The Best Senior Cat Foods, With Guidance From Veterinarians

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The best senior cat foods are formulated to support the health and well-being of older cats. Cats may reach "senior" status around age 10, though this milestone can vary based on breed and overall health. Around this stage, a cat's nutritional needs change as they begin to gain fat and lose muscle. Many senior cats also have a less robust immune system compared to younger ones, says Dr. Carly Fox, a senior veterinarian at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center.

To choose the best wet and dry foods for senior cats, we asked veterinarians about the common health concerns and specific nutritional needs of senior cats. One of our top picks for canned senior food is Royal Canin Aging 12+ Loaf in Sauce. The formula includes fish oil, glucosamine, and chondroitin to help reduce inflammation and support joint health.

All of our recommendations for the best senior cat food meet the nutrition standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and the Global Nutrition Guidelines from the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). Before choosing a food for your senior cat, Fox says it's important to consult your veterinarian since not all formulas address the same health needs. For example, cats with chronic kidney disease often require a diet lower in phosphorus, sodium, and protein. On the other hand, high-protein diets can benefit senior cats with healthy kidneys who have muscle loss.

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Highlights for the best senior cat foods

Best overall wet: Royal Canin Aging 12+ Loaf in Sauce - See at Chewy

Best overall dry: Hill's Science Diet Adult 11+ Chicken Recipe - See at Chewy

Best budget wet: Blue Buffalo Tastefuls Chicken Entree for Mature Cats Pate - See at Chewy

Best budget dry: Iams ProActive Health Healthy Senior - See at Chewy

Best for sensitive stomachs: Purina Pro Plan Adult 7+ Prime Plus Ocean Whitefish and Salmon Entree - See at Chewy

Best for hairball control: Purina One +Plus Indoor Advantage Senior 7+ - See at Chewy

Best for weight loss: Royal Canin Indoor 7+ Morsels in Gravy - See at Chewy

Best wet overall

Domestic cats evolved from desert-dwelling felines who stayed hydrated by eating prey made up of about 70% water, says Ellen Dierenfeld, a comparative animal nutritionist and founder of Zootrition. Wet cat foods are formulated to replicate these diets. With 75% to 78% moisture content, wet foods can help keep your cat hydrated, which is especially important for senior cats with health conditions, says Dr. Kelly Fishman, a veterinarian and founder of Strut Animal Mobility Specialists.

Senior cats with chronic kidney disease, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism often drink more water and urinate more frequently than healthy cats. Fishman says taking steps to prevent dehydration can help your cat live a longer, happier life. One way to help keep senior cats hydrated is by offering them wet food.

Our top picks for the best wet cat food for seniors contain beneficial extras like fish oil, glucosamine, and chondroitin. Fox says these nutrients can support your aging cat's joints and mobility. They can also benefit cats with osteoarthritis, a condition that affects more than 90% of cats over age 12. The soft texture of wet food is also ideal for senior cats with dental disease or who have had teeth extracted.

To compare the nutritional values of wet and dry foods, you'll need to convert the wet food values to a dry matter basis, which are the values with all moisture removed. For this guide, we contacted the food manufacturers to get the nutritional profiles on a dry matter basis. If you want to compare other wet and dry foods yourself, you can follow the directions provided by the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, call the food manufacturer, or ask your veterinarian for help.

Best dry overall

Both wet and dry senior cat foods must meet the same minimum AAFCO nutritional standards as adult maintenance or all life stages foods. As long as the food has an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement on the label, your older cat will get the nutrients they need to support their overall health.

That said, while dry cat food (kibble) formulated for seniors provides similar nutritional benefits to wet food, there are key differences between the two types of food that might make one a better choice for your cat. Kibble has a longer shelf life and may promote dental health by scraping plaque off the teeth. However, dry food contains about 60% less water than wet food. Fishman says this can be a concern for senior cats at risk of feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD).

