Cat food for sensitive stomachs in senior cats

Digestive sensitivity in cats is often down to food intolerance rather than a true allergy, and limited-ingredient or novel-protein diets tend to work best — though in older cats, slow digestion and weight loss can also point to reduced ability to absorb nutrients from dry food alone. To point you in the right direction: what symptoms are you seeing exactly — vomiting, loose stools, something else? How long has this been going on? And what's he currently eating day to day?

That pattern — slow weight loss, loose stools, no dramatic vomiting — in a 13-year-old is really common and almost always comes down to the kibble itself. Older cats produce less stomach acid and digestive enzymes, so dry food becomes genuinely harder for them to break down and absorb. The moisture content is also too low for a cat his age. Has he been checked recently for hyperthyroidism or kidney disease? Both can cause exactly this, and it's worth ruling out before assuming it's purely diet.

Good — that rules out the big two, so diet is the right lever to pull. Your vet's instinct is correct. For a cat like him I'd go with Royal Canin Ageing 12+ in gravy pouches. It's a wet food formulated specifically for cats over 12, with a texture and protein balance that's easy to digest, higher moisture to support kidney function, and enough calories in a small volume to help him regain condition. The gravy format means he'll absorb nutrients more efficiently than from any kibble. Give it four to six weeks and you should see the stools firm up and the weight stabilise.

I'd transition to wet-only if you can. Mixing wet and dry can actually slow down the digestion benefit because dry food takes longer to move through the gut. Swap over about a week — 75% old food, 25% new for a couple of days, then 50/50, then full switch. If he's a kibble addict and resists, a small amount of dry alongside is fine temporarily, but the goal is to get him mostly on the wet. The Royal Canin Ageing 12+ comes in multipacks on Amazon UK which makes it easy to stock up.

Good luck with him. At 13, Burmese can still have a lot of good years — nutrition makes a real difference at this stage. If after six weeks the weight is still dropping despite the diet change, go back to the vet for a recheck; sometimes a retest at that interval catches something that wasn't visible earlier. But diet first, and this one's a solid place to start.