Caring for Your “Geezer”

Siamese cats are known for their longevity. Living longer means Siamese cat owners are likely to experience an elderly cat and elderly cat health issues. The main issue in the older cat is kidney health.

Hearing that your cat is in the early stages of renal failure can be disheartening but early stages may mean that your cat has months, if not years yet to live. Most veterinarians will recommend dietary therapy. A typical dietary change will be to a lover protein and magnesium diet, like Hills Science Diet K/D. If your veterinarian uses Waltham, they too have a diet formulated for cats in renal failure. Science Diet, however, uses many preservatives and fillers that may not be as healthy for your cat as they claim.

Holistic veterinarians will recommend more holistic diets. Finding these for senior cats can be difficult. Newman’s Own Cat Food has a senior version and stacks up well in the numbers on protein and magnesium. However, the taste has not always been all that palatable to the cats. They have reformulated their foods and this may help with the taste.

Royal Canin and their alternate product Sensible Choice are not Organic, like Newman’s Own, but use less fillers than Science Diet and avoid wheat as a filler. Both have low numbers when it comes to magnesium and protein and can be good for older cats. Royal Canin’s formula for seniors has a softer kibble which makes it easier for the older kitty to chew. It also smells stronger because older kitties may have a harder time smelling their food.

Some people believe that it’s better to feed older cats canned food. The advantages of this are two fold. If you have an older cat with more gum soreness, loose teeth and less smell, the canned food is obviously much easier for them to smell, taste and chew. Additionally, canned for can add much needed extra water to their diet. This is always important for cats but is more so when cats get older. Less kidney function requires more fluid in their diet.

Science Diet and Waltham offer their kidney diet formulas in canned. I have not seen any organic canned food marketed as being specifically for older cats, though some of the natural choice type products found in Petsmart and Petco claim to be formulated for older cats.

Fresh water is more important than ever to the aging cat. Dishes of water that may have lasted for days if left unchanged will now be gone much more quickly, so be sure to check often. Veterinarians may recommend subcutaneous fluids for kitties who reach late stage renal failure as a way to improve quality of life in their last weeks.

Holistic veterinarians may recommend supplements. While each veterinarian who chooses complementary health has their own specialty, many like the Standard Process supplement called Feline Renal Care. Standard Process makes supplements for human consumption but has formulated this for cats. Not only is the vet not just adjusting a dosage for an older kitty, but the supplement is designed to be palatable even to the most finicky cats.

It’s hard to hear that our beloved kitty is in renal failure. Many Siamese live several more years as a geezer (as they are called over at meezer.com) and diet, fresh water, low stress and possibly supplements recommended by your veterinarian can help them make those years just as happy and comfortable as their earlier ones.