Whatever type of food you choose, our experts recommend selecting one that contains quality protein sources. As obligate carnivores, cats need animal-based proteins like fish, chicken, and eggs. Our kibble recommendations for the best cat foods for seniors contain these along with other nutritious ingredients, such as fish oil and antioxidant-rich cranberries. Antioxidants may help reduce a cat's risk of degenerative diseases of the liver, kidneys, and brain. Several of our senior picks for the best dry cat food also contain L-carnitine, an amino acid that can support weight loss by helping cats burn fat more efficiently.

Best budget wet

Senior cats, even those who have had multiple teeth removed, can still eat kibble, says Dr. Emily Luisana, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and co-founder of Peak Veterinary Specialists. However, if your cat doesn't like to drink water, has sensitive teeth, or loses interest in kibble, your vet might recommend switching to wet food instead.

Often, budget plays a role when choosing a cat's food. Wet food tends to be more expensive than dry food because of its higher moisture content. However, there are still plenty of affordable, nutritious wet food options for senior cats. Depending on your cat's specific health needs and preferences, you might also consider feeding a combination of wet and dry food.

For this category, we selected foods made with quality ingredients and with beneficial extras, such as powdered cellulose for fiber and vitamin E. This vitamin is an antioxidant that can help combat oxidative stress and inflammation associated with aging and joint problems, says Dr. Nicole Savageau, a small animal veterinarian in Austin, Texas.

Best budget dry

When feeding your cat, portion control is an important consideration because even a few extra kibbles can add up to a lot of extra calories for a cat. Serving measured portions can help them maintain a healthy weight while also helping you save money on cat food. "Be mindful in maintaining your older cat's weight, as overweight cats are more prone to diabetes, neoplasia, skin disease, and painful osteoarthritis," Fox says.

The best affordable cat food recipes meet the AAFCO's recommended nutrient profiles for all life stages, meaning they have the same essential nutrients as pricier options. However, they may not contain as many healthy extras, like probiotics to support digestion or antioxidants to help protect against age-related conditions.

Our budget dry food picks for senior cats include proteins like chicken and chicken byproduct meal as their first ingredients. Chicken byproduct meal is a source of glucosamine and chondroitin. Our selection from Purina also contains L-lysine, an amino acid that supports the immune system and may increase a cat's resistance to certain viruses.

Best for sensitive stomachs

When it comes to senior kitties, the best sensitive stomach cat food can vary, depending on their individual needs. Luisana tailors her patients' diets to their age, underlying medical concerns, senior lab work, muscle mass condition score, and body condition score (BCS). For instance, many cats can easily digest high-protein diets, but food high in protein can be harmful for cats with kidney disease.

Generally speaking, certain nutrients and ingredients can make a food more easily digestible for cats. Our experts say that pets have an easier time digesting more processed proteins, like meals and byproducts. Recipes with low to moderate fat are also less likely to upset your cat's stomach. Additionally, foods formulated for sensitive stomachs often contain easily digestible carbohydrates, like whole wheat, corn, or white potatoes.

Our recommendations contain nutritious animal proteins like chicken meal and salmon, which is a good source of omega fatty acids. Our pick from Purina includes inulin, a soluble fiber typically derived from chicory root that can aid digestion. Our low-protein pick from Hill's contains dried beet pulp. Dierenfeld says beet pulp is a good source of fermentable fiber for cats and may help improve digestive health.

Best for hairball control

If you've had your cat for a while, you've probably cleaned up a few hairballs. Cats groom themselves as a natural behavior, but when too much hair clumps up in their stomach, a hairball forms. The hairball then travels through the digestive tract as waste or gets coughed up onto your floor (or bed). In some cases, hairballs can become a medical issue if they get stuck in the digestive tract and cause a dangerous obstruction.

Dierenfeld recommends fermentable fibers like beet pulp in cat diets because they feed the good bacteria in the microbiome and help improve gut health. Insoluble fibers like wheat bran, cellulose, and rice hull are also ideal ingredients in hairball control foods because they help pull waste through the digestive tract.

