Fish for cats

How much is too much? Is it necessary to feed a real fish for omega-3, not just fish oil? What species should be avoided?

I know I am not the only TCS member with a cat who would rather eat fish than poultry or meat. How do you feed your feline fish addicts?

When Cookie and Cuddles were on canned food, I was feeding them on a rotation. Our rotation included Weruva (carrageenan free varieties), BFF, Wellness (carrageenan free varieties), and Nature's Variety 95%. Our schedule went like this:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Weruva
Tuesday: BFF
Thursday: Wellness
Saturday, Sunday: NV 95%

Now on the three days of the week I would feed Weruva, I would make sure I would feed fish on the Friday. BFF is made up of mostly tuna, so I also fed fish on Tuesday. I guess you could say I fed fish twice a week. My cats weren't really "fish addicts", they really loved chicken, so I guess that eliminated the problem for me. But if I had fish lovers, I would probably feed fish about three or four times a week. Weruva and BFF use fish with less mercury, so it wouldn't really be a problem if you were feeding those.

Like to know this myself Emily.

The fish oil sounds richer than the eating of fish.

But then on the other hand vegetable oil has the Omega3 added in it and its cheaper than all of that.

I have one cat who says he doesn't like fish. He wouldnt be eating that day. Guess he is fat enough...

Patricia likes chicken too, but when she gobbled up tuna one day after resisting chicken by the same company (Nature's Recipe), I thought, "I would give her fish every day if it was not bad for cats." She also ate the Natural Balance salmon but not as fast. Raw feeders say cats should eat one sardine a week. I think Patricia would rather eat a fish every day.

Vegetable oil is useless to cats. Remember they are not good at digesting plant-based ingredients.

If you do plan to feed fish to your cats, you want to stick to smaller fish such as sardines, herrings, etc. Bigger fish such as tuna (especially) and salmon bioaccumulate more heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides and toxins in their system than smaller fish and that can lead to mercury poisoning which is surprisingly common in cats. Tilefish or ocean whitefish is one of the most contaminated after mackeral, shark and swordfish.

The word fish oils is very vague. Often when this term is used, producers are able to use many different sources of oil, such as oil that is not human-grade and can be rancid (when fish oil is exposed to sunlight it degrades and is no longer a source of fatty acids). Plus you don't know which fish its coming from. 

Here's a link: http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/

I also have a fish addict cat at home or at least she used to be. She used to ignore her other food so she could get her fish wet food. What I had to do was completely eliminate it from her diet so that she no longer expected it. Once she got used to being without it, I started giving it to her as a treat and now she's no longer addicted. Its also important to rotate between other poultry/lamb/rabbit foods so that your cat stays happy without eating fish.

There are many Omega-3 supplements on the market made from sardines, salmon, cod, krill made for humans and pets. They do wonders for your cats health (nervous system, cardiac and skin/coat). You will see a difference within a week or so once you start using it. Most pet foods are too high in Omega 6s which can cause inflammation whereas Omega3s reduce inflammation, so I 100% recommend supplementing with one. If you do supplement with one, its important to note that you are adding additional fat to your pets diet, so you want to start slowly.

Good things to know, thank you

I feed my cat one fish wet meal maybe once every week or week and a half. but he also gets one bite of sardines every day as a snack (equivalent to half of a spoonful).

For those in the know, is this good enough for omega supplementation or should I also supplement with krill oil?

And what krill oil do you guys use? How much do you supplement?

redvelvetone said:

I feed my cat one fish wet meal maybe once every week or week and a half. but he also gets one bite of sardines every day as a snack (equivalent to half of a spoonful).

For those in the know, is this good enough for omega supplementation or should I also supplement with krill oil?

And what krill oil do you guys use? How much do you supplement?

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I don't know about the krill oil thing, but I'm similar with the amount of fish my cats get.  I have a feeling that the byproducts of the fishing industry are very readily available, and cheap, and so we have been led into the fish for cats thing.

