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The cat is getting older.
So it is time for senior food.

Sounds logical. As if “senior food” has a fixed composition that matches what an older cat needs.

But “senior” is a marketing label. It tells you whom the food is marketed to, not how much protein, energy or phosphorus it contains. For that, you have to turn the bag over and look at what the food actually delivers.

Some senior diets contain less protein and phosphorus, with the idea of sparing the ageing kidneys. But age alone is no reason to restrict protein. In older cats in particular, maintaining muscle deserves attention.

We call age-related loss of muscle mass and muscle function sarcopenia. It has implications for strength, mobility and physical functioning. It can also easily be missed: even a cat with adequate fat reserves can lose muscle. Weighing alone therefore does not tell the whole story.

In a long-term study, cats with muscle loss in middle age had roughly twice the risk of death during follow-up compared with cats without muscle loss. An association, not proof of cause and effect, but certainly a reason to take muscle loss seriously.

If such a cat is given a diet that delivers less protein without further assessment, that may be the wrong direction. Especially if the cat is also eating less.

And not all muscle loss is sarcopenia. Disease and insufficient food intake can also contribute. Diagnosed kidney disease calls for a targeted nutritional approach, in which maintaining muscle is also taken into account.

The senior reflex shortchanges the older cat. Find out what this patient needs: assess health, body condition, muscle condition and food intake, with diagnostic testing where needed. Then match both the diet and the amount to that individual need.

Because age is not a disease. And “senior” on the package is not a nutrient profile.

#CatNutrition #SeniorCat #MuscleMaintenance #VeterinaryNutrition #FeedWise