Senior cats are usually around eight years old and older. As cats reach this age and advance even further, diseases such as diabetes are not uncommon. As a result, they may require a special diet for the management of these conditions.
While many cats may be healthy at these mature ages, it’s not a bad idea to equally transition them into these special foods because their metabolism is undoubtedly no longer the same with much younger cats.
With the tons of cat foods in the market, choosing the best option for your feline friend can sometimes be tough. That’s why we’ve compiled this list just for your convenience. But before going through this carefully researched article, we hope that you’ve paid your local vet a visit for tailor-fit dietary options for your cat. Remember, not all senior cats have the same dietary needs.
Best Cat Foods for Senior Cats 2021
With that said, here are the best dry foods for senior cats.
1. Applaws Complete Senior (Tina + Chicken Selection)
How the body processes foods has a significant impact on the overall health and growth of your cat. Therefore, if you aim at feeding your cat with balanced nutrition to maintain healthy digestion and a fantastic coat, Applaws Complete Senior will allow you to achieve all that and more, thanks to its grain-free formulation.
Applaws puts this one together to ensure your pet isn’t feeding on unnecessary ingredients, which is a common cause of an upset stomach. The protein constituent is from a single source, a high quality, healthy duck rich in amino acids to help maintain healthy skin, shiny coat, and muscle tone.
The carbohydrate is from green peas, an equally healthy choice of carbs when avoiding grain. If your senior cat’s metabolism is perhaps undergoing changes, and as a result, requires a diet that’ll maintain stomach integrity, you’ll do well to opt for this LID wet cat food.
To instill confidence that you’re feeding your cat only the best, Applaws subjects all its pet food to nine safety microbial and chemical tests.
2. Blue Buffalo Weight Control Senior Dry Cat Food
It’s normal to offer our pet treats. However, we sometimes unconsciously overload them. Feeding your cat to an over-sized state might not be the best move, especially when they’ve reached their growing peak. At the adult stage, they might not need all that fattening food constituents. Therefore, if you have an overly chubby cat, Blue Buffalo Weight Control Natural Adult Dry Cat Food is what you need to maintain a healthy feeding and cut down some of the excess fat.
Though this cat food is a weight control diet, the manufacturer knows how important protein is, so your cat will still have a balanced diet containing real chicken, brown rice, veggies, and fruit. Blue Buffalo dry cat food is further enriched with natural vitamins and essential minerals your cat needs for healthy development. What’s more, the formulation is devoid of synthetic or artificial flavors and preservatives.
More importantly, Blue Buffalo brings into this dry cat food an exclusive blend of antioxidants put together by expert veterinarians and nutritionists to ensure your cat works with a healthy immune system and oxidative balance. In other words, your pet will be healthier, with better capabilities of fighting off diseases and infection.
3. Purina Beyond Grain Free Senior Food
Purina Beyond Grain-Free Cat Food is one of the most affordable premium grain-free products on the market. The fact that it’s all natural makes it even more impressive for the price. Just as nature intended, Purina Beyond combines a wholesome formulation with real ocean whitefish as its first ingredient. There are also other varieties where meat or poultry comes in place of Ocean fish.
This dry grain-free food further brings in eggs and sweet potatoes to give your feline friend the perfect combination it deserves. To ensure the diet is a balanced one, there are also vitamins and minerals, which are altogether natural and devoid of artificial preservatives, sweeteners, or colors.
There’s more; the dry cat food’s ingredients are all carefully selected, so you can be confident every bowl is devoid of ingredients most cats are allergic to. Even more; cheap and unnecessary combinations that can cause an upset stomach are not part of the formulation.
Even better is the fact that there are no hidden corn, soy, or wheat. Many unethical manufacturers adopt the cheap practice of using poultry by-products such as chicken carcasses or undeveloped eggs. You won’t get any of that here. So you can be rest assured that Purina beyond is giving your pet a good protein source responsibly put together. Altogether, this gluten and grain-free diet comes in an 11lbs bag that’s relatively affordable than other grain-free dry cat foods.
4. Rachael Ray Nutrish Super Premium Dry Cat Food
Rachael Ray’s five-pound dry food formulation takes its protein source from one of the finest and modern farm-raised chickens in the United States. It comes combined with the chicken are quality brown rice, veggies, vitamins, essential minerals, and a wholesome fiber source that promotes optimum digestion. Your furry friend will undoubtedly love the taste and texture of the dry kibble.
