? Fish in the diet?

I really should know this, but - what's the general opinion on fish in a kitty's diet? I'm in the process of switching my civvie Sapphire (aged seven last month) to a better quality, different type of diet and it's a new learning curve for me. Until recently she had almost all Whiskas poultry varieties in jelly; commonly fed here in the UK, ok but not brilliant quality. I've found some excellent German brands online, which she's enjoying, but some of them contain more fish than she's used to - typically, a 100g tray contains 30% chicken + 14% fish (trout or salmon) - and I'm hoping this isn't a problem as I know too much fish isn't recommended.

What do people think? I'm giving her two trays a day, supplemented with a little fresh chicken or complementary 100% chicken in broth catfood.

Any thoughts welcome, thank you.

Diana

 

This is from CatInfo.org: You will notice that many of the higher protein diets are fish-based but it is not a good idea to feed fish to cats. Or, at least not as their main diet. Fish can be high in mercury, high in PBDEs (fire retardant chemicals linked to hyperthyroidism), high in phosphorus (not good for older cats’ kidneys) and can be very addicting. It is best to feed poultry-based diets to cats.

 

We generally say to limit fish based foods to no more than once a week.

Since that's not totally fish, I think you could probably use it in rotation with other foods a couple times without any problems. Not only do we worry about the contamination in fish these days, it's higher in phosphorus which is harder on kidneys

 

Too much fish also depletes them of some vitamins.

 

Thanks all - am confused though as to how much fish is "too" much... if a tray contains 30g chicken and 14g fish and I feed one tray a day, is that still too much???

 

I think that's probably a pretty "fish-heavy" diet

If we're supposed to keep it to 1 day of fish in a week, that would be no more than about 15% fish per week (1 day divided by 7 days)

Just from looking at your ratio's, if those are the only protein sources, I think they're like 33% fish

But math is not my strong suit so I may have it all wrong

 

Thanks Chris, that helps to put it into perspective!

 

My boys a fish cats and I wish I had known more hen they were young but I would have very skinny cats if they didn't get the fishy flavors... chicken is tolerable once in a while

 

You could always try tuna water. Just strain the juice from a tuna can (tuna in water not oil), you can add more water if you like and keep it in the fridge for a couple days, and mix some into their wet food. It'll give it that fishy smell and taste without all the fish. I've done this when my boy decides he's not eating any of the 5 cans I put down... And I know some other have as well. Just can't remember who...

 

LOL-I was probably one of them!
I give Dre tuna in water and if I add water to it he walks away .... I have done this to myself but at 18 and 19 I have to live with it. Thank you for the input

 

I had no idea about fish being an issue. My two get Fancy Feast seafood variety and only ever had that for 11 years. They won't eat chicken or beef. Maybe I need to switch ?

 

This is a personal decision really - I've always fed all my cats poultry-based foods but when I found a new good-quality brand whose varieties included some with fish, I did some research and the consensus seemed to be (both here and elsewhere) feed fish in moderation only. But on every forum and discussion page there are people who said they'd fed fish for years with no apparent ill effects. As pet-owners it comes down to our individual choice - put into practice what others have said and avoid fish because of possible health effects; include fish if kitty likes it once a week but feed mostly poultry-based foods; or just do your own thing for reasons of your own, eg if you've always fed fish and your kitties won't eat anything else.

I always trust advice and information given by members here because I believe their knowledge and experience is second to none. I've had cats for many years but am always grateful for any new "education" that might help me to keep my cats in good health for as long as possible. I had never fed fish before very recently, and I'm not now intending to make it a regular thing. You ask if you need to switch: it's your call of course, but might depend on what your kitties will eat! In your shoes I would probably start including at least some poultry into your kitties' diet... try adding small amounts at first and see if they develop a taste for it... if not you may have to stick with fish. Would they eat fresh chicken? That might be the way to go to start with.

Good luck!