How often to feed tuna?

[Pickalilly]

Hi,

My 1 year old cat Henry eats a diet of Encore tins and Iams dry food.

He adores Encore tins and so do I, as the are very natural and healthy with no met derivatives etc.

He eats one little tin in the morning, dry food in the day and another little tin for dinner.

However, the tins only come in a meat selection (chicken + an ingredient) and a fish selection (mainly fresh tuna + another fish). This means that he has tuna very regularly, often everyday.

I have heard awful stories of cats ill due too much tuna because of no Taurine, high levels of Mercury etc.

If fed a small tuna tin, some lamb dry food and then a chicken tin at dinner, is Henry at risk of something caused from too much tuna? I've also heard about osteoparosis which I am NOT risking

He is picky and doesn't like Hilife that much apart from the salmon one, which I sometimes feed as an alternative to tuna in the morning. Unfortunately he hates pate type foods so won't eat Lily's kitchen etc. and I won't give a low qua
ity food such as Whiskas.

Is it bad for him to eat tuna daily?

Thanks so much

[angieh]

Hi Pickalilly - I could do with knowing the answer to this same question. My cats Kizzy and Pip have ProPlan adult and Light mixed biscuits as their main diet but both adore Applaws tuna and anchovy - it is the only wet food that they will eat, they do not even like other tuna and *** in the same range. I buy it in bulk and they have approx half a pouch each in the morning.

So if anyone can help with this question, I'd like to know the answer too.

[Elaine]

Tuna is fine as an occasional treat. Encore and applaws are complimentary foods and dont have all the dietary nutritional needs. The fact that you feed another food aswell will help with this.
When it comes down to it though often what is seen to be the worst wet cat food, i.e. whiskas or the like, they are very often better than what is seen to be the best dry food.
Is it possible to reduce or withdraw the dry food and encourage them to eat a wider variety of wet food? Not an easy task I know because I have similar issues here with Bernie.

[angieh]

........... I have tried, really I have, probably every type of wet food available. Sometimes I think I've found one they will eat and buy it again and the little b*****s, sorry, darlings turn their noses up.

I still think someone ought to invent a good gravy for cats!

[Elaine]

I know Angie, cats are MUCH harder than dogs when it comes to food. Little ******s would rather starve than eat something they dont think is good enough for them.;)

[Pickalilly]

........... I have tried, really I have, probably every type of wet food available. Sometimes I think I've found one they will eat and buy it again and the little b*****s, sorry, darlings turn their noses up.

I still think someone ought to invent a good gravy for cats!

I am the same!! Henry won't eat Lily's kitchen, food in jelly, rarely likes HiLife, doesn't like Waitrose own, he hates liver, I won't feed him anything with less than about 60% the given ingredient....so he has to eat Encore. !!

[Elaine]

You know, sometimes what we want them to eat, as in quality, is entirely different from what they will eat. Many cats do ok on whiskas and the like...

[angieh]

I've tried "good" food, middling food and really rather wouldn't food ............ all with the same end! Although in many cases, the juices/gravy has been licked up, hence my remark about cat gravy. They won't touch jelly!

[fancyabrew]

Marmaduke only really eats Royal Cairn BSH dry stuff, he even turns his nose up at fresh chicken, etc, which is quite handy as its easy to feed. Chloe on the other hand is a total pain! She goes off stuf very quickly (a part form Tuna which she does like) and of course fresh chicken, fish ,etc I've now got her back eating whiskers (not jelly she hates that) but she'll go off it in a few weeks

[Pickalilly]

So everyone, do you think it's fine to feed two tins of tuna cat food per week??

I have finally found an affordable brand with good percentages of fish/meat...Waitrose own (but the 70% meat ones, NOT the 14%). Henry adores the mackerel, sardine and clam one which is a good try because it comes in no jelly, just fresh chunks.

Why is it that there is such controversy and confusion about cat health, diet, dental care etc.?? I just do what I think is best but I constantly worry!!

[angieh]

Pickalilly, it's just that there has been quite a few of us here who have had cats with CRF which may be in part due to feeding dry food ......... vets generally promote dry food as being suitable/well balanced which they probably are BUT .... I know I would prefer my cats to eat mainly wet, however I know that they will eat what they like and nothing else ............ and make me feel guilty about it!!!

Dogs are a lot easier, as Elaine says.

[TiggerMoon]

I have the opposite problem, mine don't like the gravy but love the jelly! Even Missy, and she will eat just about anything!
If you are worried about a lack of taurine etc, is there a suplement you could add to the fish? Not something I've looked into, but just a thought.

[Elaine]

So everyone, do you think it's fine to feed two tins of tuna cat food per week??

I have finally found an affordable brand with good percentages of fish/meat...Waitrose own (but the 70% meat ones, NOT the 14%). Henry adores the mackerel, sardine and clam one which is a good try because it comes in no jelly, just fresh chunks.

Why is it that there is such controversy and confusion about cat health, diet, dental care etc.?? I just do what I think is best but I constantly worry!!


We all worry and try to do what's best.

[Lady Trishka]

Trishka doesn't like anything fishy :( if she had her way it would be chicken for breakfast, lunch and tea!

[Velvet]

I opened a can of tuna last week to
make sandwiches & misty was virtually on top of the can emitting high pitched excited squeaks.

[angieh]

My two are amazing - I didn't think that their love of tuna and anchovy would persist, but it has. The oddest thing is though that they are not impressed by other offerings in the same range, tuna and prawn, tuna and bream or tuna and something else I can't remember. It's tuna and anchovy or nothing. There must be something in those anchovies!!!