Feeding & Nutrition

From around the age of seven you’ll notice that your older cat starts taking life a bit easier - and who can blame them! A senior cat may start to become less active, spend more time indoors and have a slower metabolism. These can all add up to them putting on weight. Equally, as they reach their geriatric years, illness and a reduction in their sense of taste and smell can affect their appetites, which will have an impact on their body condition. As felines get older, their nutritional requirements start to change. And as your cat will spend roughly 40% of their life as a senior, it's important that you give them the right food to stay in good shape. In their senior years, more than ever, your cat should eat a high quality, tasty diet with easy-to-digest protein and a careful balance of key nutrients. A good senior cat diet provides concentrated high quality protein, controlled levels of fat, and easy-to-digest carbohydrates for energy. Key minerals support ageing joints, and vitamins, along with proteins, help support the ageing immune system.

Your cat’s sense of exploration is one of the things that makes them so precious to you, but it sometimes means you have to keep an eye out for things that can harm them, too. There are many harmful substances and poisonous foods for cats that your feline friend might come across in their lifetime, so it’s important that you know which to keep out of their reach in the home. Your cat’s natural curiosity leads them to explore non-stop; whether they’re roaming the great outdoors or climbing into all the nooks and crannies of your house, there’s no knowing what they’ll find on their next adventure. Around the home and in the garden there are poisonous foods for cats and non-food substances, including plants, which could be potentially dangerous to your feline friend. Some of these are obvious, but others look completely innocent. For example, your cat might like the look of the snack you just ate or the medicine you take, but these things – while causing no harm to us – might be poisonous foods for cats, and in some case they could be life-threatening. Many chemicals that are routinely used around the house, such as bathroom cleaners, can also be harmful if your curious cat gets their paws on a bottle.