How much protein is safe for my healthy 15-year-old senior cat?

Senior diets tend to increase protein as animals lose muscle mass as they age. You would do best to stick to diets formulated for kidney disease as they will take other factors into account such as phosphorus etc.

Unfortunately, I do not think you are going to get a consensus or simple answer to this question. The short answer is that we think the most biologically appropriate food for a domesticated cat is a mouse. And that is quite high in protein. In a young cat like Autumn wihout any health issues, I do not have a problem feeding a high protein food. Cats are obligate carnivores and generally thrive on a high protein diet. One thing you have to think about is that if the food is lower in protein, then it will have to be higher in carbohydrates and/or fat. Again, since cats are obligate carnivores, they are not able to utilize carbohydrates effectively and will often just gain weight on foods that are higher in carbohydrates. You also have to consider if you are comparing dry food or canned food. Dry food will "appear" to have more protein than canned food on the label, but often canned food is actually higher in protein. I feed my cats a rotation of different canned foods and Blue Buffalo is included in that rotation. I do not consider it too high protein for them. Please let me know if that was helpful. I am passionate about cat nutrition, so let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

According to the National Research Council (NRC) on Nutrient Requirements for Dogs and Cats, the daily protein requirement for an adult dog is 23 g of crude protein. This can be confusing because most pet food labels list protein as a % basis. You can calculate whether your dog is receiving at least 23 g of crude protein per day based on how much food you feed him. Here is a helpful link that contains instructions on how to do the calculation: http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf. The NRC does not list a protein requirement specifically for senior dogs, so you can feed the amount recommended for adult dogs. However, senior dogs do require fewer calories overall. That information is listed in the above link.

No, there aren't any bad effects from the high protein, although cats with kidney problems should be fed low protein diets. Cats actually need higher amounts of protein in their food than dogs because they are obligate carnivores (meaning they cannot survive without meat). There are reports, however, that Orijen can cause stinky poop in cats.

Not necessarily. While protein needs to be included in your pet's diet, excessive protein consumption is unnecessary and can actually be harmful, especially if your pet suffers from kidney or liver health issues. At the same time, the quality of the protein is also important, and too much low quality protein may eventually lead to digestive upsets. The reality is that pet food should be balanced, above all, and this balance will depend on your pet's breed, age, and activity level, among other factors. For example, puppies and kittens generally need more protein than their adult counterparts in order to be able to grow and develop properly. Instead of looking for foods that contain high levels of protein, I suggest that you find a quality food that has been specifically formulated for pets like yours, preferably by a pet food company that invests in scientific research and consults with veterinary nutritionists. Finally, since all pets are different, consulting with your veterinarian to make sure you're feeding your pet the right food is always a good idea.

Indoor cats and outdoor cats should get the same amount of protein. It depends on the food you are feeding them. I recommend a high quality diet of dry food or canned food, fed twice daily. If you find your indoor cat is gaining weight, try a food formulated for indoor cats for those are live indoors only. Good luck, i hope this helps!

As long as the minimum Crude protein percentage is above 26%, it should be adequate for cats. However, you rarely need to worry about this, because cat foods have to meet this requirement in order to be approved by AAFCO standards. Here is a link to a short article that further explains how to choose the right cat food: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ You are right that cats are carnivores, so the higher the percentage of protein, the better the food likely is for them. Grains are OK for cats and make contain some essential nutrients, so I wouldn't worry too much about them. Grain-free foods usually substitute the grain with some other source of carbohydrate, so it really would not make much of a difference which food was eaten. I, like many other veterinary professionals, find the grain-free movement quite misleading and unsupported by the facts. It's essentially just marketing and should not be taken seriously at this time. I hope that helps.