Cat Chat Feline Forum

Newbie here hi everyone!
Quite a specific question. I have an 11 year old female indoor cat rescued 6 years ago. She has always tended to pile on the ounces. 2 years ago we put her on Hills Metabolic and she got down to a nice weight.
Last November she was diagnosed hyperthyroid on a routine blood screen. She showed no signs of weight loss (around 2% of cats don't and it just had to be her!) but it is confirmed and she has just had her full assessment for radioactive iodine treatment, which she is having in 3 weeks' time. There is already slight heart muscle thickening and changes in one eye. She has to go back to 'normal' food next week.
Question is, what is normal food?
She was on Butchers, and she got very fat.
She had 18 months on Hills Metabolic and I wonder if that might have contributed to her hyperthyroidism, as it's supposed to boost metabolism as well as being low calorie.
Restricting the amount she eats is not viable, she has severe psychological issues including becoming aggressive when her bowl is empty (hence the attraction of a calorie restricted food).
She will need a high protein food to rebuild muscle mass post treatment.
Vet recommends a good quality senior food but I'm not happy with the protein content of the ones I've looked at.
Any suggestions for a high protein low calorie senior wet and dry please?
I can supplement with a little raw low-fat muscle meat but an all raw diet is not an option.

with 12% protein and 3% fat I don't think Felix AGAIL senior is a bad choice at all and is reasonably cheap and widely availabe

I cook for mine, which could be a good alternative to raw. I get various balanced meats (80% muscle, 10% ground bone, 10% offal) from Durham Animal Feeds and cook up around 3 kilos in a batch, which feeds two cats and two toy dogs for a week. I reckon on around 100-125g per day per cat. I cook vegetables in some of the gravy for the dogs, add a dash of taurine just in case, then all the animals get some of the veggie gravy. They get regular meals of salmon (also from DAF) or sardines as well. Freezing in ice cube trays would enable you to feed small, frequent meals, if that is what she prefers and if you are prepared to do it.

You may well find that your cat is less desperate to eat once the hyperthyroidism is sorted out - Pippin still has a good appetite, but is no longer voracious.

fjm wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 3:40 pm You may well find that your cat is less desperate to eat once the hyperthyroidism is sorted out - Pippin still has a good appetite, but is no longer voracious.

Thanks I have thought about cooking in the past but specific health issues would mean it would only be for one and I'm scared to.
She isn't a voracious eater, just eats a normal amount that she doesn't burn up. Always has done (unless she has been hyperthyroid since age 5 which we can't rule out I suppose). Her appetite is just the same as it always was. She reached 6.4kg and should be around 4.5-4.8 and to put that into context she has been on y/d for 3 months and gained 800g so the weight issue is pretty serious. If she's hyper and should be losing, but in fact she is gaining 250g a month, I daren't think how fast that could rocket on normal food once the thyroid is treated.
And I know the obvious would be to feed less but I can't afford to risk aggression developing with the other household animals.
That's why I'm hoping there is a reduced calorie low carb high protein option out there.

Kay wrote: ↑Mon Feb 25, 2019 2:12 pm with 12% protein and 3% fat I don't think Felix AGAIL senior is a bad choice at all and is reasonably cheap and widely availabe

Thanks, I'm not all that worried about cost but I am very worried about calories