Greenlip Mussel Oil?

[mrsgreenjeens]

For those of you who are giving their furkids Greenlip Mussel Oil for whatever reason...arthritis, kidney disease, just to supplement Omega 3s, whatever...what brand do you use, and do you use powder or oil? 

I'm looking into this for Callie since she doesn't like Salmon Oil and isn't really thrilled about Krill Oil either, AND she hates both of the Kidney Support supplements I have gotten her so far, but I've got to get something in her that will help her kidney function.  I just read today that this Greenlip Mussel Oil is supposed to be beneficial for cats with kidney issues. 

Additionally, if any of you ARE giving your furry beasties kidney support supplements, how on earth are you getting them to take them.  The pills are HUGE, as in the size of human calcium pills, so there is no way I could ever even begin to pill her, besides the fact that she is not a very cooperative patient

, and although each supplement I got has a distinctly different odor, they are both really odoriferous

.  I have tried crushing just part of one and mixing it in a fishy canned food, but that was a definite "no go".  Tried just seeing if she would eat it as a treat (that's what it says on the bottle

), and she actually licked it...ONCE

, tried giving her other treats with this scattered along with the others (the others were pieces of Wholelife chicken...even the same color)...no go.

The other one I got her is actually like a green seaweed type powder in a capsule, and I have tried mixing just a teeny bit into some fishy canned food, and I think maybe she ingested a few grains in the one lick she took before she walked away in disgust.  She's supposed to have 2 of these things per day!  

Any ideas?  I read on the website here I bought these where most people were able to disguise the taste in fishy foods, but not me

, at least not in Weruva Mediterranean Feast

, and this picky of all pickys doesn't like Fancy Feast Seafood Grill (Classic)

 

[eb24]

I don't know much on supplements so I'm no help on this. 

I'm wondering though if you might get more feedback if you posted over in Nutrition? That's where most of the supplement talk seems to take place. I also know it's where most of the supplement experts hang out. 

Just ask a mod to move it if you agree. Otherwise, this will at least bump you back up. Good luck!!!! 

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I debated whether or not to post it under Nutrition, but figured since it's good for arthritis, I'd start under Health.  Maybe I'll see what you bumping it up does for it, and if nothing, then I'll ask for it to be moved

 

[chloespriestess]

I give my 18 year old cat Glyco-Flex Soft Chews for cats (which she so loves, she practically demands it every morning) and it has Greenlip Mussels in it. It seemed to have helped her. She is not so unsteady in her gait now or achy when she wakes up. (We started her on it in December 2012.)

As far as pilling (for Azodyl), I use Duck and Pea Allergy Formula Pill Pockets. The allergy formula is little hard to find in regular stores, but Amazon has it. (I know some people would probably freak out but) I buy the ones for Dogs. They have exactly the same ingredients and cheaper.

I use just a little of it to cover the pill and she swallows the whole thing. If I use too much, she can separate the "good stuff" from the pill and leave the pill behind. It doesn't even have to be completely encased in it. Sometimes if I manage to cover only the middle, it looks like a "Pig's in the Blanket". She still eats it.

I was worried first that she could bite down on it, bust the capsule, taste whatever in it and never trust Pill Pocket again, but that didn't happen. She may have bit into it once (I heard the 'pop') but she still swallowed that whole thing : )

Not all cats like Pill Pockets, but if yours do, it's a God send. No more wrestling, no more scratching, no more wrapping your cat in a towel, no more wasted pills and best of all, no more stress!

When my cat had to go in for radioactive Iodine treatment for her Thyroid, I packed enough Pill pockets for the stay along with her meds and food. Imagine how much stress we saved; it's bad enough she had to stay in the hospital for three days, can you imagine, if you were your cat and being forced to take pills by people you don't know?

So, I highly recommend Pill Pockets for pilling.

Good-Luck!

 

[feralvr]

I am drawing a complete blank and it is driving me nuts :lol3: There is a canned cat food that contains Greenlip Mussels.... I know I have fed it now and again but the name escapes me. :doh3: I know you are not looking for a food with green mussel but there is also this one http://www.veruspetfoods.com/products/for-cats/feline-cans/nz-turkey-green-lipped-mussel.html I have not tried this brand but am looking for something new for Perla who has become more finicky than ever. She won't even eat FF anymore. :lol3: VeRUS has many grain-free varieties with the green lipid mussel.

I hope that you get some answers on the oil. I would be interested in seeing what comes of this thread too. :nod: AND.... for Callie and for you.

