Benefits and Negative Aspects of Each Food
Type for Older Cats
Food Type
Benefits
Negatives
Canned
Mimics prey texture/water content
Bulk aids bowel action
Bulk reduces likelihood of over-eating as
stomach is full.
Easy for toothless cats to eat
Easy to mix medication with canned food
Some owners dislike smell
Strong smell appeal to cats with poor
sense of smell
Texture allows tartar build-up on teeth
Spoils (goes off) rapidly
Some premium varieties have dense or
"gluey" texture; must mash them
with gravy.
Dry (Biscuit/Kibble)
Convenient - does not spoil, can be
left out all day
Texture promotes healthy teeth by abrasive
action
Cat may overeat because stomach is not
full
Smell not offensive to owners
Can be softened with gravy
Reduces stool bulk/odour
Low-bulk contributes to constipation
Cannot mix medication with kibble
Less smell, may not appeal to cat with
poor sense of smell
Toothless cats may gulp it down and suffer
indigestion
Semi-dry (Moist)
Available in sachets to
"top-up" a meal
Spoils less rapidly (may just dry out)
Liquid Food
For invalid cats, easy to lap,
nutritionally balanced.
Useful for syringe/spoon-feeding
Useful as treat or to mash with
"gluey" textured foods
Low bulk, high liquid content, should
not be long-term diet
Dog Food
None for cat
Nutritionally unbalanced for cats.
Long term use causes blindness, poor coat,
eventually death
Baby Food
Useful treat to persuade cat to eat
Not balance for cat's nutritional needs
Many contain onion as flavoring -
toxic to cats.
If you cat has problems without teeth, you can
chop canned food to a manageable consistency. Some
pate-consistency food can be mashed with gravy,
tomato juice (from canned fish), sardine-oil or
warm water. Dry food can be moistened with gravy.
Liquid foods (e.g. Liquivite) are complete foods
but can be used to soften biscuit. Meat-based baby
food is a treat of ill or convalescent cats, but
is not balanced for cat consumption and may
contain onion in the ingredients. Onion is toxic
to cats and causes Heinz body anemia.
Good
Litter Box Manners
Cats are extraordinarily fastidious creatures. Outdoors they tend to
urinate and defecate in relatively open and previously unused areas. More...