The manufacturer made this one easy to chew, swallow, yet retain the crunchy feel cats love to enjoy. Rachael Ray Nutrish Super Premium Dry Cat Food also boasts of only the finest, quality ingredients devoid of artificial preservatives, poultry by-products, wheat, soy, or ground corn.
Apart from getting your pet the best, buying Rachael Ray Nutrish Super Premium Dry Cat Food donates a part of your money to Rachael Ray Foundation, which is dedicated to providing the needed food and health supplies to pets who have no one to provide for them. So, if you are big on charity, go ahead and opt for Rachael Ray’s high-quality food for adults and senior cats. The finished product is available in three, six, and fourteen pounds, so you can buy as much as you can afford
5. Instinct Raw Boost Grain Free Dry Cat Food
If you’re maintaining your cat on a raw diet, the Instinct Raw Boost Grain Free Dry Cat Food is here to cover your back. Also, if your cat has become picky all of a sudden with fully processed foods, you might want to try the raw approach. It’s like resetting your feline friend to its innate cravings.
Generally, raw feeding promotes digestion, coat/skin outlook, alleviates stomach upset, etc. Each pack of the Instinct Raw Boost cat food comes in real freeze-dried meat, vegetables, fruits, and other wholesome ingredients. All ingredients are carefully put together and don’t contain potatoes, grain, color, wheat, corn, wheat, artificial preservatives, and filler ingredients.
With this diet, your cat will enjoy plenty of prebiotics, which promotes a healthy digestive system. You can adopt the Instinct Raw cat food for cats of any age, i.e., kittens to seniors.
6. Iams ProActive Health Kitten Dry Cat Food
We’re adding this one to the list as a bonus for those who have kittens and seniors at home. Iams ProActive Health Kitten Dry Cat Food is a special formulation for young cats, especially the exceptional pickers. This is the food you want to opt for to get your kitten on the steady growth and development journey.
The dry kibble is a combination of chicken, a fantastic protein source, antioxidants, and omega 3DHA. It’s highly protein-rich with an easy-to-digest formulation. It also contains vitamins and minerals, plus fish oil that promotes kitten’s vision and brain growth. Because of the high nutrients and unique formulation, you can also adopt it for adult cats that are pregnant or nursing.
7. Newman’s Own Senior Formula Dry Cat Food
If you’re a fan of salad and salad dressings, this next cat food formula will be a welcome formula. Yes, the markers of tasty salad dressings are also excellent makers of dry adult cat food. If you’ve got the purest form of nutrition recommendation from your vet, then you’ll do well to opt for this organic formulation.
Newman’s Own Senior Formula Dry Cat Food is a combination of organic chicken, veggies, and grains. Young cats can totally jump in on it for its high protein contents, but many cat owners adopt this food for their senior cats. They are excellent for cats with digestive challenges and other health issues, as it puts less pressure on the kidneys and liver. It’s a little pricey, but this is not a cat food you want to cheap out on if you truly want something highly pure for your feline friend.
What to Look for in Senior Cat Food
While researching these dry cat foods, we were, of course, on the lookout for essential features, and we will also want you to consider them when you are in the hunt for a premium dry cat food.
Life stage
The first thing you need to do is match your pet’s age to the dry food you want to choose. Kittens are the young cats and are, of course, on the fast-growing side. They, therefore, have a unique dietary need for growth and development. It’s natural that their feeding will contain very high protein and other special nutrients.
On the other hand, seniors have technically reached their growth peak; hence, they’ll require something different. At the senior’s age stage, a change in metabolism or the development of diseases is common. It’ll be best to seek a vet or animal dietitian’s guidance for guidance if you notice your cat might require special needs.
Flavor
The flavor of your cat’s food covers the taste department. Usually, dry food with an excellent protein source is the right approach, e.g., chicken, duck, salmon. However, some kitties are quite picky when it comes to food, especially if you’re newly introducing dry cat food after years of wet cat food feeding. If this scenario is your picture, you may have to present different dry food flavors to your cat before settling for his favorite.
Nutrient
Examples of nutrients that cats need for growth and development are vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Fish, chickens, and meat are excellent sources of proteins. Many foods have carbs in them, but your cat is from a feline family. They don’t necessarily require carbohydrates for optimum growth and development.
Raw constituents
As mentioned earlier, cats are of the feline family. Their innate nature is raw feeding, and it does have its benefits. However, processed foods have the advantage of containing many tailor-fit nutrients added by the manufacturer. However, if you have a picky eater or a cat with digestive challenges, you might want to adopt cat foods with raw ingredients based on your vet’s guidance.