I will buy fish and lightly cook it (they won't eat it raw) and, like revelvetone, give the odd treat.  I've read in reputable places to not feed the same fish over and over, and I find if mine have too much they get diarrhea.

Oh, my kitties get cooked salmon once a week as a treat, as well. :lol3:

I'm currently giving this fish oil to my kitties daily, along with their probiotic. Is it a good idea to keep giving this to them?

kittylover23 said:

I'm currently giving this fish oil to my kitties daily, along with their probiotic. Is it a good idea to keep giving this to them?

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Both those supplements in general are great to be feeding  , however I looked up the Omega supplement and it does not say which type of fish is used, it just says Alaskan Deep Sea Fish (which could be several different species of fish)  . I googled it and fish typically harvested there are: halibut, snapper, lingcod, rockfish and salmon. I once came across a probiotic that had literally the word 'probiotics' as an ingredient and didn't list the bacteria's or how much so I didn't buy it. I don't want to discourage you from supplementing with it, but I would see if the company will tell you a little more about their product.

Violetxx said:

Both those supplements in general are great to be feeding :nod: , however I looked up the Omega supplement and it does not say which type of fish is used, it just says Alaskan Deep Sea Fish (which could be several different species of fish) :dk: . I googled it and fish typically harvested there are: halibut, snapper, lingcod, rockfish and salmon. I once came across a probiotic that had literally the word 'probiotics' as an ingredient and didn't list the bacteria's or how much so I didn't buy it. I don't want to discourage you from supplementing with it, but I would see if the company will tell you a little more about their product.

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I literally had only two capsules left so I just wanted to see if it was a good idea to reorder it. :lol3: I went out and got another supplement today, which was Alaskan Salmon oil. :nod: it was at my pet store, actually, so I assume it's okay for kitties?

kittylover23 said:

I literally had only two capsules left so I just wanted to see if it was a good idea to reorder it. I went out and got another supplement today, which was Alaskan Salmon oil.  It was at my pet store, actually, so I assume it's okay for kitties?

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I don't think salmon oil is bad because you use little of it, but would still recommend using it is moderation. Keep in mind salmon are predators and raised on farms, so it is not the best fish to use IMHO.

kittylover23 said:

I literally had only two capsules left so I just wanted to see if it was a good idea to reorder it.

I went out and got another supplement today, which was Alaskan Salmon oil.

it was at my pet store, actually, so I assume it's okay for kitties?

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Another Alaskan fish product lol, is there a reason why you choose Alaskan? (I'm just wondering ). 

EmilyMayWilcha said:

I don't think salmon oil is bad because you use little of it, but would still recommend using it is moderation. Keep in mind salmon are predators and raised on farms, so it is not the best fish to use IMHO.

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I do not believe there is any issue with salmon oil (heavy metals do not bioaccumulate in the oil but in the muscle and tissue). You do not want to give Cod liver oil though (that's bad - due to the high concentrations of vit. A present). If you are going to supplement with oil from a bigger fish such as salmon, I would recommend that the it comes from wild and human-grade fish just to be safe. Does the supplement include vit. E as well? Because in order for cats to properly digest Omega-3s they need Vit. E.

Do you have a link to the actual product?

:lol3: I dunno, it was the only supplement there! It says something about vitamin E and I made sure it was human grade before buying. :nod:

Too much Vitamin A in cod liver oil? That does not make any sense. Unless you are feeding raw, there is no guarantee the cat is getting enough Vitamin A in its regular food.

EmilyMayWilcha said:

Too much Vitamin A in cod liver oil? That does not make any sense. Unless you are feeding raw, there is no guarantee the cat is getting enough Vitamin A in its regular food.

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Google vitamin A toxicity in cats & it's causes.

Always read labels to see what kind of fish oil is in it, then.  I have to re think my thinking on the Vegetable oil. They were getting the Omega3 But the oil is bad? Doesn't sound as bad as cod oil though...