Feeding a "low protein" food to a "normal" cat

[ayclee]

Hi everybody. Here is my situation:
I have a 1 year old cat that is on Adult Iams and an older 7 year old cat on Medi Cal Low Protein food. My major concern is that my older cat has now taken a liking to the regular Iams food and I have to monitor each feeding. I am toying with the idea of putting them both on Low Protein as I do not always have the time to monitor each feeding and tired of waking up in the middle of the night checking on who is eating what food.
Are there any potential health problems for my 1 year old cat if they both go on Low Protein?
Are there any brand alternatives that I can feed both the same food without messing up my older cat's kidneys?

[Lucky Rescue]

Does your older cat already have a kidney problem? Cats, being obligate carnivores, need a diet with a lot of protein and have a difficult time switching to low protein. They instinctively seek it out, which is why your older cat has taken a liking to the other food.

Iams is not particularly good food. If I were you (and if your older cat is healthy) I would feed both of them a mostly canned diet, or if you insist on dry food, a much better quality one.

[ayclee]

Thank you for your reply. You make a really good point. My older cat does have existing kidney problem so that's why I'm a bit concerned with him eating regular food. Don't worry I am looking into switching Iams to something like Science Diet!

[SnowDancer]

Suggest you check with your vet, but I think you should continue to feed your older cat the low protein diet and your younger cat a properly balanced food for a one year old. Feeding separately can be difficult, but not nearly as difficult as dealing with progressive kidney disease in your older cat and nutrient deficiency in your younger.

[Prin]

Science Diet is not a good food either! You need a food like Wellness... Look here: Wellness

[PetFriendly]

And as long as they are drinking water, soft food isn't very good at helping to keep their teeth clean...

Its amazing how complicated we can make something as simple as feeding the cat, isn't it.

[Prin]

PetFriendly, newer studies actually show that besides some animals just having it worse than others for plaque, it's the quality of the food, not the type (wet/dry) that keep the teeth cleaner.

[Lucky Rescue]

Dry food is no better for teeth than wet. In fact, cats' teeth are not designed for chewing, but just for stabbing, tearing and slicing.

Whether or not a cat has a lot of plaque mostly depends on heredity and dental care.

[micp879]

I too have heard more and more lately that dry food doesnt do much for teeth cleaning. Of course dry food manufacturers will try to tell you otherwise lol. Regarding upgrading food, Science Diet is no better IMO. Ingredient wise some of their formulas may even be worse than some Iams. I do think that some of the Hills prescription foods do serve a purpose, but the ingredients still arent great. Otherwise, I dont recommend Science Diet at all. They just have a good marketing department and teach the Vet nutrition classes, so vets automatically think that Science Diet is the best.