Senior Cat Turkey Pâté

Older cats stop eating for two boring reasons long before anything dramatic is happening: their teeth hurt, or their sense of smell has dulled and food no longer announces itself. This pâté answers both. It is soft enough to eat with almost no dentition, and it is deliberately aromatic so it still registers from across the room.

The protein is turkey, kept moderate rather than maximal, with phosphorus held low. Phosphorus level is the number worth watching in senior cat food, and we print it on the label instead of burying it, so you can hand the tin to your vet and get a straight answer.

Warming makes a real difference. Thirty seconds out of the fridge is not enough; stand the portion somewhere warm for ten minutes, or stir in a spoon of warm water, and the smell lifts considerably. A cat that refused the same food cold will often clear the bowl warm.

If your senior cat is losing weight, drinking noticeably more, or turning away from food it used to like, do not treat that as a flavour problem to shop your way out of. Book the vet. Appetite change in an older cat is information, and food is only part of the answer.