Senior cats don’t need special senior cat food
Q: I am really mindful to invest in only senior cat food stuff for Joon, my healthy 10-calendar year-aged cat. At times it truly is difficult to come across. Is it needed for her to take in senior food stuff?
A: No, it can be not needed for Joon to take in senior cat meals.
On pet food items labels, the word “senior” is a promoting expression, not a regulatory or scientific designation. The Association of American Feed Manage Officials, or AAFCO, establishes nutrient profiles for pet foods but has recognized none for senior cat foodstuff.
That’s most likely simply because veterinary nutritionists say senior cats, assuming they are healthier, have the exact same dietary requires as other adult cats. Veterinarians normally say, “Age is not a illness,” so there is certainly no explanation healthier senior cats need to have special meals just mainly because they are previous.
A new study in contrast the nutrient and caloric written content of 31 cat foodstuff labeled for seniors and 59 foodstuff labeled for grownup cats. All were being non-therapeutic, above-the-counter food items accessible commercially. Scientists measured calories, protein, body fat, fiber, ash, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and vitamin D3 concentrations.
They discovered that foods promoted for senior cats different widely in nutrient articles and caloric density, despite the fact that all complied with the association’s nutrient standards for adult cats. Foodstuff labeled for senior cats and grown ups ended up related other than that most foods labeled for senior cats contained far more fiber than the food items meant for grownup cats.
Incidentally, the expression “senior” normally refers to all more mature cats, but veterinarians sometimes use a lot more specific words. A cat is middle aged at 7-10 many years outdated, senior at 11-14 decades, and geriatric at 15 years and earlier mentioned.
Q: Simon, my massive blended-breed pet dog, just lately had operation to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. His orthopedic surgeon encouraged bodily treatment, which Simon will get started soon. I have in no way listened to of physical treatment for canine. Does it get the job done?
A: Sure, it is very efficient.
In puppies, the most popular cause of hind leg lameness is sickness of the cranial cruciate ligament, sometimes called the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. The ACL is just one of four significant ligaments that stabilizes the knee.
When the ACL ruptures, specially in a significant puppy, operation is wanted to stabilize the knee, make improvements to hind leg perform and do away with ache.
Studies present that pet dogs that undergo put up-op physical remedy — named actual physical rehabilitation in the canine earth — do far better than puppies that never.
A person research adopted 51 canine ahead of, in the course of and right after knee surgical procedure to restore the ruptured ACL and weakened medial meniscus.
Ahead of surgical procedure, the severity of lameness was similar for the 25 pet dogs that received publish-op physical rehabilitation and the 26 canines handled only with relaxation.
Six months following medical procedures, leg operate was calculated all over again. Equally groups improved, but the rehabilitated canine accomplished significantly increased improvement than the work out-limited dogs.
In the pet dogs that received physical rehabilitation, the surgically fixed leg was as good as the other, uninjured hind leg. In the physical exercise-restricted puppies, the repaired leg was significantly worse than the unhurt leg.
I trust Simon will take pleasure in the outstanding added benefits of bodily rehabilitation.
Lee Pickett, VMD, tactics companion animal medicine in North Carolina. Get hold of her at
