Fish oil?

I have mentioned on another thread some of my concerns about my sensitive kitties and about the Blue Buffalo Basics formula being changed. I would like to ask specifically about the fish oil that they are adding to the new formula. I'm confused as to why they are adding this to a limited ingredient food that should just have one animal protein, in this case turkey. I have read about some cats having fish allergies and make cats getting UTIs when they eat a lot of fish. My cats have never been given fish so I don't know if they are sensitive to it or not. Could my cats consuming a food with fish oil in it everyday lead to problems for them, or is it the actual fish meat ths

That should be "male" cats getting UTIs not "make" cats

The rest of my words got deleted in my post by accident. The question was: Could my cats consuming a food everyday that has fish oil in it lead to problems for them, or is it the actual fish meat that is the problem?

I think fish oil should be fine - depending on the source of course.

Personally, I'm a raw person with a little canned (means I know where things come from, quality, etc), and I don't supplement with fish oil as their raw is free range and grass fed, so rich in omega 3s.  Other raw feeders do supplement with fish oil - again, it needs to be a good source.

When fish oil is added to pet food, I believe this is done solely to provide a source of omega-3 fatty acids, and not as an additional protein source. Allergies in connection to fish, come from the meat protein and not fish oil, so any fish oil supplement or ingredient in pet food should not pose a problem. I feed my cats wild alaskan cold-pressed salmon oil twice a week and I am already starting to see some results in the condition of their coats.

If you are interested in feeding a fish oil supplement, choose one from a reputable source. I was looking at Nordic Naturals at one point which is one of the better sources of Cod Liver, Krill and Salmon Oil available : 

Arctic cod (Skrei) from Norwegian waters; anchovies and sardines from the Southern Pacific Ocean; and salmon (Pink and Sockeye) from Alaska's Cook Inlet.

https://www.nordicnaturals.com/consumers.php

I'm not sure where Blue Buffalo gets their fish oil. They don't specify what kind of fish is used. I can ask them, but they are usually slow to respond when I email them questions. Is there a particlular kind of fish that is worse than the others? They also have canola oil in the food, so I'm not sure why the fish oil is needed.

MeezerTorbie said:

I'm not sure where Blue Buffalo gets their fish oil. They don't specify what kind of fish is used. I can ask them, but they are usually slow to respond when I email them questions. Is there a particlular kind of fish that is worse than the others? They also have canola oil in the food, so I'm not sure why the fish oil is needed.

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It may be difficult to find out the source of fish oil in pet foods, but you may have some success with this depending on the company you contact. I am not sure why canola oil needs to be in any pet food? As far as one fish being better than another, anything like tuna, mackerel can have high levels of mercury, PCBs and other toxins. Salmon may be okay but only if not sourced from fish farms. Whitefish may be slightly better but you can't know where the source comes from unless a pet company is willing to divulge this information.

As someone pointed out, fish oil in cat food is a fat, not a protein. There are cases where cats are intolerant to fish oils, but that is a completely separate issue from whether or not the addition of fish oil will impact your FLUTD kitty. The concern with feeding fish is the mineral content, and that is not a factor in the fish oil.

That said, my problem with the addition of fish oils to cat foods is that the fish oils are so sensitive to processing: they oxidize easily. It is the oxidation of fish oils that are being questioned as having a role in the development of GI problems and/or pancreatitis.