How To Raw Feed Senior Cats

What's the best way to raw feed senior cats? Maybe your cat isn't as energetic as they used to be, and instead just sleeps all day. Or maybe you've noticed them hesitate before jumping up on things, and it makes you wonder how much time you have left together. As cats get older, the foods that they eat need to support their aging bodies, and feeding a raw diet made from whole, natural foods gives an aging body the nutrients it needs to support joints, maintain muscle, and sustain energy. For instance, Gucci. For most of her life, Gucci struggled with coat problems and often had to be shaved, no matter how often she was brushed. Then, at 12 years old, Gucci dropped to just 7 pounds and was diagnosed with pancreatitis. This was when her owner, Helena, decided to switch her to raw food. Gucci improved dramatically on raw, and her pancreatitis went away. And now, at 16, Gucci is at a healthy weight, the pancreatitis never came back, and her coat doesn't get tangled or matted anymore. Then, we have Mabel. She was rescued at 12 years old and was in rough shape. Mabel was fed commercial cat food at the shelter, and she was dealing with weight loss, double ear infections, and chronic diarrhea. She couldn't live like this. So her new owner, Malia, switched her to raw right away. With patience, gut support, and fresh raw foods, Mabel's ear infections went away, the diarrhea stopped, and she reached a healthy weight. Today, Mabel is 17 years old, thriving on a homemade raw diet, and has no health issues. So, how do you actually start raw feeding a senior cat? A raw diet is built from parts like bone, muscle meat, liver, other organs, and a few additional whole foods that supply the nutrients that cats need. For adult cats, it's typically fed in these percentages. But we're going to have to adjust this a bit for senior cats. So let's start building the meal, starting with the muscle meat, which is 63% of the meal. This can be anything from ground beef, to chicken thigh meat, to pork tenderloin. But for seniors, you need to be mindful about how much fat is on the meat. As cats age, their physical activity as well as their metabolism tends to slow down, so too much fat can quickly cause weight gain, which isn't good for their joints. A few good muscle meats are ground meats that are 10% fat, pork loin chops, chicken thigh meat without the skin, and beef round or stew meat. These have just enough fat to provide energy, but they're not completely marbled with fat like this. Now, for some of the most nutritious ingredients in raw diets. The organs, and one that should almost always be included, is liver, because of how rich it is in vitamin A. It takes up 4% of the meal and can be anything from chicken liver, to beef liver, to rabbit liver. But the liver that you choose depends on your senior cat's overall health. If they're in late-stage kidney failure, liver is usually replaced with a lower-phosphorus vitamin A source like cod liver oil. This helps reduce the phosphorus in the meal, which is important if the kidneys are struggling. If your cat has copper-associated liver disease, it's best to choose low-copper options like chicken, turkey, rabbit, or pork liver. But, if your senior cat is healthy, then beef, lamb, goat, or bison liver are great choices because they're rich in vitamin A, copper, selenium, and iron. I'm adding chicken liver. It's a low-copper option and is also insanely high in folate, which is a B vitamin that cats need a lot of. The two other important organ portions in a raw diet are the muscular organ and the secreting organ. Organs can sometimes be confusing. So let's start with muscular organs, which make up about 25% of the meal. These are things like heart, green tripe, lungs, and gizzards. When choosing one, think about which organs in your senior cat's body needs a little extra support. For many aging cats, heart is a great option. It's packed with CoQ10, which helps the heart pump efficiently, plus taurine and B vitamins to help keep the heart strong and healthy. I really love beef heart because it provides the most CoQ10, but really, all hearts are great. The other organ portion is the secreting organ, like kidney, spleen, brain, and pancreas, which takes up 8% of the meal. Kidney is a great choice for cats because of how nutritionally dense it is. It's high in B vitamins, selenium, and iron, which help support energy levels and maintain healthy red blood cells. It's also lower in phosphorus than many other organs, so it's great for senior cats that need a reduced phosphorus diet. Now, some of you who know about raw diets may be wondering where the raw bone is in this meal. This is one of the big changes that many senior cats need in their raw meal. The reason we're skipping bone is because some older cats struggle to chew it. Some senior cats may also have kidney disease, where phosphorus needs to be reduced in the diet. So, seaweed calcium works well because it's rich in calcium, but naturally lower in phosphorus. It also provides natural minerals that support the skin and joints, like magnesium, zinc, and sulfur. Okay, we have a good base so far, but there are a few other foods that not only meet your senior cat's nutrient needs, but also support their joints, brain, and coat, and it only takes a small amount of them to meet their needs. The first ingredient is a 3-in-1, oily fish. Oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines provide nutrients that your cat needs in their diet like vitamin D and omega-3s. However, these omega-3s also reduce inflammation in the joints, make the coat shiny, and support the brain. So, oily fish are a must in senior raw diets. If your cat has late-stage kidney disease, feed cod liver oil instead. This provides both omega-3s and vitamin D. Another nutrient-rich food that all cats can benefit from is mussels. Blue, black, and Chilean mussels are particularly high in manganese, which is something hard to find in many foods. Manganese helps the body produce collagen and cartilage, which are the building blocks of strong, flexible joints. Now, these two final ingredients are important, but often forgotten about. A high-quality, natural vitamin E oil, and a B vitamin booster like nutritional yeast. Vitamin E is important in a senior cat's diet because it helps protect their cells from age-related damage. And one of my favorites is this brand because it provides all 8 types of vitamin E, which provides a broad spectrum of protection. Nutritional yeast is naturally high in B vitamins, which are helpful to senior cats because they support energy, nerves, and metabolism. An eighth teaspoon or so does the trick. Ok, this is a complete and balanced meal that's supportive of your senior cat's body, so you can stop here. But I do want to share a couple extras that can take this meal to the next level. This isn't required, but doing this will supercharge the meal's joint-supporting power. The first booster is hydrolyzed beef collagen powder. This helps keep cartilage strong, joints flexible, and because it's hydrolyzed, your cat's body can use it immediately. So hydrolyzed collagen can ease stiffness and bring back some of that playful energy. The second booster is green-lipped muscle oil, specifically, antinol. Unlike blue muscles, which are high in manganese, green-lipped muscles are concentrated in EPA, DHA, and ETA. ETA is a unique omega-3 fatty acid that helps support cartilage repair, brain function, and reduces inflammation. The third booster that's super helpful with joint and organ support is bone broth. You can easily make it from home by simmering beef bones in water for a day or two. And after, you have a tasty broth that provides joint-supporting compounds like glucosamine and chondroitin. It also provides moisture, which helps the kidneys and bladder flush out waste easier. Now that you have a good idea about what a raw meal looks like, what's the best way to introduce it to your senior cat? The safest approach is to transition gradually. This lets their body adjust slowly to the new food while giving them a chance to get used to the new taste. A simple transition method is removing one-eighth portion of their old food and replacing that with some muscle meat. Feed this for 2-3 days, and if they don't have any GI upset, remove a fourth portion of their old food and add in a bit more muscle meat. Feed this for 2-3 days, and if they're doing well, remove half of their old food and add the muscular organ. Repeat these steps every 2-3 days, removing another small portion of their old food and adding another portion of their raw food until they're fully eating raw. Now you want to make sure that you're feeding the right amount of food to your senior cat. This video goes in-depth on how to determine the amount of food that your cat needs, how to feed a raw diet with bone, and also goes much deeper in how to transition the right way.