How do you feed your cats?

[rapunzel47]

Fish is a non-issue in our house, because on the whole our brats aren't interested. There are a few exceptions to that rule -- all of them in the "treat" category, so relatively infrequent, small quantities, and certainly not contributing any significant amount to the overall diet.

 

[spotz]

Below is a fairly through explination of feeding fish to cats. As you will notice, this is geared more towards the Non-Domestic feline species, however the basic truths are still applicable. Commercially prepared diets for domestic felines is much more developed than the commercially developed diets for Non-Domestic felines.

Originally Posted by Dr. Gary Pusillo - Apperon Nutrition

Question:
I feed a lot of fish to my exotic cats and as a breeder I encourage people to feed fresh fish! However, I read in an exotic cat chat room someone quoting page 338 of Feline Husbandry: "Diets containing large amounts of fish can cause vitamin deficiencies in cats. Many fish contain thiaminase in their tissues that destroys thiamin. Improperly processed foods containing fish have caused thiamin deficiency and even death in cats." Am I doing wrong? Should I stop feeding fish to my exotic cats?

===

Answer:
Next week when I have time I am going to read a book on flying an F-16 fighter, and then I can write on a chat line and represent myself as a fighter pilot. I will quote sections out of the F-16 manual as if I understand them and lead people to believe that just by reading a book; I can fly an F-16.
Certain types of fish contain the enzyme thiaminase, especially raw carp of various species and raw salt water herring. Other fish that contain thiaminase include, flounder, mullet, most sharks, mullet, goldfish, whitefish, pike, cod, smelt, sprats, stints. A total of some 50 species most of which live in fresh water have been reported to contain Thiaminase. Wild animals apparently do not suffer thiamin deficiency in nature even though they eat a diet primarily of fish, because fish must undergo some putrefaction to release the enzyme. In vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that 1 kg of certain fish can destroy up to 25 mg thiamin. This degradation takes place within the first 30 min after ingestion, when still in the stomach.
One can easily see how inconclusive the statements in the Feline Husbandry text as sited on the exotic cat chat room can be. The statement "diets containing large amounts of fish can cause vitamin deficiencies in cats" is vague and useless to most exotic cat enthusiasts. What is the definition of large amounts? Is the term "large amounts" the same for a Fishing cat (F. viverrinus) as it is for Snow leopard (N. uncia)? Substances with an anti-thiamin activity are fairly common in nature and include structurally similar antagonists as well as structure-altering antagonists. Some of the preservatives in commercial food can also destroy thiamine, such as SO2. Also the pH level of certain commercial feed and supplements are detrimental to the thiamin that was included in the formulation. Heating above 100 degrees C kills all thiamine, but even mild heating in the presence of certain substances and with certain moisture levels kills most thiamin in commercially prepared "complete" diets. Processing, freezing, storage, and defrosting causes much of the vitamins present in fish and commercially available food to be destroyed or become unavailable to the animal. Only certain forms of vitamins that have been included in the food can survive these conditions, unfortunately most of the common and popular brands of commercially available diets for exotic/wild/nontraditional cats contain sources of vitamins that are readily degraded or made unavailable.
Vitamin E deficiency, also mentioned as being caused by feeding fish, is again a misleading statement. When cat diets contain excessive amounts of unsaturated fatty acids a vitamin E deficiency can occur. But again the questions are 1) what is an excessive amount? And 2) what fish provide these large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids? One should be careful in feeding exclusively canned red tuna, cod liver oil or colley (white fish), since these fish contain large amounts of unsaturated fatty acids. Commercial diets and dietary supplements often contain Vitamin E forms that a cat cannot use. Typically the diet tag or supplement label will say "Vitamin E supplement" and it will not list the proper form of vitamin E, which is alpha Tocopherol.
Anyone can use fish to feed their cats if certain guidelines are followed: 1) Do not feed fish that has undergone purification 2) Understand the natural diet of the cat you are feeding and try to mimic that as best as possible. In other words if its diet does not normally contain an exclusive fish diet then do not feed it exclusively fish. Occasional fish, or daily levels of fish in a properly balanced and fortified diet put together by a professional, is always your best advice. 3) Supplement the cats diet daily with Oasis, the only supplement in the world that has been formulated correctly for the wild feline/non traditional cat. 4) Do not feed a diet that is exclusively commercially derived. Most of the commercial diets for the exotic cats are similar to me reading the F 16 manual and calling myself a pilot. The "nutritionists" at these commercial facilities continually go against nature and what an exotic/ wild/ nontraditional cats needs. They continually dictate to the public that they "read the book" and they know how to fly despite the fact they never even saw an F-16, let alone ever sat behind the controls of one. Most commercial feeds for exotic/wild/nontraditional cats, unfortunately, have their expertise ON the bag, not IN the bag.
Source Page
Apperon Inc

Basically so long as an owner is not feeding an excessive amount of fish, AND is feeding quality fish, the likelyhood of a nutritional defficiency or similar problem occurring is extremely low.

