Low-calorie treats for senior cats

A 13-year-old cat with a vet's calorie guidance — that's exactly the kind of situation where treat choice really matters. Cats are notoriously fussy about treats; they tend to respond to strongly-scented, meat-based options and usually reject anything sweet or grain-heavy. The best treats for cats are high-protein and low in additives — which, as it happens, also tends to mean lower in unnecessary calories. Before I point you toward something specific, does your cat have any other dietary restrictions, and are you using treats mainly for rewarding, or do you want something you can offer a few times a day without worrying about the count?

That's a really common situation with older indoor-outdoor cats — they slow down but their owners keep treating at the same rate. A few times a day adds up quickly if you're using something calorie-dense. Can I ask roughly how much she weighs? That helps me give you a sense of what 10 percent actually looks like in practice.

Right, so at her current weight her daily calorie needs are around 200–220kcal, which means treats should sit under 20–22kcal a day total. That sounds tight, but it's very manageable with the right product. I'd go with Applaws Tuna Loin Cat Treats — they're single-ingredient dried tuna, each piece is tiny (around 1–2kcal), and cats genuinely go for them because the scent is strong and the flavour is pure. No grains, no additives, no sugars. You can snap a piece in half for smaller rewards, which means you get more 'moments' out of a bag without blowing the budget. They're widely available on Amazon UK and reasonably priced for how long a bag lasts at that portion size.

Both, honestly. They're suitable for cats of any age, but they're particularly good for seniors because they're easy to chew — dried tuna has a soft, flaky texture rather than being hard or crunchy, which matters more as cats get older and teeth become more sensitive. The single-ingredient, high-protein profile also supports muscle maintenance, which is something vets increasingly flag in older cats who are losing muscle mass even as they gain fat. So they tick the calorie box your vet cares about, but they're also just a genuinely good fit for a 13-year-old.

Glad it helps — and the good news is she won't notice the difference in experience, just the size of the piece. A small bit of tuna is just as exciting to a cat as a large one. Good luck with the weight loss; slow and steady is the right approach, and keeping the treat ritual intact makes the whole thing much easier to stick to.