The Tiniest Tiger

Iams Asks: Are You Eating Age Appropriate?

Feline Nutrition

Iams Home 4 the Holiday Hat

As you know, Friends of The Tiniest Tiger enthusiastically participated in the Iams Home 4 the Holidays campaign by posting comments here and by uploading photos to our The Tiniest Tiger Facebook page. You can see The Tiniest Tiger’s participation and  all of the wonderful comments by clicking here.

So I was super excited when we received this nice note from our Friends at Iams;

“As the 2010 Iams Home  4 the Holidays pet adoption campaign has come to an end, we wanted to give a HUGE thank you to you and your The Tiniest Tiger’s Conservation Cub Club readers for helping make this year another success! Without your support, we couldn’t have saved the lives of more than 1.1 million homeless animals!

1,125,667 animals were adopted between Oct. 1 and Jan. 4 through more than 3,500 animal organizations from around the world.

Forever homes were found for:

  • 593,146 dogs
  • 509,470 cats
  • 23,051 other animals

On top of that, we are happy to report that IAMS is donating 5,000,000 meals to all of the Iams Home 4 the Holidays participating animal organizations! This was all made possible through retail purchases and online engagement from animal lovers like you!”

Friends we can be super proud that we united our paws and provided 32,375 MEALS for our Cousins in Need!

Super Hurrah!

Now as you know, we don’t only eat around the holidays, we need to eat every day. And eating is an important part of any Cat’s life.  In order for us to stay healthy and mischievous, we need proper nutrition.

Our Friends at Iams told me  a  national survey[1] revealed that only 10 percent of U.S. pet owners take the age of a cat or dog into consideration when determining which formula to feed their pet. So Iams is encouraging Americans to make 2011 a healthier year by feeding pets a life stage specific diet, like Iams Premium Protection.

I need to follow a low allergy diet and I also have diabetes, so my parents are super careful about my meals and snacks.  Sometimes too careful if you ask me, but I know it is for my own good. But this got me to wondering how many of my Friends also eat a special diet and/or for specific health concerns or for your age?

Then I wondered how we decide which food, when and why!  Dr. Katy Nelson, DVM explains in the following videos:

For Kittens:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIdB2Nf4DFY[/youtube]

For Young Cats and Dogs

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I0R4PFc7jg[/youtube]

For Mature Cats:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQL_JQelWvg[/youtube]

Whoa! Didn’t that Cat look just like my cousin Mercy?  But he isn’t mature in his eating or behavior.  hahahahaha.  Seriously, this is both interesting and important.

The new year is when our pet parents talk about getting themselves in better shape by following a healthier diet.  Maybe it is time that we do the same.

I am super curious now and am wondering, do you  eat age appropriate?   If you don’t now, do you think you might make a change?

Lazy Leopard modeling Iams Home 4 the Holidays Hat

[1]Online survey conducted among nationally representative sample of 1,006 randomly-selected adults aged 18 and over residing in the U.S. via Ipsos’ U.S. Online Express Omnibus. Survey was completed October 22-25, 2010. Margin of error +/-3%.

This post originally appeared on The Tiniest Tiger’s Conservation Cub Club and is the sole property of The Tiniest Tiger, LLC.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather says

    Gracey, I have never checked the ingredients before, sad to say. Both of my cats eat adult Meow Mix, both wet and dry. They both love it so much. I will have to go home and look at the ingredients later…

  2. Becky says

    We’ve been more an more careful about what we feed our kitties since we got a new kitten, Alan, nearly two years ago. We made sure he had his kitten food, and then we started reading about cat food and got much more fussy about making sure what all our cats ate was the best quality. Most of them are in the adult category right now. The oldest fellow, Eric, who is also the low-food-or-water-alert cat, is ready for senior food. The big trick is figuring out how to feed him separate. Everybody wants what everybody else has. And nobody likes being locked up very long, even with a bowl of good food.

  3. Laura says

    My guys eat Evo food, which is very high in protein. They range in age from 8-10, so I guess I’d better give some thought to age and whether their diet is still appropriate. We did give them kitten chow when they were young. Thanks for the info! Hugs, Gracey!

  4. Kathy says

    I have always been aware of being age appropriate for Tippy since I adopted her when she was 8, she is now 12. I have always decided on Tippy’s diet through conversation with her vet. She has been diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease so I have not been able to make decisions regarding age but rather make them based on her diagnosis. She is eating a Hill’s prescription diet Z/D dry food and canned Duck and Green Pea or Venison and Green Pea food for her medical condition, which is currently well maintained.

  5. Pamela says

    I try so hard to check ingredients, but I am not as deligent as I should be. New Year’s resolution 2011 — be a better kitty mom, especially when it comes to food!

  7. Monica says

    My cats are between the ages of 5 and 12 and they all eat age appropriate food. Some of them are also on special diets for urinary tract issues, hyperthyroid issues and one eats hypo-allergenic food for allergy issues.

  8. Elizabeth Petry says

    Hi Gracey! Portia eats a combination of urinary tract health & senior by Royal Canin. She does get the occasional treat as well as “catnip hit”!
    She’s the love of my life–I love her too much!

    • Gracey says

      Elizabeth,
      I don’t know if you can love Portia too much. Sometimes I hear my parents say they love me too much but I don’t think it is too much! I am super lucky and happy to have a loving home. Sending hugs to Portia and you.

  9. Beverly Medley-McCall says

    Yes…my Dakota dog has a VERY sensitive digestive system so only gets Lamb or chicken & rice food! Cheyanna-4 year old normal weight gets it, too. Moki, my Rhodesian is getting too fat so just switched her to weight management food!

  10. Janet Collins says

    Hi Gracey, yes, Maggie has to eat a special diet too, because of her bladder problems. She is on Science Diet CD formula, and a few snacks…(she thinks she should have more of the snacks though.)
    Wonderful news about how many meals we all helped in providing! Thanks for giving us the chance to help!!!
    XOXOXO
    Janet and Maggie

  12. janell markey says

    Anna (2.5 yr) and Abigail (8 yr) both eat kitten food. Abigail was not losing weight on her pre-diabetes food, so I compared her food to Anna’s kitten food. The first ingredient in kitten food is real chicken, not so for Abigail’s food. I know that protein helps fill you up faster and remain feeling full longer so I switched Abigail to kitten food and she has lost weight!!! The vet was impressed and said they are fine with both girls eating kitten food as long as they are healthy.

  13. Melinda says

    My kitties eat age appropriate food. They have since we have had them. They’re very spoiled lol