Cats and liver

All right, so I know if you feed a cat too much raw liver they can be overdosed on vitamin A; however, so many wet foods out there now days have liver as either the second, third, or 4th ingredient. A few actually have it as the first ingredient, which I do not feel is appropriate. In fact, it is dangerous. My question is: is it safe to feed a cat canned food with liver in it everyday as long as the liver is not the first ingredient? Does any body know?

Hello thehistorian,

Not sure where you are, but in the U.S., I've yet to see any canned cat food with liver as the first ingredient list on the label. I also purchase wet food by reading its ingredient labels, so I don't think I would've missed that. Also, by making sure it's "complete and balanced" would indicate there wouldn't be an excess or deficient vitamins/nutrients in the food. Unless you're feeding a raw diet, I hardly think this is a concern, but I also know that most raw feeders are usually already informed about giving their cats a balanced nutritional diet.

Hope you this helps you somewhat. 

Fancy Feast Classic Tender Liver and Chicken. Liver is the FIRST ingredient.

liver, meat broth, meat by-products, chicken, poultry by-products, artificial and natural flavors, calcium phosphate, guar gum, potassium chloride, taurine, salt, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin e supplement, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin a supplement, copper sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin k activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide

The only reason I know this is because when I am holding feral cats after their spay/neuter for recovery for a few days, I feed them Fancy Feast Classics. (Only the Chicken Feast or Turkey and Giblets because those are the only few that are grain and fish free.) I would NOT feed the Liver and Chicken or the Beef and Liver because I'm just not sure how much liver they're using and if it is a harmful amount.

Oh, good to know! Great catch on reading up on the ingredient label! 

In this instance, I think I'd avoid feeding this particular canned food to my cats. Dr. Pierson explains why: 

Avoid foods listing "liver" as a first ingredient.  (Example: Purina's prescription diet DM canned for feline diabetic patients.  There are far better options available that are healthier and not as expensive.) 

Liver is a very nutritious organ meat - and should be present in small amounts  - but it should never be the first ingredient as it is very high in vitamin A and possibly D and you don't want to feed too much of those vitamins. Liver is cheaper than muscle meat so it will increase a company's profit margin when used in high amounts

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Liver contains fat-soluble vitamins (A & D), so I tend to think it would be more difficult to eliminate than say, vitamins B or C (water soluble and thus excreted in the urine), so I'd be more careful of how much the cat intakes livers if your cat tends to favor those over other types of food. For the most part, while I do believe there would also be some degredation in the meat from processed canned foods, I would caution on the side of error and follow as directed by Dr. Pierson outlines, or give these canned minimally as an occasional treat. Vitamin A toxicity accumulates slowly over time and symptoms may not appear until later, so it's important you don't mistakenly overload your kitty.

Links regarding vitamin toxicities:

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe...animal-health/vitamin-a-toxicosis-in-cats/389

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1448&aid=709

http://www.petco.com/Content/ArticleList/Article/33/2/256/Dangerous-Supplements-for-Cats.aspx

And of course the majority of canned cat foods contain liver. Wonderful.

Thehistorian said:

And of course the majority of canned cat foods contain liver. Wonderful.

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Contain liver or has liver as the first ingredient?  Liver is an important part of a cat's diet.

peaches08 said:

 
Contain liver or has liver as the first ingredient?  Liver is an important part of a cat's diet.

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Contain liver - not liver as the first ingredient. 

Thehistorian said:

 
Contain liver - not liver as the first ingredient. 

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OK, well, liver is an important part of a cat's diet.  The cans with liver as the first ingredient, just feed them once a week.  Even Hill's A/D has pork liver as the first ingredient (after water) for a reason.  I'd much rather take in a little too much liver than a synthetic version of vitamin A.

Bumping this thread and rephrasing my question. I am on a tight budget right now. I want to know if I can feed canned cat food with liver in it everyday? I don't mean with liver as the first ingredient, but as the second, third etc. The food that is affordable for me, great for Enya, and that she loves usually has liver as like the second ingredient. Would it be safe for her to eat this on a daily basis?

Well, I'm not sure I understand the warning by Dr. Pierson. Commercial foods if they are labeled as COMPLETE AND BALANCED as per AAFCO cannot provide amounts over the maximums recommended. :dk:

The only *known* case of vitamin A toxicity in a cat was a cat being fed an diet that was ONLY liver.

Is this the ONLY food you plan to feed? Or will there be a few others where liver isn't first on the list? I think the second option would be better, but I'd feed the food.

It should be fine. Commercial cat foods have to conform to AAFCO standards so if the food contains natural vitamin A from liver they would just add less supplemental vitamin A.

(and, yeah, as LDG mentioned, cats have a VERY high tolerance for vitamin A. Not like reptiles where you have to be super careful.)