Spotz

 

[feralwhisperer]

I have 6 cats of my own and there is always a few fosters in my apt, so I free feed dry food and wet they get in the morning. 2 of my cats are very overweight but food has become a battle ground. If I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t free feed the loser would be my handicapped feral.

Twofatcats how is Redcat? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been worry about him since you posted his photo.

Mealtime

 

[felicia's mom]

My cats get a small amount of dry food (usually Royal Canin) in the am. In the evening they have wet food; a combination of Innova and Natural Balence.

 

[juniper]

I free feed mine (dry food). One of my cats needs to eat this way, as if he is fed only at certain times, he becomes anxious and gorges himself way too fast, and the throws up, and the other two are fine either way, so free feeding works well for us.

 

[amberthe bobcat]

All mine, except Amber, get dry food and are allowed to free feed. They will get a treat of raw turkey. Amber gets raw chicken, bones and all, usually the legs and wings. I also add a vitamin supplement to her food.

 

[allissa]

My darn cat won't let me sleep in the morning because he wants his canned food. He won't rest until I get up and feed him. He bites me to wake me up.
He is a bad kitty!

 

[rapunzel47]

Originally Posted by allissa

My darn cat won't let me sleep in the morning because he wants his canned food. He won't rest until I get up and feed him. He bites me to wake me up.
He is a bad kitty!

Ah, yeeeeeeesssssssss! I remember it well. The current crew are very blase about meal times -- sometimes they come, and sometimes they don't -- but my ol' lady Shasta -- she was a tyrant. Breakfast time was 8 am. She would start "breakfast patrol" anywhere between 4 and 5 am. Fortunately, she never bit me, but walking all over my face was quite as effective

Some mornings I had to banish her from the bed, she was such a pest, but she'd be back before long and at it again!

 

[maverick_kitten]

She gets wet food for breakfast, a little when I get in from work or uni and another lot before bed to make her sleep. Shes got a trough (yes just like a piglet) of dry food in my room and a bowl of a different flavour dry food downstairs. And the scraps of chicken or beef she manages to scrounge of us as treats from whoeverâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in.

 

[juniper]

They free feed on dry food, there's always food in the bowl. We don't do wet food.

 

[nebula11]

I used to just leave dry food out all day...but then Emmet and Doofus started getting chubby...so I feed the three of them a mix of wet and dry food in the morning..and a mix of wet and dry at night.....

 

[kathryn41]

With five cats I free feed Hills feline w/d in two separate bowls and 2 separate rooms, and then I divide 1 small can into separate serving dishes in the am and another small can into separate serving dishes in the pm. Not all of the canned food gets eaten but the dry food gets refilled am and pm.

Kathryn

 

[sol]

Since my cats only eat raw food their feedings are scheduled. They get food three times a day.

 

[lilysmommy]

Lily gets free fed with dry food all day and every other day she gets some wet food. She won't eat wet food if it is mixed with the dry - but she will take a mouthful of wet food and then take a bite of wet!!

What a weirdo huh? If I use half a can of wet food in the morning can I use the other half of can the next morning? How long does wet food take to go bad if you have it tightly closed and refridgerated?

 

[l.trant]

I just leave dry food out, and give him his fancy feast later in the day. He is already on diet cat food. Just a thought you may want to ask the vet if they can all eat the same food, I don't think it would hurt him, although it may cost more. We also have to measure out how much he gets to eat. Hope this helps

 

[wellingtoncats]

All our cats are on dry free feed.

 

[juniper]

Okay, my answer has changed already.

Now, they're still free feeding on dry food, but I split a small can of wet food among them every morning.

 

[ozzy&olly]

We leave dry food out all the time and give them each a half can of wet in the morning and another half at night.

 

[octoberdana]

My kitties get 1 cup of dry food each day that I usually fill up around 8 or 9. Six evenings a week around 5 they split half of a 5.5 ounce can of wet food.

 

[scamperfarms]

we free feed here, and than once a day in the moring we get a little "treat" of 1/4th a can of wet food