Just know that while plant-based fiber does play an important role in feline diets, Fox says cats should never eat a vegan or vegetarian diet. Cats require amino acids from animal-based proteins that their bodies can't make. Our picks for the best hairball control cat food vary in protein and fat, so you may want to ask your vet about your cat's specific nutritional needs.

Best for weight loss

If your cat is overweight, your vet may suggest a tailored diet to help them live longer and improve their quality of life. The best foods for senior cats who need to lose weight are low in calories and fat, high in nutrients, and often higher in fiber than other cat foods. In addition, Fox says an exercise routine is just as important, even for senior kitties.

Our experts recommend a diet that can reduce joint pain and encourage your senior cat to become more active again. Ingredients that may help include fish oil, glucosamine, and chondroitin. Savageau says salmon is a particularly excellent protein source for senior cats because it's high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Our picks for the best weight loss foods for cats contain nutrients that help support healthy weight loss. For instance, they contain omega-rich menhaden fish oil, high-fiber cellulose, and fat-burning L-carnitine. Other healthy extras include probiotics for a healthy gut and antioxidants from blueberries and cranberries to help ease the effects of aging.

What to look for in senior cat food

When shopping for food for your senior cat, considering the following criteria can help you make the right choice:

AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement for adult maintenance or all life stages: The AAFCO is a nonprofit organization that recommends nutritional profiles based on an animal's life stage. They haven't established specific recommendations for senior cat diets, so these foods must meet the minimum AAFCO nutritional recommendations set for adult or all life stages foods. This means the nutritional profile of senior foods can vary from recipe to recipe. But if you choose a senior cat food formulated for adult maintenance or all life stages, the recipe will meet an adult cat's dietary requirements.

Guaranteed analysis and nutrient profiles: The guaranteed analysis shows the percentages of protein, fat, and essential nutrients in a food. According to AAFCO standards, all life stages food must meet the minimum nutrient requirements for kittens, which is a minimum of 30% protein and 9% fat. Adult maintenance cat food must have a minimum of 26% protein and 9% fat. Cat food must also contain essential nutrients, including amino acids like taurine found in animal protein, fatty acids from cold water fish, minerals, and vitamins. Our experts say it's critical to discuss your cat's recommended nutrient profile with your vet before transitioning to a new food.

Ingredients list: The ingredients list on a pet food label appears in order of weight. Your cat can get the nutrients they need from various ingredients in many different combinations, Dierenfeld says. However, cats are obligate carnivores, so they require animal-based proteins for essential amino acids. Proteins in the form of whole meat, meat meal, or byproducts should always come first on the ingredients list.

Expert formulations: Our picks for the best senior cat foods all meet quality control standards as recommended by WSAVA. This means the brands employ a full-time board-certified veterinary nutritionist or a PhD-level animal nutritionist. These standards help ensure your cat's food is formulated to meet nutritional recommendations using the right ingredients for cats.

Manufacturing standards: When choosing a brand of cat food, consider the quality control measures and facilities used. Brands that own their manufacturing plants have greater control over the ingredients in their recipes and, therefore, the food your cat consumes. Pet food brands should also be transparent about how they implement quality control measures. It's generally not enough to simply say they conduct quality control. Pet food companies should make this information available on their website or provide it upon request.

Calorie content: The calorie content of cat food is listed in kilocalories (kcals). Instead of basing calorie needs solely on age, our experts recommend discussing your cat's lifestyle and eating habits with your vet. Before recommending any senior diet to pet parents, Luisana assesses a cat's ideal weight, BCS, and muscle mass condition score. The BCS assesses your cat's body fat on a scale of 1 to 9 while the muscle mass conditioning score assesses your cat's muscle loss on a scale from normal to severe. This can help you understand if they need to lose or gain weight and lean muscle. You can ask your vet to teach you how to use this visual tool so you can check your cat's BCS and muscle condition score at home.

