How bad is it to feed fish?

[franksmom]

So I have been going through a terrible time with my four year old cat who had a hairball blockage and was not eating very well and we ended up having to syringe feed him for a few days (more info can be read here). He is back to eating normally but normally for him is not very much. Feeding him has always been a struggle, I used to have to hand feed him wet food as a kitten. We have noticed he eats significantly more food if we give him fish flavours- Tiki cat chicken and ahi tuna and tiki cat chicken and wild salmon to be exact. He has been eating about 1.5- 2 ounces of either flavour a day and about 1-1.5 ounces of the chicken flavour. He also eats Orijen dry food which also has some fish in it (I would love to stop giving him dry but he will just not eat enough wet food!) and he eats freeze dried chicken and since he has been sick I have allowed my mother to give him chicken flavoured temptations for the extra calories. 

I know feeding fish is not ideal and I had limited his intake of the fish flavours to once a week but I am thinking I should just continue giving it to him once a day- is this a bad idea? The kitten will also be getting it to, but she actually doesn't love fish surprisingly so does not gorge herself like she does with everything else- is it ok to let her eat a bit each day because my four year old eats more when the kitten is eating next to him?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Well, when I was feeding canned, I was in the exact same boat.  My cats only liked the fish flavors.  AT least yours like the chicken/fish combos. Mine wouldn't even go for those, so I figure you're one step ahead of me

.  And since chicken is listed first on those you mentioned, I'm guessing there is more chicken than fish in the cans. 

The way I look at it, it's better for him to eat than not, so if it's got to be fish, so be it.  And maybe you can start mixing more "just chicken" canned food into the ones he loves, slowly, over time, until eventually he's eating much more chicken than fish.  Or have you tried other flavors too.  There's all kinds of stuff out there...rabbit, lamb, venison, quail...you name it, it comes in a can these days!  It's just a matter of finding things they like.

Odd, everyone's cats seem to love Tiki, and none of mine will go near it

 

[carolina]

Franksmom, I would not feed daily....... specially in food like that...... BUT - here is what you CAN try, since he likes it so much - try using fish as toppings :bigthumb:

Get some Freeze dry salmon and some bonito flakes - try putting a bit on some good wet food to entice him to eat - you can then reduce the amount until you have only the food and no toppings.

Generally they put the entire fish into the canned/dry foods so the mineral levels are too high,..... But by feeding as a topping you are at least feeding the flesh only, avoiding that issue. Although some fish meats are naturally higher in Phos.

Another problem of fish is that it is highly addictive and of course the bigger the fish, the higher in the chain and the higher the mercury levels.

So there is a bunch of issues that you are dealing with.

Personally, Bugsy had his UTI when he was on a fish based DRY. I can't tell you if it was because it was dry, of fish, but it was a high protein fish based, and it was quick.

If it was my cat, I would use as toppings - and would try Freeze dry chicken as toppings too, since he likes it - crumble into a powder on the top of the food.

Another topping that works REALLY well, in spite of the ingredients - is Fortiflora - not used as a probiotic, but sprinkled lightly on the top of the food.

Good luck hun

 

[carolina]

Well, when I was feeding canned, I was in the exact same boat.  My cats only liked the fish flavors.  AT least yours like the chicken/fish combos. Mine wouldn't even go for those, so I figure you're one step ahead of me :high5: .  And since chicken is listed first on those you mentioned, I'm guessing there is more chicken than fish in the cans. 

The way I look at it, it's better for him to eat than not, so if it's got to be fish, so be it.  And maybe you can start mixing more "just chicken" canned food into the ones he loves, slowly, over time, until eventually he's eating much more chicken than fish.  Or have you tried other flavors too.  There's all kinds of stuff out there...rabbit, lamb, venison, quail...you name it, it comes in a can these days!  It's just a matter of finding things they like.

Odd, everyone's cats seem to love Tiki, and none of mine will go near it

That's another option! mixing the foods little by little until you have very little to no fish

 

[franksmom]

Thank you both for the advice and I will try all of your helpful tips! I already use the freeze dried chicken as a topper but I will try to find the salmon one. Fortiflora is also a great suggestion it does work well to get him to eat so I will keep using it.

I think I am also going to try the wysong epigen 90 if I can find it instead of the Orijen because it doesn't have fish so that should cut down on his fish intake too.

It is so hard because he just loves the tuna and chicken flavour and it makes me so happy to see him eat more than half a can, but I think decreasing the tuna in it or adding a fish topper may do the trick!

 

[cat person]

<snipped>Well, when I was feeding canned, I was in the exact same boat.<snipped> 

The cats, that I had growing up (I am 30) are still alive. My parents still feed them all canned fish "flavored" food. They are pure DLH's. The cats are in there late teens (16+) and are just fine.

When I was feeding canned food to my pure domestics (I am feeding whole live prey for years now) I always gave them at least 30% fish "flavored" cans. Furthermore, when both my foundation hybrids (HP F1 Bengal and F3 Savannah) where alive, they where given fish. In whole prey form and before that in canned food. When they where getting canned food, I just made sure, I used a good brand like Evo.

<snipped>The way I look at it, it's better for him to eat than not, so if it's got to be fish, so be it.<snipped>

. Plus, I really and truly believe, that if your pure domestic cat, is not prone to urinary issues or is NOT prone to health issues in general (stones, crystals, allergies etc) fish is JUST FINE!

I can tell you my pure Leptailurus serval loved fish. He loved to go "fishing". I used to stock his pool with Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow trout) and Salvelinus fontinalis (Brook Trout). The Serval in nature would consume fish. Of course, it was not different species of trout

. But, I did not have any "cheaply available" Protopterus annectens  (African Lung Fish)

.

My F1 Bengal (theoretical twig value of 62.5% Prionailurus bengalensis) ate Pimephales promelas ("feeder minnows"), Tilapia (various species) plus the trout species given to my Serval.

When my F3 Savannah was alive, he was given the same assortment of fish. All of which he loved.

The pure domestics I own right now, eat all the above fish, in live prey form and have done fine for years. So did my pure exotic and foundation hybrids.

<snipped>Odd, everyone's cats seem to love Tiki, and none of mine will go near it

<snipped>

None of my cats (exotic, hybrid, or pure domestic) like Tiki either

!