Fish Oil/omega 3 Question

[ScarlettGatsby]

Hello! This is my first post. I've been reading posts on here for a few weeks, since I recently rescued a cat. I'm new too all this and it gets very confusing!

Our cat, Ivy, is a sweet 6 year old girl. We have had her about a month now. I took her in to get established with a vet and he suggested supplementing fish oil into her diet because she had some dandruff.

At the time I had been combo feeding her Merrick Limited duck pate and Chicken Soup dry food (I'll be switching to something else after I finish this bag). Then I noticed that the merrick purrfect bistro had salmon oil in it already so I switched to that instead of the limited ingredient one.

She only eats about 3 ozs of that a day, along with about 1/4 cup of dry food. she weighs 8 lbs. She's a picky eater.

My question is, is the amount of fish oil in her food a good amount or should I still supplement? I cant find an actual measurement of how much oil is in the food. Im worried about her having too much.

What about vital essentials food topper? It has fish oil in it too. I received a sample of it and she seemed to like it a lot.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

Oh another question, Ivy seems to only like pate textured wet food. I wanted to add another protein into the rotation and was wondering if Tiki Cat has any pate textured food?
I'm trying to stick to brands I can buy at a local pet store (Mud Bay) I cant remember all they carry but I know they have Merrick, Tiki, and First Mate for sure.

 

[Kieka]

Tiki Cat recently changed their formulas and a lot of people on here aren't comfortable with the changes. My guys are very much the more liquid the better so my research into pates is fairly limited. I do know that Fancy Fest and Sheba have some relatively decent wet foods at a lower cost and are available in a lot of different locations.

As to the fish oil, if the food has it supplemented and it is a new food you could give her some time to figure out if it is helping her. The other option would be getting canned sardines (packed in water with nothing added, Trader Joes carries them as do health food type stores) and giving her a fish or two as a treat once a week. Bonus is that it is naturally occurring, in its natural state and includes the added nutrition of eating the fish. You could also get a fish oil supplement and add it into her wet food. Just be sure with those that you are buying a good quality one because a lower quality one isn't even worth giving her. Personally, I think added supplements in food and processed dry food fish isn't the same as getting it from the natural source; so I would do sardines.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

Oh what did Tiki change about their food?

She won't eat fancy feast. When we first got her I bought a bunch of it and she wouldn't touch it. Which is fine cause I'd really like to shop at the local store and they don't carry it.
I think First Mate has a chicken pate but I've heard mixed reviews of them.
I'll probably just stick with Merrick, and just add another protein to alternate with the duck.

The sardines are a great idea. I'll give her some time to see if her dandruff clears up with this food and then try that next.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

Also curious about what you mentioned about your guys being more liquid the better. Do the pates have less moisture then shredded/chunks? Just curious. Ivy drinks from her water dish just fine so I'm not overly concerned about that issue.

 

[Kieka]

My cats eat mostly dry with wet food at night. They refuse to eat anything that isn't gravy filled and lots of it. They will eat either the Wureva pouches or Soulistic pouches. It they happen to lick up all the liquid before finishing the meat they will stop, the boys at least. My girl happily finishes whatever the boys leave behind.

Luckily mine drink a ton of water so hydration isn't an issue.

An easy analogy is that the pate is like meatloaf and my guys refuse to eat anything other than stew. Add on we have a chicken allergy so lots of fun finding a variety of food they will eat.
Wureva might be a brand you would be able to find. You basically want to look for something that has meat in the first and very little in fillers.

As to Tiki, in my understanding they quietly changed the food and went to more fish heavy and fillers. Plus a change in size and calories without a change in price. It just hit people the wrong way and felt underhanded. Cats started to refuse their previous favorite food. Calls to customer service were unable to clarify. It is similar to Orijen and Acana who switch manufacturing locations and suddenly cats didn't like the food and the quality became questionable. If you really get into pet food manufactures and researching it a lot of the companies make shady moves and questionable food choices. An example, and my favorite, is cranberries. They add them in saying that they help with human UTIs so it will help with cats too. But cranberries have an acid cats can't breakdown and a chemical similar to aspirin (which is deadly to cats). So are cranberries really a good idea? But try to find a cat food without it and be prepared to grumble.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

That's really frustrating. Especially for those of you who had been feeding it before the change!

I checked and they do have Weruva so I'll check them out.

And thanks for the meat loaf analogy, makes so much sense that way lol.

 

[Kieka]

Weruva (which I always misspell) is a fairly good brand and good history. They did recently have a recall in Australia with the BFF line specifically the fish based flavors. Turns out they were heavy in heavy metals. But I personally think that was an accident and if you stay away from fish heavy (which you should anyways) and the BFF line for a little it isn't an issue. It is very hard to find any brand without any recalls even within human food industry.

 

[ScarlettGatsby]

Oh yes I did see that thread about the recall. Recalls are probably a good reason to have different brands in the rotation.

It looks like their Cats in the Kitchen variety might work well for her. I'll try doing that one with the Merrick and maybe adding a 3rd kind in after she adjusts to that.

 

[Kieka]

Sounds like a good plan. Variety is good for them and makes it easier on you.