 

[lcat4]

I haven't used the Greenlip Mussel Oil, but I've read about it.  There's a big article about it in the Little Big Cats site as an option for the Omega 3's.  If I remember right, her point is it isn't factory farmed or endangered and offers all sorts of Omega 3's.  When I did other reading, I could never find a reference as to how much EPA or DHA was in each capsule.  I also read a critique of one brand that said it had a bunch of fish oil in the capsule as well, which seemed to defeat the purpose for taking the Greenlip. 

I had been using NOW Sardine and Anchovy oil, mixing it into my raw before portioning and freezing, 3 capsules for 2 pounds of meat.  The cats didn't notice it at all.  Then I read a recent thread in CatSite that said the oil oxidizes, so the benefits may no longer be as good after freezing and could even go rancid.  So I stopped doing that and started adding it at feeding, one capsule divided between four cats.  It seems like a lot of oil that way, everyone noticed, and one cat struggled to eat the food.  I just recently bought Thorne Omega 3 for cats/dogs.  It supposedly has twice the EPA and DHA of other oils, and I thought that might help.  The capsule seems even bigger and the oil is smelly.  Everyone notices and the one cat won't eat the food at all.  So I too am back to square one.  (Another Thorne product to be rejected by a cat and stored in the cupboard.)  At this point, I'll probably go back to putting the NOW in the food at mixing and hope for the best.  What I need is a smaller capsule that can be spread between the cats.  They then may not notice it as much.  If I find a winner, I'll be sure to share. 

You don't mention Callie trying the Sardine/Anchovy oil.  Has she rejected that too?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I haven't used the Greenlip Mussel Oil, but I've read about it.  There's a big article about it in the Little Big Cats site as an option for the Omega 3's.  If I remember right, her point is it isn't factory farmed or endangered and offers all sorts of Omega 3's.  When I did other reading, I could never find a reference as to how much EPA or DHA was in each capsule.  I also read a critique of one brand that said it had a bunch of fish oil in the capsule as well, which seemed to defeat the purpose for taking the Greenlip. 
You don't mention Callie trying the Sardine/Anchovy oil.  Has she rejected that too?

Yep, it's on LittleBigCats that I read about the Greenlip Mussel Oil!  But why would additional fish oil defeat the purpose of taking it.  Fish Oil is Omega 3 too, isn't it?  (I guess it really depends on which brand you get how much "other ingredients" are in there, and just goes to show you really DO have to read the labels.

Callie doesn't like sardines, so, no, I haven't tried the Sardine/Anchovy oil on her.  She WILL eat the Krill Oil, but I haven't been able to get past 3 drops of it or she won't eat her food.  I guess I could just do 3 drops per meal, but I normally only put it on one meal per day, and Tinky gets the rest of that capsule.  Well, what the heck, I think Only Natural Pet is having a sale right now, I could TRY the Sardine/Anchovy Oil.  Maybe one of the other two will like it if she doesn't.  Otherwise, I can always give it away.

I am drawing a complete blank and it is driving me nuts

There is a canned cat food that contains Greenlip Mussels.... I know I have fed it now and again but the name escapes me.

I know you are not looking for a food with green mussel but there is also this one http://www.veruspetfoods.com/products/for-cats/feline-cans/nz-turkey-green-lipped-mussel.html I have not tried this brand but am looking for something new for Perla who has become more finicky than ever.

She won't even eat FF anymore.

VeRUS has many grain-free varieties with the green lipid mussel.

I hope that you get some answers on the oil. I would be interested in seeing what comes of this thread too.

AND....

for Callie and

for you.

Lauren, I'm not adverse to feeding that food...it looks interesting!  Since Callie is my picky eater at the moment, sometimes I HAVE to feed her canned.  The problem is, no one near me sells it.  And it appears I can only buy it by the case on-line.  I don't really want to do that no knowing if she'll like it or not.  So, I might have to wait until someone I know from here goes traveling somewhere they might sell it and beg them to buy me a can so we can try it. 

I give my 18 year old cat Glyco-Flex Soft Chews for cats (which she so loves, she practically demands it every morning) and it has Greenlip Mussels in it. It seemed to have helped her. She is not so unsteady in her gait now or achy when she wakes up. (We started her on it in December 2012.)

As far as pilling (for Azodyl), I use Duck and Pea Allergy Formula Pill Pockets. The allergy formula is little hard to find in regular stores, but Amazon has it. (I know some people would probably freak out but) I buy the ones for Dogs. They have exactly the same ingredients and cheaper.

