Senior cats have distinct nutritional requirements that change progressively with age, requiring dietary adjustment to maintain health and quality of life.
Senior cat nutrition is a welfare area where the complexity of age-related changes creates risk of both under- and over-feeding key nutrients. The traditional advice to restrict protein for senior cats is now understood to be counterproductive for most senior cats without kidney disease - muscle wasting in aging cats actually requires higher protein intake for maintenance. Only cats with demonstrated kidney disease benefit from protein restriction, and the timing of this dietary shift is a clinical judgment. The welfare of senior cats depends on regular monitoring that enables diet adjustments as individual health conditions evolve over the final years of life.