My mom's cat is 20. She stopped eating a few weeks ago, vet diagnosed a kidney infection and after antibiotic, she's as right as rain.
My best dog, Fred, a Black Lab, had epilepsy and had to eat lamb baby fod and rice the last few weeks of her life before her kidneys shut down and I put her to sleep rather than watch her starve to death.
My current dog, Willie, a greyhound mix, has been eating the Pedigree lamb and rice all of his 13 years...which is considered longevity for a larger breed.
It wasn't until I read the links to this post that I realised the same folks that invented the Snickers Bar make Willie's food...
These people are surely interested in health over profit....
I'm glad your mom's cat bounced back.
Sorry about your dog. That's why I don't (didn't) want any more pets, especially dogs. I pet the neighbors' dogs, that's enough.
And took in a poor stray tomcat lol. I don't know if he would have made it though the winter outside even though I was feeding him or not. They can be pretty tough though. He eats dry Iam's mostly. I will switch brands back and forth and don't buy the cheapest stuff of the dry food.