.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:06 AM on November 23, 2015

I found my skinny cat will gain weight on beef liver-based dry food. The one I buy isn't on your list (Fromm Beef Livatini), but I'm voting for liver.
posted by jeather at 6:50 AM on November 23, 2015

I go to a farm store, IFA and buy the Diamond (whatever) mid grade food, about $24 for six weeks worth. My eight year old cats love this stuff. One is normal weight, one is heavier. I noticed an immediate rise in interest, their fur looks much better. Some cats can drink milk. There is always a little saucer of whole milk if you have an underweight beast. Neither of my cats care to eat anything but dry cat food. The normal weight one will eat a nibble of chicken, the end. However, recently I bought some vanilla frozen yogurt. He comes out from wherever he is when I get that out. So I have been thinking about picking up a quart of lactose free milk, and see if they would enjoy some of it.
posted by Oyéah at 7:01 AM on November 23, 2015

My kitty likes the Science Diet Maturity cat food, which is the blue label hated by Ms Vegetable's kitty. It's one of the lowest in phosphorus, which can help kidneys function better. Normally I feed wet food because my vet recommended it, but I have actually wetted the dry, when I couldn't get Jack Jack to eat it.

Clearly the cats are trying to confuse us all.
posted by answergrape at 7:04 AM on November 23, 2015

It is Diamond Naturals Cat food for adult cats. P.S. the larger of the two cats was vomiting often, coupla times a month. That is over. This food sells on Amazon form$24.99 free shipping after $35 so that seems easy enough.
posted by Oyéah at 7:31 AM on November 23, 2015

Just because I didn't see it here: I've fed Solid Gold Indigo Moon to a wide variety of cats (from kitten to senior) and it seems to do wonders for weight gain—to the point where as a daily food I mix it with Merrick Indoor because it's so high in protein.
posted by Hot Like Your 12V Wire at 7:40 AM on November 23, 2015

Nth'ing what amarynth and kat518 wrote. Many elderly cats slowly go into chronic kidney disease that leads to weight loss (and eventually death). The disease can be managed, but you need to know if it's present. Your vet should do blood work to find out possible causes of the weight loss.

If health reasons prevent you from taking your cat to the vet, perhaps you can have someone else do it, or find a vet who does house calls?
posted by StrawberryPie at 8:39 AM on November 23, 2015

My mother puts little pats of room temperature butter in her healthy-but-skinny cat's dish.
posted by scrubjay at 10:20 AM on November 23, 2015

Oh gosh - kitten food generally porks adult cats right up. Maybe you could mix it with adult food, too. Your vet should be able to advise, and all of those brands likely make kitten versions!
posted by jrobin276 at 11:29 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

My elderly cat got very thin due to thyroid disease. The vet said that in 90% of cases, they go the other way and get very obese, but my cat was one of the contrary ones. In addition to ruling out kidney disease, you may also want your vet to check for thyroid problems.

BTW, she recovered great and is back to her normal self. Hope your kitty does well!
posted by elmay at 11:40 AM on November 23, 2015 [1 favorite]

My elderly cat had a hyperthyroid condition which caused her to get skinny. Medication stopped the weight loss (she had to be on it for the rest of her life). I'd recommend getting your cat tested for this if switching food doesn't help.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:54 PM on November 23, 2015

Along with the dry food (kitten food for sure!), you can get a gel supplement called NutriCal that cats gobble up and is very fattening. I don't know if this falls under the "no wet food" requirement, but it isn't as stinky, icky, bug-attracting or generally gross to have around, since it's in a tube.
posted by zinful at 8:34 PM on November 23, 2015