This is a specific conversation about Senior cat care — what changes and what helps — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Cats age more gracefully than dogs in some ways — they stay sharp and independent well into their teens — but they're quietly prone to a handful of conditions that are worth catching early: kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, dental disease, and arthritis are the big four. Chronic constipation is another one that can creep up, especially in certain breeds. How old is your cat, have you noticed any specific health concerns, and what's prompted you to start looking into this now?
She's 10, a Birman. She's had constipation issues on and off for about a year now. The vet says she's otherwise healthy but we need to get more moisture into her diet and maybe add some fibre. She's currently on dry food mostly.
inparticular.ai
That's a really common pattern with Birmans and a lot of longhaired breeds — they're prone to constipation, and dry food makes it significantly worse because cats have a naturally low thirst drive and just don't compensate well by drinking more water. At 10 she's solidly in senior territory, so the timing is right to shift her diet properly. Is she eating any wet food at all currently, or purely dry? And has the vet mentioned megacolon or is this still fairly mild and manageable?
Purely dry at the moment. The vet said it's mild and manageable right now, no megacolon. She just said to switch to wet food and consider adding a fibre supplement.
inparticular.ai
Good — mild and manageable is the window where diet changes actually make a real difference, so this is the right time to act. Here's what I'd recommend as your starting point: switch her main diet to Royal Canin Ageing 12+ wet food in gravy. I know she's 10 not 12, but the formula is appropriate from around 10 and the higher moisture content — roughly 80% — is exactly what she needs. The gravy format encourages cats to eat it eagerly and keeps hydration up passively without relying on her drinking more water. Alongside that, add a small amount of psyllium husk powder — plain, unflavoured, human-grade is fine — mixed into her wet food. Start with a quarter teaspoon daily. It absorbs water in the gut and gently bulks the stool without irritating the bowel. The combination of high-moisture food plus soluble fibre is the standard first-line approach for mild feline constipation, and many cats resolve almost entirely once they're off dry food. Give it four to six weeks before judging the result.
That makes sense. Should I cut out the dry food completely or can I keep a little as a treat?
inparticular.ai
Ideally you'd phase it out entirely, or keep it to no more than about 10% of her daily intake if she really won't let it go. Even a small amount of dry food can reduce the hydration benefit of the wet food, and for a cat who's already constipation-prone, it's worth being strict. If she's resistant to the transition — some cats are — try warming the wet food slightly to make it more aromatic, and mix a tiny amount of the gravy from the pouch in with the dry food for a few days to bridge her across. Most cats come around within a week or two.
Great, thank you. I'll give the Royal Canin Ageing 12+ a try and pick up some psyllium husk.
inparticular.ai
That's a solid plan. Both are easy to find — Royal Canin Ageing 12+ wet is available in multipacks on Amazon UK, and plain psyllium husk powder is straightforward to order too. Keep an eye on her litter tray over the first few weeks and if you don't see improvement within a month, go back to the vet — there are prescription options like lactulose that can be added if diet alone isn't enough. But for a mild case in an otherwise healthy 10-year-old, this approach works well.
