Please provide concise and useful information like Jill's. No sure where you're going, rambling about wild cats, math calculation, shareholders, zoos, corn and what not ;) Btw I don't rely on Hills for anything. In fact, I've never fed my cats Hills products. Not available where I live anyway. Perhaps you're Hill's sales rep since you keep plugging their name a couple of times already? :D Thanks.

"Please do a little search online to find specially prepared commercial food designed for cats with kidney disease and the senior ones. This type of food generally offers lower protein percentage." Comeon. You trust the pet food industry?? Lowering the protein intake for cats with CRF etc. is detrimental to their health! But...............must be that the pet food companies are slow to catch on. After all, we are interfering with their profits. Adding more REAL meat or adding the leftovers from corn can make a serious dufference in profits. They want CHEAP food for our cats. Read: Stock Holders. I'm really thinking you need to do a little Quality research before publishing articlea that can be dangerous to our feline friends. Now. You do the math. If you lower the amount of protein a feline consumes. You have only 2 choices. You either feed them less. Or. You feed them food full of fillers. What are fillers?? Fillers are: Corn and their constituents. What and their constituents. soy and it's constituents. All of them are highly allergy inducing, and they are FULL of carbs. Our poor cat's bodies are not designed to digest carbohydrates. In the wild htye consume around 3-5%. Kibble on the other hand is 30-60% of carbohudrates. Wowsie. Wonder if THAT may have any bearing at all on the avalanche od feline diabetes we are currently seeing? (A man made dieasae btw.-felines in the wild do not get diabetes) NONE of which should be fed to a cat period. PLEASE do just a little bit of research on this.... Join some of the forums where people care for very sick cats... Read the stories of what can happen when feeding proper food for a carnivore. Carnivore is the key word here.... Do you know why the zoos do not feed their carnivores corn? Or wheat? Do you? This is my last word on this. Please do a little more research. Don't just rely on Hills to give the "answers"

Great info. Thanks Jill!

There is no evidence that suggests protein reduction is beneficial in a healthy senior cat. (http://www.royalcanin.us/articles/feedseniorcat.html) Food is made up of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins; if you reduce the amount of protein, the percent of fat and/or carbohydrate in the food goes up. I don't think anyone is suggesting that protein should be increased for most senior cats, but the old information about protein restriction (a lot of which came from studies on other species) has been refuted in many newer studies: http://www.tlconline.org/sch/cja.html http://www.barnwatercats.org/Educate/SeniorDiet.html Please keep in mind that senior cats are not always sick. While certain specific illnesses require dietary adjustment, healthy seniors should still have at least 30% of their diet from high-quality protein sources. Cats with diabetes mellitus may actually need higher percentages of protein in order to reduce the amount of carbohydrate in their diets. Anyone with an ill cat should discuss their individual cat's diet with their veterinary as well as doing their own research, as not all vets are up-to-date with the latest nutritional information. Sometimes some probing questions can convince a vet to look at the latest research and possibly come to different conclusions.

Please do a little search online to find specially prepared commercial food designed for cats with kidney disease and the senior ones. This type of food generally offers lower protein percentage. One should also consult the vet so he/she may provide a prescription diet for cats with special needs i.e. cats that require less protein like the ones I mentioned above, plus those suffering or indicating signs of hepatoencephalopathy as per Dr.Zoran's article which was provided by you. Sorry if I seem to give the impression that I "deliberately" misread your reply. It was unintentional. Still I beg to differ on this bit: "if the feline eats the same type of food, they will consume the same amount of protein." Please note that eating the same type of food does not mean the feline will consume the SAME amount of protein. Only by eating the same type of food ALONG with the same amount/serving/percentage/quantity can actually equate to whatever the amount of protein that the feline normally eats. Generally senior cats eat less due to common diseases that comes with old age such as diabetes mellitus, kidney failure, deteriorating dental health, etc. A challenge is not necessary here lol, simply because I can't provide proof that wild felines eat less protein. Then again, can you offer proof that wild felines consume more or the same amount of protein throughout its entire lifespan? Protein sources MUST come from raw animal meat, other sources like vegetable and animal by-products are NOT recommended:) You also suggested that owners who wish to to decrease their cat's protein intake, should read Dr. Zoran's article before embarking on a very dangerous journey of reducing the protein intake of "ANY" cat. Well, according to the article "Cats with signs of hepatoencephalopathy may require diets containing less protein" ;) Furthermore the article does not offer any information regarding high-protein diet for senior cats. Remember too much of a good thing can be bad. The best course of action is to counsult the vet for a more appropriate evaluation.

Sorry. Who says "omit"?? But it seems to me if you REDUCE the intake of what an obligate carnivore need to survive, -PROTEIN- you either replace it with something or you let the cat exist on less food. No?? I did not say that cats in the wild eat MORE meat as they get older. I think you are deliberately misreading my reply. What I DO mean is that if the feline eats the same type of food, they will consume the same amount of protein. I would challenge you to provide proof that felines in the wild eat LESS protein as they age. Yes, dietary "opinions" vary wildly from one vet to another. Some vets are still stubbornly stating that protein from vegetable sources are valuable to a carnivore, like a cat, even though science says differently, and even though the vegetable sources that provide that sub standard protein also is a huge culprit in the avalanche of feline diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, urinary tract disorders and many more. IOW, causing harm and pain to our beloved feline friends. Sadly, most vets have little to no nutritional education, and what little they do receive is for the most part supplied by the pet food industry. Visiting a vet's office where the sell brands such as those produced by "Hills" immediately alerts you to the fact that this vet does not have nutritional advice that will in any way support the health of your pet. I'm sure you do love cats, as I do :) I would suggest anyone interested in decreasing their cat's protein intake to this article by Dr. Zoran, DVM, PhD http://www.catinfo.org/zorans_article.pdf And also visit the site: (No affiliation) http://www.catinfo.org by Dr. Pierson DVM before embarking on a very dangerous journey of reducing the protein intake of ANY cat. Old-Sick-or with Kidney Disease.

Who said anything about replacing protein? Please read the article carefully. What I actually wrote in the article is that you should REDUCE protein intake for senior cats not omit it completely. Yes I did researched before posting this article. In fact, my vet was the one who gave me the advice. That being said, do keep in mind that advice, opinions, and treatment may vary from one vet to another. That is why, at the end of the article, I noted that one should consult the vet as well to get proper assessment. As for your final question. Well how do you know whether wild cats eat more meat as they get older? Perhaps due to illness that are generally associated with old age, they may not eat much at all. Thanks for commenting btw :)

Replace the protein with what? Sorry. You are way off here. This information is an old wives tale. A high proetin intake is NOT detrimental to geriatric cats, or cats with kidney issues. yes, cats are carnivores, and they are carnovires after the age of 10 as well. What do you thing wild cats do? Eat less meat as they get older? Please do research befor spreading iunfo that can harm cats :(