Feeding a lean Turkish Angora cat

A lean Turkish Angora at seven years old — this comes up a lot, and the worry is understandable, but it's worth separating 'naturally lean breed' from 'actually underfed' before changing anything. Turkish Angoras are built light and fine-boned; they're supposed to look slender. That said, cats are obligate carnivores with specific nutritional requirements many commercial foods don't fully meet, and at seven yours is entering the life stage where kidney health really starts to matter — which makes wet food the right foundation, not just for hydration but for overall organ support. To give you a straight answer: what are you currently feeding, how much and how often, and have you noticed any actual changes — less energy, coat condition dropping, or the ribs becoming more prominent than usual?

Feeling the spine more readily than before is worth taking seriously — that's a real change, not just breed aesthetics. The first thing I'd look at is the wet food you're using. A lot of pouches are heavy on gravy, broth, or jelly and surprisingly low on actual protein content once you strip away the water. If the dry kibble is doing most of the caloric work, you're also relying on it for hydration, which isn't ideal long-term for kidney function in a cat this age. Can you tell me what brand and variety the wet food is, and roughly how much dry she gets in the morning?

That explains a lot. Felix AGAIL is one of the most popular pouches in the UK but it's one of the lowest in actual meat content — typically under 15% declared meat, mostly derivatives, padded with gelling agents. For a 3.5kg Turkish Angora who may genuinely need more usable protein, it's not pulling its weight. I'd switch the wet food to Applaws Tuna Fillet in Broth — it's 70% tuna, no derivatives, no fillers, and the broth format is excellent for hydration. At 3.5kg she needs roughly 150–170 calories a day; two to three 70g Applaws tins plus a small amount of quality dry covers that comfortably and gives her the amino acid profile an obligate carnivore actually needs. You should see a difference in coat condition and muscle tone within three to four weeks.

It costs more per unit than Felix but you're getting real food rather than mostly gel, so the comparison isn't quite fair. A 24-tin multipack of Applaws 70g tins works out to roughly 60–70p per tin on Amazon UK, which for a 3.5kg cat doing two or three tins a day is very manageable. It's widely available on Amazon with Prime delivery, and many large Pets at Home stores stock it too. I'd buy a small pack first to confirm she takes to it — most cats go straight for it because the smell is actually fish rather than processing — then move to the multipack once you know she's happy with it.

At seven she's considered mature rather than senior, but it's a good time to get a baseline blood panel done if you haven't had one recently — kidneys and thyroid especially. Hyperthyroidism is common in cats from around this age and can cause weight loss even when appetite looks normal, so if the food upgrade doesn't stabilise her condition within a month it's worth mentioning to your vet. Otherwise: keep wet food as the main event, ensure she always has fresh water, and weigh her every few weeks so you're tracking actual numbers rather than guessing by feel. You're clearly paying attention to the right things.