Senior cat food for raw-fed cats switching diets

Transitioning a raw prey-model fed cat to commercial food is actually a really thoughtful move for an aging cat with immune concerns — raw carries a higher bacterial risk as immune function declines with age, so you're right to reassess. For senior cats generally, the key priorities are high protein (not less, despite old advice), reduced phosphorus to protect kidneys, and plenty of moisture — which is why wet food tends to be the right direction here. Before I point you toward something specific: how old is your Havana Brown exactly, have any health issues been confirmed by a vet, and what does the current raw diet look like in terms of protein sources?

That's a really clean history to work with. Because she's been on high-quality single-protein whole prey, she's likely used to a low-carb, meat-dense diet with no fillers — so you'll want to avoid kibble or anything grain-heavy or starchy, or you'll get digestive pushback and she may flat-out refuse it. Has she shown any sensitivity to specific proteins, or is she generally a good eater when she wants to be? And is she drinking well on her own, or has hydration ever been a concern?

Good — that actually makes this easier. Hydration is the right thing to watch, and wet food will handle that if you pick the right one. Given her background on rabbit and quail, I'd go with Animonda Carny Adult in the rabbit or poultry varieties. It's a German wet food with a very high meat content — typically around 70–80% named meat — no cereals, no sugar, no plant protein padding. The texture is closer to real meat than most commercial pâtés, which helps with cats transitioning from raw who find heavily processed food unappealing. It's widely available on Amazon UK in multipacks so you can mix proteins and see what she takes to best.

Go slowly and use the raw as a bridge. Start by offering a small separate portion of the Animonda alongside her normal raw meal — don't mix them yet, just let her sniff and investigate. Once she's eating it willingly, begin replacing one raw meal per day with the wet food. Over about two to three weeks, shift the ratio gradually: 25% commercial, then 50%, then 75%, then fully transitioned. Her digestion should cope well given her clean diet history, but if you see loose stools, just slow the ratio shift down. The main thing is not to rush it — raw-fed cats sometimes need a bit longer to accept the texture change than cats switching between commercial foods.

At 9 with no diagnosis, a kidney-specific prescription diet isn't warranted yet — those are formulated for cats already showing compromised kidney function and would actually be lower protein than she needs right now. What I would do is ask your vet to run a routine blood panel including SDMA, which is an early kidney marker. If everything comes back clean, Animonda Carny is a solid long-term food — the phosphorus levels are reasonable for a healthy senior. If early kidney changes do show up, that's when you'd revisit with your vet and possibly move to something like Royal Canin Renal wet. For now, you're making the right call just getting her off raw safely.