nutrition

Question
Hello Ali,
 I am the owner of three very different cats.  However, my oldest cat has had some teeth pulled and has difficulty eating dry food, he doesn's chew it, just swallows.  All three eat at the same time and it is difficult to feed all three different food. I don't know what is the best food selection for him as he is HUGE and I believe alot of it has to do with the fact he can't seem to chew hard, dry food. Any feeding suggestions for me?.......Thank you, Irene

Answer
Irene,

You could choose to look at feeding a soft holistic food to your older cat and feed a mix of soft and hard to your other cats who are able to chew their food more thoroughly. I find that with some research there are many good holistic foods in kibble and canned forms. Hopefully with some slight nutritional changes and trying to play a bit more your kitty should trim down to a healthier size. I would suggest that you see a vet and get portion recommendations as cats who lose weight too quickly can become ill. Seeing the vet will also confirm that your kitty is healthy enough for some play time each day and that there are no underlying reasons for him to be overweight. The good thing about involving your vet in a weight loss program for your cat is that they will also be able to monitor internal organ function, as that can sometimes be an issue depending on how old your kitty is. Another issue to be aware of is that cats can get diarrea if you switch their food too quickly and because you mention that one of your kitties is a senior citizen you will want to make the change gradually as older cats are often more affected by changes in their environment. If you find that you can't feed the three cats a holistic food side by side with one cat eating a soft food only and the others eating a mix you may want to make sure that you feed the older kitty on his own to ensure that he gets his nutritional needs met. I hope that this advice helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.