Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hello PPK vegan friends,
November is Adopt a Senior Cat Month here at Providence Animal Rescue, and my partner and I adopted MITTENS. She;s a lovely senior kitty, who is super affectionate! she hasn't stopped purring since we brought her home.

This is Mittens still in her cage at the shelter:



Now, it has been quite a while since I've been a cat owner, so all of you veteran senior kitty owners, your advice and support is greatly appreciated!!

It's so great that you've given an older cat a home! I love black cats, and her green eyes and white markings are beautiful. I can't offer advice, but I wish you and Mittens the best.

Aw, how old is she? I'm not sure what age qualifies as senior, but my cats are 17, 10, and 10. The only thing really notable that my oldest cat does is that she can't jump like she did when she was young, so she gets up everything (bed, couch, windowsills) by digging her claws in and hoisting herself up. She's been doing that for years. It also means I have to keep her claws lightly trimmed (not too short) because she gets them stuck all the time. One time, she swiped at Fawkes and got caught in his sweater and he just froze and looked up with pleading eyes while she cried and tried to pull free.

Genghis has gotten paranoid with age and lives in the basement, Gozer is pretty much the same spry annoying little dick that he was the day he hit puberty.

Mittens is 12! But Providence Animal Rescue counts all cats over 8 as a "senior". There weren't many to choose from, the one that originally caught our eye was 10, but it turned out he was not cleared by the in-house vet to be adopted.

Good to know about the claws. She would NOT let them trim her claws before we left, but other than that, she left in good health. I do notice she hesitates a bit before jumping up on the couches, but she can make it. I guess worrying about her hopping up on the island is the kitchen is out of the question.

Any special cat food? The shelter sent us home with a bag of Hills Science Diet Cat Food. She was fed that at the shelter, but her previous owners fed her a mix of dry and some wet, Friskies, I believe. But, I don't mind splurging on healthy or wholesome cat food!

Thank you!!!

What a beautiful girl! My boy cat, Simon, is a tuxedo cat. I think they are the loviest cats ever! Good for you giving an older cat a loving home!

She's beautiful! I adopted a couple of senior cats!

Well, my vets prescribed a renal food because my present senior cat (just turned 19!) has renal disease. I would just feed her whatever she's eating and likes for now as she's going through a period of adjustment. I do find my cats to maintain better health when I feed them food I buy at the vets (as opposed to something like Fancy Feast that I'd buy at the supermarket) but maybe they've improved the quality of supermarket food by now as I switched to vet brand pet food a decade ago. Here, Hill's Science diet is vet brand pet food anyhoo, so I'd probably stick with that until her next vet assessment and see if she has any dietary needs or specific restrictions and they recommend something special.

Enjoy her and you're awesome for adopting a senior kitty! <3 <3 <3

My cats all eat the same food because Fatty is surprisingly healthy for her age, the last time she went to the vet (I can't remember but I believe we took her in for cold-like symptoms), the doctor said she was perfectly healthy, her teeth were great for her age, and she didn't have any weird lumps or anything that would make the doctor think she needed any tests. Since Chester is on three medications, that's a relief.

Every now and then it seems like she's sleeping more than usual and being listless, and i'm like, "Is this it? Are you going to forking die on me?" And then she does something like leaps off of the couch onto Gozer's back and I realize i'm just being paranoid. This bisque is going to live forever.

^Yeah, my 5-year-old cat is on the renal food diet too, although he doesn't need it because he's young, there's nothing wrong with his kidneys yet. But they eat from the same dishes and it can't be helped and the vet said it's fine for him to be on the diet, too, even though he's normal. It'll still provide him with all the nutrients he needs.

Just a caution for anyone reading, my vet did say a renal diet would NOT be suitable for a cat under one year of age (I guess they need kitten food).

Is the renal diet food given (or bought) at your vet's. I think Hills Science makes a kidney health brand, as well as a general, all-purpose elderly cat brand. The bag the shelter gave us is not actually the one for senior kitties, so I might transition her to that after we hear what the vet recommends.

She has her first (complimentary) vet appointment Saturday morning. There is a list of veterinarians around the state who give free first checkups to any pet adopted through Providence Animal Rescue. From the history we were given, her previous owner's did not take her to the vet, and could not even remember her last appointment. She spent the majority of her days outside, and came to the shelter in pretty rough shape (fleas, conjunctivitis, upper respiratory infection). But I will say this, for the two-and-a-half months she was there, PARL took excellent care of her.

she literally has NOT stopped purring since she's come home, and sleeps like a champ...the life of a cat!

I am thoroughly enjoying all of your senior kitty stories, thank you everyone!

Yes, the kind I buy is purchased through the vet. I can't remember if it's Medi-Cal or one of the Science Diet brands, actually. My cats have had their foods switched a couple of times (per the vets recommendations) and they also seem to enjoy the food I buy from the vet without too much finickiness.

When you get your complimentary vet visit just be sure to ask what food's best for Mittens. Sometimes when I have a general vet visit coming up, I'll make a list of questions to ask so I remember them all.

Good luck! Mittens is lucky to have you! <3

Yay for senior cats! My cat is 12 years old and I feed her only wet food now on the recommendation of the vet, but I used to give her a mixture of Wellness dry kibble along with the canned stuff.

Cute kitty! My youngest cat is almost five, but three of them are considered seniors. I feed them a senior/weight management formula because some of them are also little chubbers.

If she doesn't have a specific medical condition that requires a prescription diet, then I wouldn't feed science diet. The ingredients are pretty crepe (corn gluten, meat byproducts, fillers). Cats usually do best on food with low or no grain, and canned food is generally considered to be better for them than dry.

You are great for adopting a senior kitty! It's really hard for cats over the age of 7 to find homes.

oh yeah, my cat was given a few cans of science diet when she was having trouble with constipation. She didn't like the taste, and the ingredients were no better than cheap stuff like Fancy Feast.

Last year in November I adopted Kasper, a 5-year old black cat. Nobody wanted him and guess what? He's the sweetest one ever!

Ya know, I think you are all correct.

I read the ingredients on the Hills Science, and I thought: Wow, this kinda seems like all the other crepe -tastic, dollar store kitty food out there. At least as far as some of the ingredients were concerned...

Well, we shall see what the vet says... In the meantime, Mittens and I both thank you for all the advice!

What a handsome kitty!!!