# "Mature" cat food?



## rothenb1 (Sep 30, 2010)

Hello all,

I have four cats, ages five and a half, seven, nine, and eleven and a half. Is it okay to feed my 5.5 year old "mature" cat food? 

They all eat Blue Buffalo; my senior kitties get "mature," and I normally feed my youngest the "adult indoor," but the store was out when I needed to pick up more, so I've been giving her the "mature."

I honestly cannot see a difference between the two foods. As far as the guaranteed analysis goes, the only difference is that the "mature" food has .5% less fiber; the ingredients have a very negligible difference (the "mature" contains salmon meal, fish oil, and rice bran, which the "adult" does not contain; the "adult" contains dried cellulose, which the "mature" does not).

So I guess the question really is: is there _actually_ a significant difference between the "adult" food and the "mature" food?



Thanks!


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

That's because 'mature' and senior food is more of a gimmick than anything else. 
Usually senior food is lower in fat and calories, but that's what portion control is for.

But to directly answer your question, no there isn't a significant difference and it's fine to feed senior temporarily to your adult cats.


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## rothenb1 (Sep 30, 2010)

I figured it was a gimmick, after carefully examining the ingredients, haha. I know in dog food "mature" food contains glucosamine and other vitamins/minerals for an older dog. I thought it'd be the same for cats...

When do you suggest I switch my 5.5 year old to the "mature" food? 6 years old or 7 years old?


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## CatsPride (May 29, 2011)

While blue is better then most, it still has grain, its best to aim for a food like Orijen or Instincts that has no grains.


Yes senior,kitten, adult, those are gimmicks.


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## rothenb1 (Sep 30, 2010)

CatsPride said:


> While blue is better then most, it still has grain, its best to aim for a food like Orijen or Instincts that has no grains.
> 
> 
> Yes senior,kitten, adult, those are gimmicks.



I work at PetSmart, and I get a 15% discount. The store does not sell those brands-- and actually, I've never heard of them!

The holistic foods we sell are: AvoDerm, Blue Buffalo, By Nature, Innova, Simply Nourish (new PetSmart brand food-- I got a bag for free and my cats really like it! I've been mixing it with the Blue), and Wellness.

My spouse works at an aquarium fish specialty store, but the owner also sells Evo food. We scoped out the food they offered, but the only dry they offered was herring and salmon, and for some reason my cats do not like fish flavors. In addition, my youngest refuses to touch canned food. It took about 4 brands of food to finally find something she liked! Very finicky.


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## MinkaMuffin (Apr 1, 2011)

rothenb1 said:


> When do you suggest I switch my 5.5 year old to the "mature" food? 6 years old or 7 years old?


My point was that I don't think you should ever bother to switch to senior, there isn't really a point to do so.


rothenb1 said:


> I work at PetSmart, and I get a 15% discount. The store does not sell those brands-- and actually, I've never heard of them!
> 
> The holistic foods we sell are: AvoDerm, Blue Buffalo, By Nature, Innova, Simply Nourish (new PetSmart brand food-- I got a bag for free and my cats really like it! I've been mixing it with the Blue), and Wellness.


Your Petsmart carries By Nature??? Is that new?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

MinkaMuffin said:


> Your Petsmart carries By Nature??? Is that new?


Petsmart has it on their web page to order but..... it's 23.99 a case as compared to petfooddirect for only 8.79 a case.

I'm not sure how that can be....


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