Can I feed my cats whole fish?

[clary7]

My dad goes fishing a few times a week and asked me if I needed any fish. I’m making the switch to raw food right now and already have a meat grinder so I was wondering if I could literally just take the whole fish and grind it up and feed it to my cats.
I did read that parasites might be an issue though with fish, but would it be fine if I cook it after grinding it all up? It would be so nice if I could feed my cats fish since it would be completely free for me.
But the main things I’m wondering before I do this is if it’s okay raw or needs to be cooked, if its even good for cats nutrition-wise, and if it is considered a good meal, what is the maximum amount of times per week I can feed it.

 

[maggie101]

What kind of fish does he catch?

 

[clary7]

What kind of fish does he catch?

Bass

 

[daftcat75]

But the main things I’m wondering before I do this is if it’s okay raw or needs to be cooked, if its even good for cats nutrition-wise, and if it is considered a good meal, what is the maximum amount of times per week I can feed it.

It should be cooked as raw fish has an anti-nutrient that can cause a B-vitamin deficiency.

It's okay but not ideal nutrition-wise for cats. Although a whole fish grind would be more nutritionally complete than some filets, I think I would still consider this incomplete nutrition. And I'm not even certain a powder completer like Alnutrin can even balance fish.

I would suggest:

1. Make a whole fish grind and freeze treat sized portions into ice cube trays. Bottle cubes are the best for this, as those long-skinny "cubes" defrost a lot faster than the standard cubes if you wanted to go from freezer to plate. You could simply put a cube or two into a plastic baggie and run it under hot water until it comes up to lukewarm temperature. You can let it sit in hot water. But it will make the water cool. You will need to change the water a few times to get it defrosted. It's just simpler to run the water and place it underneath the stream.
2. Feed no more than 10% of their diet as these fish treats. Maybe just give them one or two a couple times a week.
3. It's also okay to cut up some fresh fish for them like sashimi. Again, just a treat-sized portion though: maybe the size of a quarter.

 

[clary7]

Okay got it, thanks for the info.

So once a week, but no more than twice a week, should be okay? I'll probably just end up grinding up the fish, cooking it, and then either feeding it fresh or freezing some for later. Does that sound like a good plan?

 

[Box of Rain]

The antinutrient mentioned by daftcat75 above is called "thiaminase." It is an enzyme that degrades thiamin (Vitamin B1) and renders it useless.

Vitamin B1 deficiencies cause very serious illness in humans, and other animals. It can be deadly over time.

Some fish species contain thiaminase and others don't. But it can be hard to know the status with certainty

For example with "Bass." A quick search yields this information (from a snake oriented website, as snakes are one group of animals that have been historically impacted by dietary-related thiamine deficiencies) suggests that some Bass species contain thiaminase, and others do not.

All About Thiaminase

According to this website Bass, White (Morone chrysops) do contain thiaminase.

While Bass, Largemouth (Micropterus salmoides), Bass, Northern Rock (Ambloplites rupestris), Bass, Northern Smallmouth (Micropterus dolomieu) are said not to contain thiaminase.

Adding to the confusion, it seems that the same species can vary depending on what they are eating in different locations.

Cooking fish neutralizes the thiaminase (in addition to destroying parasites and flukes).

Thiaminase, from what I understand, does exit the body rapidly. So were a cat or other animal to consume a fish that contained thiaminase, a "one-off" would not be an emergency situation. The problems are said to come with regular consumption.

I'm a raw feeding proponent myself. But feeding raw fish to cats is a risk I don't take.

Bill

 

[clary7]

Got it, that's really good info to know. I won't be feeding any raw fish to my cats then. I'll stick to cooking fish whenever I have any