Feeding Cats Tuna?

Is it ok to feed my cats tuna packed in water from a can instead of canned food? They eat dry food on a regular basis but I like to give the a can of wet food every day. They LOVE when I give them a can of tuna fish. Is this ok to do?

Tuna is not really that good for cats Ginger. It is okay for a occassional treat, but not all the time and not a lot.

I split one can between the four of them. Usually when I run out of wet food and havn't gone to the store yet.
I was just wondering since tuna is cheaper than canned food too

I won't give it to them on a regular basis, just as a special treat every once in a while.

Thanks hissy!

I have been wondering about this alot too, my cat Alex only likes fish canned cat food. He eats dry too, but we give them canned too everyday and he only really likes either 9 lives flaked tuna, Figaro tuna or Fancy Feast fish, in aspic. He eats this everyday, along with his dry food. Is it ok for him to eat this cat food tuna everyday? What would the difference be between cat food grade tuna and human canned tuna? Just wondering.

I give amber tuna as a training device. I have started to tell her 'in' to her carry crate to get her ready for her yearly vet checkup next month. Once shes in the crate I close the door and feed her some through the bars, not a lot though. She also loves fig newtons

I used to give our cats quite a bit of tuna in water... BUT i don't anymore and this is the reason.

I bought some tuna specially for cats and compared it to the tuna flakes in water that we people eat... When i say compare, i mean that i used myself as a guniea pig.
Anyway, a couple of mouthfuls later i realised that human tuna is tastier than cat tuna. This means that it has a high magnesium content and too much magnesium isn't good for cats, as it can lead to urinary tract infections etc...

So now adays i only give our cats, tuna for cats, and i only give it them as a treat and the general rule of thumb for us is one table spoon mixed in with their dry food.

Hissy once suggested me, as i posted a similar thread, that if you'd like to give your cats something to vary their diet you can try boiled carrots, and pumpkin... i also do that now...

Don't forget that cats are desert animals, and there are NO fish in the desert.

My vet told me not to feed tuna , but i can feed them Mackerel that is better for the cats and also cheaper .

Interesting how their tastes vary. My three are completely uninterested in anything fish. It's no use offering them any of the fish varieties of cat food, because they all take one look, one sniff and then turn to me with a "you expect me to eat THAT??" look. And it's still sitting there in all three dishes when the next meal time comes around.

Not my experience with all cats, mind you. Shasta liked pretty much anything. And when I cooked salmon, there had better be some trimmings for her, if I knew what was good for me. Gryphon liked the liquid from any canned fish, but didn't particularly care for the fish -- with the exception of sardines, which were a particular treat for him and Shasta and Nibs. After Gryphon and Shasta were gone, Nibs lost interest in the sardines. I had the impression it was "fun food" for him -- you needed to eat it in the company of like-minded people.

But no cat since then has been remotely interested in fish in any form.

Originally posted by Yzma
Anyway, a couple of mouthfuls later i realised that human tuna is tastier than cat tuna. This means that it has a high magnesium content and too much magnesium isn't good for cats, as it can lead to urinary tract infections etc...

Click to expand...

Huh?
Are you saying that high magnesium makes things taste better? I guess Im just confused on how you came to the conclusion that the people tuna was high in magnesium because it tasted better than the cat tuna.

Most of mine don't care for fish flavored cat foods either. 4 out of 6 of them won't even taste the fish type canned foods.

I just found this link HTH
http://www.lenhumanesoc.org/Tips/ASPCA-Tuna.htm

My cats may get a little then than a spoonful of tuna like once a month, but usually if I make tuna I give them the tuna juice which they love. I don't think the amount that I give them is enough to affect them in anyway. I've heard tuna is ok as long as it isn't their main diet and it's given in small amounts and kept in water instead of oil.

Here is another link about feeding cats fish:
http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/fish.php