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should senior cats eat fish flavors (wet)?

post #1 of 12
10/10/11 at 6:24am
Thread Starter 
My mother-in-law just took in a 15 year old male neutered cat. Indoors only. She had 2 older cats who passed away about 3 years ago, and always fed them fancy feast and whiskas. The male lived to be 18; the female was 11 and I believe ended up with CRF.

The new cat doesn't have any UTI issues that I know of, uses the litter box normally. He looks pretty skinny and slow moving/reserved; but he is 15. She mostly feeds wet, but leaves down dry kibble (Eukenuba). She's been alternating grocery store brands for the wet, trying to find something he likes, but he's pretty finicky.

I stay away from fish flavors in wet for my young cats, but is it OK for seniors to have fish flavors? Any recommendations for less expensive wet brands I could suggest to her? Thanks!
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post #2 of 12
10/10/11 at 12:28pm
Hmmm, my 2¢ ?,

I would think it would be more important to keep problem food from Seniors because their system may not be able process food as good as when they were young (?).

Also, IMO -- while I'm on a roll
You pay for good health, either with quality food, or at the vet's office - and, the vet's office bills usually mean that the cat is suffering which is an added cost that isn't usually figured in the "expense".

Sometimes the better quality food may actually help the cat not to be hungry all the time because they're getting all the nutrients they need so you feed less ??? (hopefully ). Well, that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Oh, and I've read that any wet food is far better than feeding kibble.

I have one cat that wants kibble all the time, and he turns his nose up at all the wet (canned and pouches) premium foods - but that Friskies and gravy !! he loves, ugh!
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post #3 of 12
10/10/11 at 3:22pm
I think fish is perfectly healthy for cats, its just one of those things that is good in moderation though, like a glass of wine vs a bottle.

So if its a fifth or sixth ingredient or a fish flavor once a week, I think that would just give some nice nutrients and minerals and omega 3s for em.

The most affordable decent brands I've seen are Innova cat+kitten in the 13.2oz cans ($1.75 at my store), Authority has some that are pretty nice recipes (chicken, lamb, and one of the others was a hit), Nutro Complete Care is always enjoyed, and whatever other good things pop up on sale.
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post #4 of 12
10/10/11 at 7:55pm
We have a 20 yo and a 14 yo that we feed whatever they will eat. If it's fish, fine, if it's poultry, fine, if they eat it more than one time in a row, I'm happy.

And on the quality....we have spent GOOD money on high end brands and they refuse to eat it. Currently, the only thing they will eat is Friskies wet. We feed Blue Buffalo dry so I'm hoping the two balance each other out.
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post #5 of 12
10/10/11 at 10:15pm
Quote:
* The fish used in canned pet foods usually includes bones, and are high in phosphorus and magnesium, which can be an issue in cats with a history of urinary tract disorders or kidney disease. In practice I have seen quite a few cats develop urinary tract infections and blockages if they eat much fish–even boneless fish.

* There is a known link between the feeding of fish-based canned cat foods and the development of hyperthyroidism in older cats.

In general, the small amounts of “fish meal†included as a flavoring and/or source of omega-3 fatty acids in cat foods are not a problem, but fish should not be a mainstay of any cat’s diet. Fish should be limited to an occasional–and small–treat.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutritio...rous-for-cats/
Just a few exerpts from Dr. Jean Hofve's article - (Dr. Jean "appeared" on one of the previous "expert forums" on this site http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=60 )
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post #6 of 12
10/10/11 at 11:50pm
You beat me to it, White Shadow. Dr. Hofve's article is the most detailed I've yet found in detailing why fish shouldn't be fed to cats, except as occasional treats in very small amounts.

In light of this information, and the increasing numbers of cats with urinary tract issues and hyperthyroidism, I'd stay well away from canned fishy foods no matter how old - or young - my cats.

And Kittysback, you're doing the right thing by increasing the amount of wet foods this old fellow gets; it's especially important to support kidney function as best you can for senior kitties. If you can ditch the kibble entirely, so much the better!

AC
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post #7 of 12
10/11/11 at 9:13am
How come everything is harmful to cats that use to be safe. We are down to hardly any. No fish, No chicken.
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post #8 of 12
10/11/11 at 10:39am
tried to find this info with the link you provided, but it appears to not be available???
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=60

okay, I reset my perimeters from the last 100 days to "from the beginning" that helped.

Also, I had to go into my CP's preferences and change that preference to reflect what I wanted.
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post #9 of 12
10/11/11 at 11:02am
In my experience and in my cat's experience only and in hindsight and IMHO: as an occasional treat, okay, but not as the primary source of protein.
Ritz (two years old, female) has just been diagnosed with sturvite crystals and a pH of 7.0 She has always preferred fish based food to any other protein, high end or low end canned food (Wervua to Fancy Feast). I kind of sort of knew too much fish might be a problem, and should have known better when in June 2011, she had a UTI (high WBC, rod-shaped bacteria). So, no more fish for Ritz.
That said: read the ingredients of all canned food. See if the first two or three ingredients are in fact fish, not always the case.
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post #10 of 12
10/11/11 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ritz View Post
In my experience and in my cat's experience only and in hindsight and IMHO: as an occasional treat, okay, but not as the primary source of protein.
Ritz (two years old, female) has just been diagnosed with sturvite crystals and a pH of 7.0 She has always preferred fish based food to any other protein, high end or low end canned food (Wervua to Fancy Feast). I kind of sort of knew too much fish might be a problem, and should have known better when in June 2011, she had a UTI (high WBC, rod-shaped bacteria). So, no more fish for Ritz.
That said: read the ingredients of all canned food. See if the first two or three ingredients are in fact fish, not always the case.
Funny, I went against my "small voice" too, and our female developed the sturvite crystals - even had to have bladder surgery to remove the offending stone. (I even had previous experience with one of our male cats (he loved the tuna flavors) and he had to be put on a prescription diet!)

She's the one that paid in pain and suffering, I just paid for her surgery. I try to listen to my "small voice" warning me - but sometimes I think that what I'm doing can't be helped because they refuse to eat the plain food. Guess I have to turn up the volume on my inner voice! ugh.
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post #11 of 12
10/11/11 at 11:29am
Yeah, Ritz would eat only fish-based foods and because I love her so much, I wanted to please her.
I think I need to listen to my 'gut' feeling, but when the "expert" tells you one thing and you think another... well, that's when I do my own research and posting of questions. And then make the best decision I can make at the time. Which is what you did, and all of us do. With new knowledge, we take different actions.
So I tell myself and Ritz when I feed her poultry or beef or quail: you'd like me a lot less if I had to give you insulin shots or your bladder had to be operated on. (And then I play with her longer, give her a longer neck massage, another toy, look the other way when she jumps up onto the kitchen counter....)
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post #12 of 12
10/14/11 at 12:15am
If your cat was frail and close to his 'time', then yes, I would say like RAFM said, whatever he'll eat is great. However if the cat is in good health and has a few more years in him, then no, I would not feed fish except as a ingredient lower down on the list.
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