No Fish For Kittens? Why?

[auntie]

We’re getting a new kitten (12 weeks old) on Saturday. She is going to come with some of her current food, so we can transition her onto a food that’s easier for me to get. Currently she’s on “Chicken Soup for the Soul” wet & dry kitten food—I’m switching that to Wellness grain-free dry kitten food. My problem is wet kitten food—I got a few cans of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken & Trout kitten food, only to have a few people tell me not to let kittens eat fish. Why is this? The people who told me this “rule” didn’t seem to know. I also found some Wellness wet food for kittens—without fish—but I would like to not waste the cans I already bought. Also Wellness is pâté which isn’t my favorite. Any insights?

 

[Elfilou]

Never heard of this "rule" before but people in general seem to have reservations about feeding fish, for their own reasons. My concern is mainly mercury, but my cat loooooves tuna (the only wet food she will eat with clear joy) so I can't take it away from her completely - we all gotta live a little. I feed fish once every two weeks.

I personally wouldn't feed a cat of any age any type of fish on a daily basis but it also really depends on how much fish is in the food. Either way I wouldn't worry if I were you and I certainly wouldn't let the food go to waste. Don't know if you rotate between foods or just feed generally the same flavours/brands but having -some- fish in the diet has is generally a good thing from what I know.

 

[Ardina]

The concerns with fish are:
1) It's addictive and some cats will start to refuse to eat anything without fish in it
2) Mercury content as Elfilou mentioned
3) It's been linked to both hyperthyroidism and asthma
4) It's highly allergenic
5) They can cause thiamine and vitamin E deficiencies (though this is more of a problem for raw fish, not fish in nutritionally complete cat foods)

I wouldn't worry about using up the cans you already bought. Most of the concerns come up with long term feeding of fish.

 

[minniesunshine]

We’re getting a new kitten (12 weeks old) on Saturday. She is going to come with some of her current food, so we can transition her onto a food that’s easier for me to get. Currently she’s on “Chicken Soup for the Soul” wet & dry kitten food—I’m switching that to Wellness grain-free dry kitten food. My problem is wet kitten food—I got a few cans of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken & Trout kitten food, only to have a few people tell me not to let kittens eat fish. Why is this? The people who told me this “rule” didn’t seem to know. I also found some Wellness wet food for kittens—without fish—but I would like to not waste the cans I already bought. Also Wellness is pâté which isn’t my favorite. Any insights?

Don't do it! Once u give them fish they're addicted n it's so hard to get them to change n it's definitely NOT good for them. Maybe once in awhile as a special treat dinner. But I wouldn't do it as kittens. I wish I had know this 12 yes ago when I gave my Minnie weruva Asian fusion recommended by the pet store. Well it's 12 years n she still wants it n I have tried so many different foods to get her off. Tuna is absolutely the worst n so is tilapia. Good luck with your new furbabies. Please read all u can about foods before u get them addicted n dry food too! That's another regret. But I didn't know

 

[auntie]

Elfilou that’s funny...children in public school here may only have tuna once a month, also for mercury reasons. Sounds like you have a good plan. I have been hearing more like—fish is going to cause some kind of reaction due to weird proteins or something. I guess I could just google it, but that’s more boring Anyway you could always give your cat some canned salmon instead of tuna—small fish have way less mercury

 

[LTS3]

It's perfectly ok to feed seafood once in awhile The cans you have likely won't expire for awhile (check the can) so you can still feed them as part of a rotation with meats such as chicken and beef. Seafood once a week or even less than that is plenty.

The same goes for seafood treats. A few treats occasionally won't hurt a cat or result in a cat whos addicted to eating it.

Can I Feed My Cat A Fish-based Or Fish-flavored Diet?

 

[MissMolly08]

Everyone else covered the fish issues.

I did just want to point out too...you mentioned pate not being your favorite... why is that? Pates are usually much better for cats. Chunks/shreds tend to have gravy which is carb heavy and cats do not need carbs. You also get more food for the price with pate instead of paying for a can of 70% gravy/broth and only 30% meat.

 

[abyeb]

I think it is mainly the mercury issue. It’s all a question of quantity, though. A little fish once in a while is fine. I give Charlie salmon treats in moderation and he loves them!

 

[auntie]

M MissMolly08
I have had better experience getting a picky cat to eat the Wellness “Minced” food, which only has a little bit of gravy. I guess I inherited my cat’s pickiness! Probably the new kitten will like pâté just fine