Any ideas for safely getting an omega-3 oil into a cat that won't consume it voluntarily?

cheeser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,062
Purraise
1,814
Location
Texas
I know you're not supposed to syringe feed oils because of the risk of aspiration, even though our vet assures us that it would probably be okay if we mixed it in with a syringe feeding. But since we're not too keen on that idea, what are some good ways to safely get an omega-3 oil into Buddy?

Could we mix it with a tiny bit of pate style food and smear it on his tongue or something? Help! :)
 

FeebysOwner

TCS Member
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
22,435
Purraise
33,192
Location
Central FL (Born in OH)
I don't know why you couldn't try some pate style food to see if that would work. I have seen multiple recommendations of other related foods, such as: Tiki Cat Mousse, Inaba Churu lickables, and Vitakraft Lick-n-Lap Creamy Treats. There are also the good old 'stand-bys': canned tuna/chicken water, and baby food meats (no additives).
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

cheeser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,062
Purraise
1,814
Location
Texas
I don't know why you couldn't try some pate style food to see if that would work. I have seen multiple recommendations of other related foods, such as: Tiki Cat Mousse, Inaba Churu lickables, and Vitakraft Lick-n-Lap Creamy Treats. There are also the good old 'stand-bys': canned tuna/chicken water, and baby food meats (no additives).
Unfortunately, just getting Buddy to eat *anything* on his own can be quite a challenge, let alone something that doesn't tickle his fancy -- including any kind of omega-3 oil, e.g., fish oil, salmon oil, sardine oil, krill oil, etc. :wink:

His sense of smell is pretty much shot because his sinuses are all screwed up, so it has always been hard to get him to eat even in the best of circumstances. Plus, he has several food allergies and sensitivities, which limits our options a bit. But his taste buds still work enough for him to know that he doesn't like omega-3 oils, no matter what I try to sneak it into! :gaah:

However, he's pretty chill about letting us give him his twice daily cocktail of meds and supplements. So I was just trying to figure out a way to safely give him the omega-3 oil. The vet said that it should be sufficiently diluted if added to a syringe feeding. But even though Buddy is quite agreeable about syringe feedings, I don't want to take that chance.
 

white shadow

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
3,102
Purraise
2,985
Location
CA
.
OK, once more it is, cheeser (LOL!!!)......

My favourite 'go-to' ("Tanya's Guide") offers a few suggestions that might be options for you.

First, as with your Vet, she also speaks about EFA's mixed into foods as unlikely to pose any aspiration risk. If you haven't had any gagging episode with syringe-feeding him up to now, do take that into consideration as well. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to syringe-feed with that (so little, tiny) amount of oil mixed into the total amount of a daily feeding.

Second, you mentioned the oil's taste as a deterrent - do be sure that whichever you're using has not gone rancid - this happens very easily if the product hasn't been protected from heat or is 'old'.

Third, for choices, 'Tanya's' site mentions several at this link: [see "Fish Oils" section] Sources. (note the commentary about Amazon on Nordic Naturals.....not so 'fresh', I suspect, + a hot warehouse ?)

Finally, I found that a slow and gradual introduction was key to acceptance - starting with a single drop and edging upwards in one drop increments over weeks worked for me.

Hopefully something(s) there will help.
.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

cheeser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,062
Purraise
1,814
Location
Texas
.
OK, once more it is, cheeser (LOL!!!)......

My favourite 'go-to' ("Tanya's Guide") offers a few suggestions that might be options for you.

First, as with your Vet, she also speaks about EFA's mixed into foods as unlikely to pose any aspiration risk. If you haven't had any gagging episode with syringe-feeding him up to now, do take that into consideration as well. Personally, I wouldn't hesitate to syringe-feed with that (so little, tiny) amount of oil mixed into the total amount of a daily feeding.

Second, you mentioned the oil's taste as a deterrent - do be sure that whichever you're using has not gone rancid - this happens very easily if the product hasn't been protected from heat or is 'old'.

Third, for choices, 'Tanya's' site mentions several at this link: [see "Fish Oils" section] Sources. (note the commentary about Amazon on Nordic Naturals.....not so 'fresh', I suspect, + a hot warehouse ?)

Finally, I found that a slow and gradual introduction was key to acceptance - starting with a single drop and edging upwards in one drop increments over weeks worked for me.

Hopefully something(s) there will help.
.
Heya! *waves hi*

Thanks oodles for for all the cool info. Boy, was it timely! I was just about to order some of the Nordic Naturals from Amazon, because we had been told that it was a very good name brand.

We live in an area that's hot and humid nearly all year round, so it's possible that the omega-3 oils that we've ordered in the past could have become rancid in the warehouse or during shipment. But we'll definitely try gradually working up to a therapeutic dose, like we'd had to do for many of Buddy's other meds and supplements.

Thanks so much for helping to put my mind at ease about mixing the omega-3 oil in with Buddy's syringe feedings. We're blessed that he's so cooperative. Most of the time all I have to do is touch the corner of his mouth with the tip of the syringe, and he's ready to get down to business. So maybe that's one of the reasons the vet felt comfortable recommending that approach to us. And as he pointed out, some of the foods we use for syringe feedings already contain some form of fish oil anyway. I don't know why that has never bothered me. :lol:

Thanks again. Your suggestions have been most helpful! :hearthrob: :redheartpump: :hearthrob:
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

cheeser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,062
Purraise
1,814
Location
Texas
We mix it into wet food and they never know it's there.
Is there a particular brand that you use? I was just wondering if some are more pleasant tasting than others.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9

cheeser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,062
Purraise
1,814
Location
Texas
~ I poke a fish oil capsule with a pin and put a few drops on food . 👌😽
Oh, man. I wish Buddy would make it that easy for us! :)

One of our biggest challenges has always been just getting Buddy to eat at all. He can't seem to smell his food worth a darn, so it's hard to tempt him to eat anything. Under normal circumstances, feeding times can take anywhere from a total of 4 to 8 hours a day as we have to hand feed him every single bite, and even then, we often don't have anything to show for our efforts. So we frequently have to whip out the syringes or nursing bottles to supplement what he's able to eat on his own.

But for some weird reason, Buddy is always somehow able to manage to detect any kind of omega-3 oil that we've tried to sneak into his food. Bless his heart, he certainly keeps us on our toes as we're always trying to figure out ways to be sneakier! :crackup:
 

white shadow

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
3,102
Purraise
2,985
Location
CA
.
cheeser cheeser - note that stephanietx's Welactin and the Nordic Naturals are both available in pump bottles....allowing you to easily adjust dosing without wasting any oil (something I discovered was unavoidable when using capsules) - just a thought !
.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13

cheeser

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
2,062
Purraise
1,814
Location
Texas
.
cheeser cheeser - note that stephanietx's Welactin and the Nordic Naturals are both available in pump bottles....allowing you to easily adjust dosing without wasting any oil (something I discovered was unavoidable when using capsules) - just a thought !
.
Okily-dokily. Thanks muchly!

Funny thing you should mention that... :lol:

We were thinking about going with Nordic Naturals for that very reason, as thus far, the lowest capsule dose we've found in the stores or our usual online sources has been 500 mg. But since 250 mg. was recommended as a starting dose, we rather liked the idea of a pump or dropper that would allow us to adjust the dosage more easily.

Plus, I have to admit, I like the idea of less waste for financial reasons. Every penny we can save on one supplements helps to pay for his umpteen zillion other meds and supplements. :biggrin:
 
Top