How Much Epa+dha Do You Feed?

[Tuckamukk3]

Hello. I've only been feeding raw a couple months. I use Alnutrin and only just realized there is no Omega-3 added (for oxidation reasons) so I figured I should supplement.... I quickly came across info about the necessity to supplement enough Vitamin E if you are supplementing Omega-3 (2 IU per lb. of body weight per day). And since Alnutrin - according to the nutrient info on the package - doesn't supply that much vitamin E, I will be adding more to compensate. However, I'm seeing wide rages in the amount of fish oil to use. Or rather, I should stick to terms of EPA+DHA since the amounts vary so much from one brand to another. The brand I purchased is NOW Ultra Omega 3 fish oil, which has a combined EPA+DHA of 750.
{FYI, I wasn't sure which brand to get either... most the recommended brands on this forum were the pump kind which I'm not comfortable with. I definitely wanted to stick to softgels, and I thought this brand looked good.}

So, I'm wondering, how much EPA+DHA do you all use? I'd like to get as much health benefit from it as I can, without the side effects of giving too much.

I came across the following info on PetMD.com in an article titled "FISH OIL: THE DANGERS OF TOO MUCH"

"SAFE LEVELS OF FISH OIL FOR PETS
The National Research Council has established a safe upper limit of EPA and DHA for dogs. It has yet to establish one for cats. In light of that, it is probably safe to use the guidelines for dogs for both species. Translating the data suggests that a dose between 20-55mg combined EPA and DHA per pound of body weight is safe for dogs and cats. This dose is far less than those used to treat serious conditions where the risk of side effects is less important than the benefits of treatment. Consult with your veterinarian when treating conditions requiring higher dosages."

Somewhere else a vet was recommending WAY more - 1000 mg a day per cat! Which seemed too high to me.

My impulse would be to go with about 30mg per lb. per day, but would like some feedback on how much some of you give and why.



(Musing..... I doubt I'll EVER put this much thought, effort into my own nutrition....)

 

[daftcat75]

I don’t know this answer but I’d like to join in on this thread to hear the answer.

My Krista has been having issues eating and one thing that gets her interested among all the other tools in the toolbox is fish oil. I poke open a soft gel and squirt a few drops on. I’ve given her as much as half a 1000 mg capsule. But that’s 1000 mg of fish oil. The EPA-DHA is lower (350? Or 175 at the dose I gave which would be about 20ish mg per lbs for her.)

 

[mschauer]

I quickly came across info about the necessity to supplement enough Vitamin E if you are supplementing Omega-3 (2 IU per lb. of body weight per day).

Can you provide a source for that information?

 

[kittyluv387]

When I had a consultation with Dr. Pierson from catinfo.org she recommended 300mg of combined EPA and DHA for each of my cats. She mentioned it because it's good for kidney cats but she recommended it for my other 2 cats as well so it must be good for them in general.

 

[sabrinah]

My cat (12.5 lbs) gets roughly 500 mg EPA+DHA

 

[Tuckamukk3]

I found the info about the necessity of enough vitamin E when supplementing Omega 3 here:

Fish oil & vitamin E

I found this article very helpful. I read elsewhere (I think an article on feline-nutrition.org but I would have to spend some time tracking it down) the recommended amount of vitamin E to be between 1-3 IU per lb. of body weight per day, so that reinforces the figure of 2 IU per lb. per day.

 

[mschauer]

That's interesting. Thanks for the link.

 

[Tuckamukk3]

Thanks for the input!