Feeding a senior Burmese with younger cats

Having a senior cat share a home with younger, faster eaters is one of the trickiest feeding situations there is — your 11-year-old Burmese almost certainly needs something different in the bowl, not just a different feeding spot. Senior cats generally do best with higher protein to maintain muscle mass, reduced phosphorus to protect the kidneys, and plenty of wet food for hydration — but the exact formula really depends on what's going on with your cat individually. How is she doing health-wise — any kidney issues, weight changes, or vet concerns flagged recently? And what are you currently feeding all three cats?

That muscle loss on the back legs is a classic sign she needs more protein, and with kidney values already being watched, keeping phosphorus moderate matters too — so you're right to act now rather than wait. The supermarket dry food is almost certainly too low in protein and too high in carbs for where she is in life. I'd move her onto a high-quality wet food, ideally fed separately so you can control her portions. On the separation front, the most reliable method people use is a microchip-activated feeder — it reads your senior cat's chip and physically locks out the other two. It sounds fiddly but it genuinely solves the problem without you having to supervise every meal. Is she already microchipped?

For a Burmese with early kidney watch and muscle loss, I'd go with Royal Canin Renal wet food pouches. I know it sounds very clinical, but it's genuinely well-suited here — it's formulated with controlled phosphorus specifically for cats where kidney function needs protecting, the protein quality is high enough to support muscle maintenance, and the soft wet texture encourages hydration which dry food never will. Burmese are prone to kidney disease as a breed, so being proactive now is smart. Feed her two to three pouches a day in the microchip feeder and keep the younger cats on their existing food in separate bowls. You don't need to change what the young ones eat at this stage.

Good question — yes, Royal Canin Renal is a prescription diet in the UK, so you would need your vet to sign off on it. Given she's already being monitored and you're due a conversation with your vet about her kidney values anyway, it's worth asking at that appointment. Most vets will prescribe it once they see the context. If you want something you can buy straight away without a prescription, Royal Canin Senior Consult Stage 1 wet pouches are the non-prescription equivalent and a solid option for an 11-year-old cat who isn't yet at the clinical kidney disease threshold — better protein, lower phosphorus than standard food, and available on Amazon UK. Start there while you sort the vet conversation.

That's a solid plan. One extra tip: feed all three cats at the same time in different locations — it reduces the younger ones' interest in her bowl because they're focused on their own. Elevated feeding can also help older cats with any joint stiffness, which Burmese can develop at this age. Keep an eye on her weight monthly — if she's losing more muscle despite the better food, that's a prompt to push for the vet conversation sooner rather than later. But honestly, making this switch now puts her in a much better position.