I use just a little of it to cover the pill and she swallows the whole thing. If I use too much, she can separate the "good stuff" from the pill and leave the pill behind. It doesn't even have to be completely encased in it. Sometimes if I manage to cover only the middle, it looks like a "Pig's in the Blanket". She still eats it.

I was worried first that she could bite down on it, bust the capsule, taste whatever in it and never trust Pill Pocket again, but that didn't happen. She may have bit into it once (I heard the 'pop') but she still swallowed that whole thing : )

Not all cats like Pill Pockets, but if yours do, it's a God send. No more wrestling, no more scratching, no more wrapping your cat in a towel, no more wasted pills and best of all, no more stress!

When my cat had to go in for radioactive Iodine treatment for her Thyroid, I packed enough Pill pockets for the stay along with her meds and food. Imagine how much stress we saved; it's bad enough she had to stay in the hospital for three days, can you imagine, if you were your cat and being forced to take pills by people you don't know?

So, I highly recommend Pill Pockets for pilling.

Good-Luck!

Good grief, is it the same cat who has kidney issues, arthritis AND thyroid issues?  Poor baby

.  But so wonderful that you are able to get all her "meds" in her sneakily

.  I'm going to have to check into these things.  I think I still have some Greenies pill pockets around here somewhere, so I can at least see if I can break up one of those kidney support pills and try it.  Is the Azodyl a large pill?  I read they have been able to downsize it

.  Does it have a distinct odor?  One of the renal support capsules I have cannot be broken because it's powder inside, but I guess maybe I could fill a dog size pill pocket with some of the powder and squeeze it shut.  Thanks again for these suggestions. 

I still am looking for info on just plain old Green Lipped Mussel Oil, if anyone else out there has any.  I think Carolina uses it...may have to pm her

 

[ldg]

The issue with adding fish oil is the cost-for-what-you-get. Celeste Yarnall (co-author of a natural heath care for cats book with Dr. Jean Hofve) pushes Moxxor, which is a marketing scam - one of the most expensive green lipped mussel oil supplements out there - but with the added fish oil. Don't remember what kind. And if the selling point of the GLM is the omega profile, then why bother buying green lipped mussel oil if it's mostly some other fish oil? I think that's the issue.

The canned food that uses it is Ziwipeak. Green lipped mussels are farmed in NZ.

The omega 3s are supposed to be great - but I've never found any provider that actually tells you how much of what of anything is in them.

If Mercola sold a green lipped mussel oil product, I'd buy that one. I know Hare Today sells the powder. And FYI, the oil is made FROM the powder, so you can skip that processing step, and just buy the powder. You never know - maybe the alternate source AND a different format would work for Callie? :dk:

 

[vball91]

mrsgreenjeens, you made me curious so I did a little research, and so far, the best green-lipped mussel powder I have found is this one. It's 100% green-lipped mussel powder. There are no additives or fillers present. They say their processing process takes 30 minutes, and they don't freeze it or use high heat which destroys a lot of the benefits.

http://www.xtend-life.com/Product/Green_Lipped_Mussel_Powder/Ingredients.aspx

 

[eb24]

Haha guess the bump helped! 

 

[chloespriestess]

No, she no longer has Thyroid issues. We had that cured by the iodine treatment. Arthritis isn't really bad either; she seems a little stiff when the weather change in late fall. Since I started her on Glyco-Flex she is much better. She is in pretty good health for an old girl. It helps that she is very docile; easier to take care of than otherwise.

You only need a tiny bit of Pill Pockets to cover Azodyl capsule. The capsule is size 1. I don't even disguise the shape of it. It looks like I just painted it brown. Azodyl maker Vetoquinol recommends giving Azodyl as whole but they say that you can give it with small amount of food. They have specific guide line to this, so check their web site. In fact, I used to give it to her kneaded into small amount of Pill Pockets until I found out that she willingly takes it whole.

Azodyl has some odor, though not unpleasant  and taste like bran? (My cat does not tell me how she thinks of it.)

There is also a product similar to Azodyl called Renal Advanced Powder Kidney Support. This one, unlike Azodyl, doesn't have to be refrigerated. It can be sprinkled into the food. It is also significantly less costly. I just ordered it so we will see. I might have to put into gelatin capsules myself.

 

[feralvr]

The canned food that uses it is Ziwipeak. Green lipped mussels are farmed in NZ.

:

That's it!! Thanks!!