# Fish bad for cats



## brutis and miep (May 14, 2006)

I brought home a sample of Fromm cat food. It's Salmon and Oatmeal. May cats love it, but I am concerned about feed all fish. I've heard that fish contains alot of ash that can cause UTI's. I've also heard that only poor quality fish contains alot of ash. Fromm claims that because they use salmon it's high quality fish that does not contain alot of ash. Now, I've never actually read a scientific source that says that lots of fish causes UTI's.
Further, I've heard that fish is addictive. I would hate for them to eat nothing but fish as I like to give my kiddo's variety.
Anyone have any answers?


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Yes, fish is not good if your cat is prone to UTI's and it is said to be addictive, but it is also high in mercury which is bad. Even people should not eat it every day. I think it's fine once in a while but I would not make it a staple in their diet.


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## TAsunder (Apr 6, 2004)

Not all fish is high in mercury, but rarely are you able to verify the source of the fish used in cat foods. I feed fish-based foods only once in a while as a sort of treat, and otherwise stick to poultry.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Unless it specifically says "ocean-caught" or "wild" the salmon in your cat food is mostly likely farm-raised salmon, which is deficient in many nutrients and more susceptible to containing toxins.



> Seven of ten farmed salmon purchased at grocery stores in Washington DC, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon were contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at levels that raise health concerns, according to independent laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group.
> 
> These first-ever tests of farmed salmon from U.S. grocery stores show that farmed salmon are likely the most PCB-contaminated protein source in the U.S. food supply. On average farmed salmon have 16 times the dioxin-like PCBs found in wild salmon, 4 times the levels in beef, and 3.4 times the dioxin-like PCBs found in other seafood. The levels found in these tests track previous studies of farmed salmon contamination by scientists from Canada, Ireland, and the U.K. In total, these studies support the conclusion that American consumers nationwide are exposed to elevated PCB levels by eating farmed salmon.
> ...
> If farmed salmon with the average PCB level found in this study were caught in the wild, *EPA advice would restrict consumption to no more than one meal a month.* But because farmed salmon are bought, not caught, their consumption is not restricted in any way.


(my emphasis added)

from: http://www.ewg.org/reports/farmedPCBs/es.php

If human consumption should be restricted, then you don't want to feed it to your cats every day, either.


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## brutis and miep (May 14, 2006)

Wow, thanks! Fromm explains that their salmon is farmed raised and therefore has less ash, but I guess it has other stuff that's harmful anyways. Kitties will just have to stick with Solid Gold dry.

I feed a 1/2 dry 1/2 canned diet. I rotate between fish cans one day and nonfish the next, just because I wasn't sure about fish. Only problem is my female barely eats canned if it's not fish. On the nonfish days she takes two licks and leaves it. Do you think a 1/2 a can of fish everyother day is bad?

The fish formulas are Solid Gold, Eagle Pack Salmon and Shrimp, and Nutro Salmon and Shrimp if it makes a difference.


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## moggiegirl (May 15, 2005)

I think it's better nutrition if the cat gets other sources of meat besides fish. Read the label to see if there are other ingredients besides fish. 

So far, there haven't been any vet cases of cats with mercury poisoning. I think pet food companies have to test their fish based foods for mercury levels before putting them on the market. We can sue pet food companies for making our pets sick and companies can lose millions of dollars. I don't think they're willing to risk that. They have to be secure about what they're formulating before they can put it on the market. But I would avoid feeding tuna-based cat foods on a regular basis and see if you can get your cat eating foods that don't have fish at the top of the list. You can certainly rotate the fish foods into the diet as a treat. But I think it's much more balanced and nutritious to see if the fish is combined with other ingredients such as chicken liver, turkey, beef and so forth and if you can perhaps rotate in some cans that don't have fish.


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## TAsunder (Apr 6, 2004)

And if you insist on feeding tuna to your cats, go for the light tuna and not the regular albacore tuna, if you want to be safer in terms of mercury.


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## roseeden (May 18, 2005)

Oceanfishes are often safer than regular fish. Since they are usually "waste" from fish-catching operations.

They are unsuitable for human consumption because most of them are too small to be made into fillets. However, it works at an advantage for cat foods since the fishes made into cat food are not big enough to contain Mercury deposits. They are too young for that to happen.


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## Cearbhaill (Dec 28, 2005)

TAsunder said:


> And if you insist on feeding tuna to your cats, go for the light tuna and not the regular albacore tuna, if you want to be safer in terms of mercury.


Human canned tuna is an especially bad idea as it can lead to a vitamin E deficiency and steatitis. More information here.

Fish flavored cat foods are safe if they contain low levels of magnesium- like 0.025- 0.30%. It is too much magnesium that causes the problem with fish like sardines, salmon etc., but if it is a food specifically formulated for cats then the magnesium has been reduced and it is fine to feed freely IMO.


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