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Nutrition of aging cats
Prantil L.; Leung B.
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Want to know how older cats differ in their nutritional needs from younger individuals? This article tells you what you need to know.
Lori Prantil
MPS, DVM, Dip. ACVIM (Nutrition), Royal Canin, Aimargues, France
Dr. Prantil is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who graduated from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in the United States. Following graduation, she completed an internship in small animal medicine and surgery at an emergency and referral hospital and then returned to the Cummings School for a residency in clinical nutrition. After completing this she joined the team at VCA South Shore (Weymouth) Animal Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts where she managed their Nutrition Service, before joining Royal Canin in Aimargues, France as a member of the R&D Develop Pet & Product Science team.
Becca Leung
DVM, Dip. ACVIM (nutrition)
Dr. Leung was born in Hong Kong and raised in the United States of America. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Florida, and then traveled across the world to Massey University in New Zealand for her veterinary studies. Following the completion of her veterinary degree she remained at Massey University to pursue a combined PhD and ACVN nutrition residency program. She completed her specialist board certification in 2021 and joined Royal Canin’s Global Headquarters four years ago, until recently working in R&D as a Research Veterinary Nutritionist. She currently is the COO at Veterinary Nutrition Group (VNG) based in Sydney, Australia.
Key points
- Although life stages were recently defined for cats, there are as yet no specific nutritional guidelines for senior pets.
- Senior cats often have reduced digestive abilities which can affect their body and muscle condition scores.
- Recent research has shown the importance of dietary phosphorus content and the calcium:phosphorus ratio.
- More research is needed on supplements that may help address cognitive decline in older cats.
Introduction
It is only relatively recently that life stages have been defined for cats, although these vary slightly between different organizations (Table 1). According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) 2021 guidelines, feline life stages are divided into five categories: kitten (from birth up to one year of age), young adult (1-6 years), mature adult (7-10 years), and senior (>10 years), with an additional “end-of-life” stage that can be at any age (1). The International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) designates the stages slightly differently, as follows: kitten (birth-6 months), junior (7 months-2 years), adult (3-6 years), mature (7-10 years), senior (11-14 years), and super senior (15+ years) (2). These differences aside, the increasing understanding about different life stages in our companion animals means that there is now more interest in appreciating the nutritional differences between these stages, including during aging. While organizations such as the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) have nutritional recommendations and guidelines for growth (which FEDIAF further divides into early and late-stage growth phases), reproduction, and adult, there are no guidelines for senior pets. This proves to be a challenge, as understanding how to care for pets in their older age is an issue that is becoming more important as the population ages; approximately 20-40% of cats in the United States could be classified as “senior” and “super senior” (3) (Figure 1).
Life stage | AAHA & AAFP | ISFM |
---|---|---|
Kitten | Birth to < 1 year | Birth to 6 months |
Junior | – | 7 months-2 years |
Young adult | 1-6 years | – |
Adult | – | 3-6 years |
Mature adult | 7-10 years | 7-10 years |
Senior | > 10 years | 11-14 years |
Super senior | – | 15+ years |
While there are some studies on nutrition for older cats, there is also a dearth of studies that look at specific nutrients, both for essential nutrients and for those that we think may be of benefit outside of these key requirements. This article will review nutrition-by-nutrient and discuss what we do know, as well as what we believe based on current evidence, to be important considerations for our senior feline companions.
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