Tuna and seafood - yes or no?

I'm sure this has been asked before so I apologize in advance.

I've read on many sites that it's not good to feed your cat tuna intended for humans. I've also read that too much tuna or seafood is not good either. Yet there are countless cat food varieties which use tuna.

What is the difference between human tuna and cat food tuna and what's the limit on feeding tuna and other seafood?

On a related note, I read that feeding seafood may result in a more odorous stool. Is this correct?

Mez

Good question, I've been wondering about tuna as well. We've given our cats a can of tuna once or twice and they love it, but I haven't done it more cuz I don't know how healthy/unhealthy it may be.

IMO almost any kind of fish would produce a stronger odor. I don't feed them much fish to start - stick mainly to beef, liver, chicken, lamb - with an occasional seafood - like once a month.

I've given them treats of human tuna with the water juice for their coats. They get mainly the juice - not the tuna. And only when we are making tuna sandwiches - so its not on a regular basis.

Fish heavy diets arent the best but a little here and there is fine...

Originally Posted by mezlo

What is the difference between human tuna and cat food tuna and what's the limit on feeding tuna and other seafood?

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Feeding human tuna can lead to vitamin deficiency. For example, a Vitamin E deficiency can lead to a condition called steatitis, or yellow fat disease: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...word=steatitis
Tuna-based cat foods are supplemented.

Tuna contains a lot of magnesium, which can cause crystals and stones in the urinary tract. Seafood in general contains a lot of heavy metals. It's okay to feed it occasionally, but it shouldn't be a staple of your cat's diet. If you have a fish freak, like I do, stick to fish-flavored cat food, preferably with much more meat than fish.

Matt is a chef so sometimes he brings home scraps of fish for my cats. He doesn't do it very often and when he does it is always very fresh. Do you think this is a problem?

Originally Posted by CalicoPrincess

Matt is a chef so sometimes he brings home scraps of fish for my cats. He doesn't do it very often and when he does it is always very fresh. Do you think this is a problem?

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Fish in small amounts even daily is not an issue IN MOST cats ... Fish should be limited or cut out with allergy prone cats( fish is a high one) , cats with prior history of crystals or severe UTIs ...

Human fish can cause deficiancys so cat food with fish is best ...

Jack has Wellness Turkey w/Salmon on his canned rotation and it hasn't caused problems for him but he's not prone to urinary issues (knock wood). I feed that because he's overweight and if we can save a little fat here and there, it's all good. He needs that balance because Evo is in the rotation as well.

He's losing weight, ever so slowly!

Junior's nightly meal is a Wellness Chicken, Duck, and Shrimp 3oz pouch with an occasional different flavor. I also give a variety of Friskies pouches in the morning because I can't afford 2 Wellness pouches per day.

My question stemmed from my getting a couple Whiskie's "Purrfect Fish" pouches and Junior going bananas over them (much more so than with the Friskies and Wellness). I don't plan on feeding them on a regular basis due to the odor of the food and the resulting stool.

Mez

Originally Posted by mezlo

Junior's nightly meal is a Wellness Chicken, Duck, and Shrimp 3oz pouch with an occasional different flavor. I also give a variety of Friskies pouches in the morning because I can't afford 2 Wellness pouches per day.

My question stemmed from my getting a couple Whiskie's "Purrfect Fish" pouches and Junior going bananas over them (much more so than with the Friskies and Wellness). I don't plan on feeding them on a regular basis due to the odor of the food and the resulting stool.

Mez

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the wiskas has BHT AND BHA preserving

Originally Posted by sharky

the wiskas has BHT AND BHA preserving

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I noticed that after I bought them.