How we selected the best senior cat foods

To make our recommendations, we followed recommendations from the AAFCO, the WSAVA Global Nutrition Guidelines, and various publications and organizations linked in this guide. We also consulted two animal nutritionists and three small animal veterinarians to select the senior cat foods for this guide. You can learn more about them below.

Ellen Dierenfeld is a comparative animal nutritionist with a doctorate in animal nutrition from Cornell University. She is the founder of Zootrition, a software designed to record and evaluate the diets of animals. Diernfeld has over 30 years of experience in zoo, wildlife, and companion animal nutrition.

Dr. Kelly Fishman is a small-animal veterinarian and founder of Strut Animal Mobility Specialists. She received her doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Fishman is trained in animal acupuncture, physical rehabilitation, and specialty companion animal diets. She also advises on supplement use.

Dr. Carly Fox is a senior emergency and critical care veterinarian at The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City. She is a graduate of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Fox has a special interest in trauma, emergency procedures, and toxicities.

Dr. Emily Luisana is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and co-founder of Peak Veterinary Specialists. She is a graduate of the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Her clinical areas of interest include critical care nutrition, weight loss, homemade diets, and disease-state nutrition.

Dr. Nicole Savageau is a small animal veterinarian based in Austin, Texas. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Meet the expert behind this guide

Janelle Leeson, pet nutrition reporter: I've been researching and recommending cat food for Reviews since 2023. In that time, I've interviewed dozens of veterinarians and animal nutritionists to learn what makes a complete and balanced cat food, including specific formulas to meet the nutritional needs of senior cats. The foods recommended in this guide meet the criteria recommended by my expert sources and align with the AAFCO standards and WSAVA guidelines.

Senior cat food FAQs

What is the best food to feed a senior cat?

There's no single best food for every cat, regardless of age. When choosing among the best senior cat foods, it helps to consider a few factors related to your cat's health and lifestyle. For instance, high-protein food may be a good choice for senior cats with age-related muscle loss, but veterinarians don't recommend these diets for cats with kidney disease. Because senior cats commonly have arthritis, most will benefit from a diet with joint-supporting supplements. These may include omega-3 fatty acids, green-lipped mussel extract, glucosamine, or chondroitin. Some senior cats who are overweight may also benefit from a diet with L-carnitine, an amino acid that helps the body convert fat into energy. This healthy extra may help some senior cats lose weight, which can improve their overall health.

Is senior cat food different from regular cat food?

The AAFCO has not established separate nutritional standards specifically for senior cats. As a result, senior cat foods generally follow the same minimum nutritional requirements as adult maintenance or all-life-stages diets. This leaves a lot of room for variation between senior formulas. Many senior recipes contain added nutrients that can help relieve joint pain and increase mobility. Other senior diets may be formulated to help manage specific health conditions, like chronic kidney disease.

When should you switch your cat to senior food?

The 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines define "senior" as 10 years or older. However, some breeds of cats with chronic health conditions may be considered seniors as early as age 8. Even so, healthy older cats who eat a quality diet may not need to switch to a senior cat food. If you're unsure whether your cat would benefit from a senior diet, your veterinarian can help you decide base on your cat's overall health, medical history, and any signs of aging.

Is wet or dry food better for senior cats?

Both wet and dry foods formulated for your cat's life stage can offer similar nutritional benefits, but wet food may be a better fit for some cats. It helps keep cats hydrated, which is especially important for seniors with conditions like kidney disease and diabetes. On the other hand, dry food may promote dental hygiene by helping clean plaque from the teeth. Kibble is also more budget-friendly than wet food. Dierenfeld says the best food for some senior cats and their caretakers may be a combination of wet and dry food. Ultimately, the decision between wet and dry food will come down to factors like your budget and your cat's health, along with their preferences.