Choose food for cats over 12 years old

Cats, like all living things, are prone to aging. Old age in these animals comes several times faster than in humans. Cats begin to age after a full seven years of life, and are considered old after ten. Many scientists claim that feline ten years of life in humans would be 60-65 years. Such a difference can scare, but these amazing animals can live twenty or more years. Life expectancy depends on the quality of the environment. In comfortable conditions, the cat does not have to get food and fight for territory, but, for example, on the street the animal is exposed to all kinds of risks, hunger and cold. So, in the wild, cats live on average for 8-10 years.

Aging is a process that is a combination of adverse changes in the body, resulting in an increased risk of cell death, tissue destruction and, ultimately, the death of a living creature. This process is individual for each animal, although it has common features. For example, the “transience” of old age depends on many factors, such as genetics, ecology, the quality of food and life, and many others. At the micro level, degradation is manifested as a disruption of the cells under the influence of free radicals, which leads to inhibition of the immune function, aging of genes and changes in the chromosomes.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the diet of a cat must be chosen so as to reduce the risk of developing senile diseases.

To do this, we have compiled a specific list of recommendations.

• It is necessary to reduce the calorie intake. This will reduce the risk of cancer, kidney stones, and kidney failure.
• Watch your water balance especially in cats over 12 years old, as they often suffer from dehydration. Food must be wet. For example, special broths, wet food, canned food. With age, you need to transfer your pets to more “watery” foods.
• Limit your intake of phosphorus, sodium, and potassiumbecause they exert strong pressure on the kidneys and the pancreas.
• You should also increase the amount of protein, protein and amino acids, which will help your animal's body recover faster, add energy to it.
• Strictly adhere to all storage standards. feed and canned food.
• Before you give your pet food, you must bring it to room temperature. Do not give cold or hot food, as the animal will not be able to get the proper amount of nutrients.
• The regularity of meals is of great importance.. For older animals it is better to provide portioned and frequent meals. Servings should be small and not exceed 100 grams.
• It is best to consult a veterinarian before making changes to a cat’s diet. He will build an optimal diet depending on the personal characteristics and needs of the animal. Also, going to the veterinarian will help to identify abnormalities in the cat's body and identify possible diseases in the early stages.

If your cat does not have a breed, looks well-groomed, well-groomed, has excellent health and mood, with special feeds for elderly animals and regular trips to the veterinarian, you can wait a bit.

Such feeds are characterized by the presence of many vitamin and trace elements, a reduced amount of plant-based proteins. Also digestible proteins and amino acids are present in the food for aging cats. The following is a set of feeds that offer balanced nutrition for aging cats.

• Trainer. Very high quality food. If you choose it, then your pet or pet will eat really healthy food of Italian quality. The assortment includes feeds with different products and different tastes. But this company will also please the owner, as the products are inexpensive and can be found in any store.

• Go! Natural A complete monoprotein diet for adult cats of medium and large breeds based on duck meat, rice and olive oil. Monoprotein diet contains functional ingredients that ensure the well-being of the animal. The cost is already slightly higher than the previous option, but your pet’s health is really worth it.

• Stout. Choosing Stout, you can be sure that with constant use, the risk of oncology in a cat will decrease due to the presence of special antioxidants that contribute to this. The only negative can be considered the presence of vegetable proteins in the composition, which is not recommended for cats over 12 years old. The price is quite moderate - 460 rubles per 2 kg, but they last for about a month.

• Pronature Holistic. Ideal for cats with sensitive digestion, as experts selected exclusively natural products without GMO impurities or all kinds of flavor and odor enhancers. The peculiarity of this feed is that its composition includes not only different types of meat, but also berries, fruit fruits and cereals. This composition allows you to provide your pet with a tasty and healthy diet. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning the rather high price of this product. But we advise you to purchase large packages, it will be cheaper. So you give as much as 6 kg of feed 4100 rubles.

• Gourmet. Designed for true gourmets. The lineup contains canned food with chicken, duck, rabbit and turkey. These ingredients will give your already elderly animal the necessary substances and improve the digestive tract. Gourmet is characterized by a rich line of different tastes, as well as a truly French approach to production. The price of one jar varies from 30 to 35 rubles per 85 grams.

• Optimeal. Ukrainian producer, but this does not mean that the feed is inferior in quality to French or Italian brands. This food is a very good source of protein due to natural meat and a wide range of mineral and vitamin complexes. There are also natural preservatives, which are vitamin E. It is more convenient to buy food in packages starting from 4 kg. The cost of one package is about 1300 rubles.

• Petreet. Already managed to establish itself as the best food for cats of all ages. All thanks to exclusively natural meat, the absence of any salts and preservatives, hypoallergenicity, the presence of natural fatty acids. And also its composition includes a small amount of ash, which has a preventive effect, saving the cat from diseases of the urinary system. The only disadvantages of this feed are the high cost and inaccessibility.

Today, store shelves are full of harmful or even dangerous cat food. They may contain artificial components of secondary quality, and this can lead to serious health problems in a cat. Also in poor-quality feeds there is a huge amount of fat that the animal simply can not process and spend. Hence the problem of obesity in cats. It is also worth noting that poor-quality feeds are mostly produced in clandestine factories in violation of sanitary and epidemiological standards. There are frequent cases when cats are poisoned with such food, and they will have to pay much more for their treatment than you saved on food.

To protect your pet, carefully check the expiration dates and composition of the product. They should not contain ethoxychin E324, butyloxyanisole E320, butylhydroxytoluene E321, sodium nitrate E251, propyl gallate E310. Seeing these supplements, in no case do not buy products with them.

For an overview of food for older cats, see the following video: