Can Cats Eat/pick Around Fish Scales?

matt1991

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iv been fishing a lot lately again and i usually fillet the fish for its boneless meat and ill cut the skeleton in half so it fits ina big pot of water and boil it so the meat falls off the bone and makes a good fish broth for my cats t eat.


usually i do it with catfish but they dont have scales but curious on scaled fish if i need t scale the fish first before i do it? its just a pain t do ill do it but i know cats eat fish in the wild raw with scales what do you guys think?
 

Wile

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Fish scales are edible, though they aren't that pleasant to eat. As I understand it they are mostly composed of bone and keratin. I wouldn't want the cats to eat the scales because I would be worried about too much calcium in their diet, or that you would be cleaning up piles of puke ;) I don't see a problem if you strain the broth before serving it to them. I am guessing that the broth is just a treat and not their main diet, right? :fish:

its just a pain t do ill do it but i know cats eat fish in the wild raw with scales what do you guys think?
To the best of my very limited knowledge there are very few species of cats that eat fish in the wild, though many cats do seem to enjoy fish and many commercial cat foods are made from fish. Is the beautiful black domestic (long?)hair cat in your profile photo one of yours? If so s/he will be primed for eating rodents and rabbits, not fish.

I also found this article that you might find interesting. It recommends that you remove the skin and fat of fish before cooking to reduce contaminants: Fish Skin: Healthy or Not? - Dr. Weil
 
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matt1991

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yes thats one of mine but hes much to picky lol he barely even eats chicken n tuna much less a fish its for my other 2 boys who are 10 months old and no its not the primary diet i feed them friskys cat food usually buy a 30 pound bag it last the 3 cats about 5 weeks but i always supplement them with table scraps of meat i dont eat.


they wont eat any carbs only meats as theyr abit picky too which is goodthat they wont eat things bad for them i wana do something to thicken up the broth from the fish so its more like a stew i feel theyd enjoy it more they didnt drink the broth from the catfish last night sadly but maybe its just due to that species of fish isnt really a fishy smelling fish

im sure if i give them bass or bream/crappie theydlove it thought of adding some flour or corn starch to thicken it but some cats wont eat it then i hear
 

Wile

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im sure if i give them bass or bream/crappie theydlove it thought of adding some flour or corn starch to thicken it but some cats wont eat it then i hear
Cats are carnivores, not omnivores, so flour and corn starch aren't things they should be eating. Best to leave the questionable ingredients out and just give them the broth. They probably don't care about how thick the liquid is :)
 

daftcat75

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Many cats are texture snobs. If you think a thicker broth might entice them, gelatin is an excellent additive that would actually do your cats good.

Edit:
Rad Cat Blog post about gelatin for cats
The Amazing Benefits of Gelatine
 
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