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| tuna meat |
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| human grade canned tuna |
Most veterinarians say that canned tuna for human consumption is bad for cats. But exactly why is it bad? Can I give it to my cats as treats? Is a little bit dangerous?
I did a little research and found out the following facts:
It seems that feeding canned tuna to cats as their primary food is the culprit. Cats can’t survive on an exclusive diet of tuna. An occasional treat should not hurt them.
The reasons vets say tuna is bad are:
(1) Tuna is high in poly-unsaturated fatty acids. If a cat is fed this as their main diet, these fatty acids oxidize and destroy vitamin E, which can lead to a disease called “steatitis” otherwise known as “yellow fat disease”. This disease is very painful for cats. It causes lumps in the fatty tissue which harden, and the cat feels pain when moving.
(2) Tuna contains mercury. Mercury is toxic and can cause brain and neurological damage. If a cat is fed canned tuna as their primary food, mercury can build up in their systems. According to the EPA, people and animals should limit their tuna intake to keep the mercury consumed to a safe level. (see Environmental Working Group - Tuna Calculator and NRDC Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish ) A “human” weighing 10 lbs should not eat more than .3 ounces a week of Albacore or .9 ounces a week of chunk light tuna.
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| Sparky waiting for a tuna treat |
Albacore tuna has more mercury than chunk light tuna. It seems that albacore tuna is a larger older fish, and mercury accumulates in them over the years. The chunk light tuna is mainly from smaller skipjack tuna and other smaller tuna species. Albacore tuna contains 3 times as much mercury as chunk light tuna. (See What is Chunk Light Tuna on Chow.com)
(3) Tuna lacks the proper nutrients for cats such as taurine. Taurine is an amino acid which is normally added to cat food (dry and canned). Cats can’t manufacture it from themselves - but it is needed for their heart, digestion, eyes and reproductive systems. In the wild, cats get taurine from birds and mice (it is found in muscle tissue and it is abundant in brains). (See Petcare Tips “Taurine and Cats” ). Tuna also lacks copper, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B and vitamin E.
(4) If you think raw tuna is better - think again. Raw fish contains thiaminase - an enzyme that destroys the thiamine vitamin (B1). Be aware that cooking destroys the thiaminase enzyme so canned tuna doesn’t contain it.
Reading your article on "Tuna and Cats" made me feel better. I was at the local pet food store and the owners told me never to feed a cat tuna not even as a treat, etc. This horrified me. I felt so guilty...what have I done to my cat. So I did some searching myself. Your article has made me feel at ease with giving my cat tuna, especially since I only give it to her once every two months (if that). So now I don't have any guilt and tuna never has and never will be her primary food...it is just a treat and she loves it.
ReplyDeleteThank for this.
I sometimes give my cats (I have 6) the water/juice from the human tuna when I strain it. They love drinking it, as a treat, yet they don't like eating the tuna meat. Is that tuna water okay to give them once in awhile. Their main diet is good quality catfood..
ReplyDeleteHow about fresh sardines? can I give them to my cats?
ReplyDeleteIt's the old story, just make sure that your pet, just like you, has a balanced diet!!
ReplyDeleteI don't give my cats tuna, per se. When I make tuna noodles, once every couple months, I drain the water from chunk light, NOT ALBACORE, & give it to them. Whatever bits wind up in the water from the draining process is what they get. Been doing this for 30 years & my cats have lived to their late teens.
ReplyDeleteYou should not give fish in general as the main part of a cats diet because they do not have the vitamins and taurine needed for cats to be healthy. I think as long as you just give sardines as a treat once in a while and not as the main part of their diet, your cats should be fine. Of course, you have to remove the bones - fish bones generally can get caught in their throats and digestive tract!!
ReplyDeleteIt should be fine as an occasional treat.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your article,and I'm wondering if I can still give him the petfood tuna mixed with red snapper, he usually licks up all the juices first, and nibbles on the snapper but doesn't really like the tuna. He's such a fussy eater that I've tried just about everything until he liked this one. He also likes raw fish like snapper, which he gets as a treat, but from reading all the info, maybe its not a good idea to give him this as well. Appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks again for the interesting article.
ReplyDeleteI think that any kind of fish is bad for your cat as a regular diet. He can have the snapper if you give it just as an occasional treat. Why not try a canned petfood in a whitefish flavor (that's pretty smelly and he may go for it). Try some chunky varieties as well. Let me know what happens. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThe vet recommendation for using the juice is: "The most you should do is to use the water that is drained off from the can of tuna (not the oil), and drizzle it over their dry cat food once or twice a month.
ReplyDelete"I was at the local pet food store and the owners told me never to feed a cat tuna not even as a treat" When someone running a store or when you read an an article, ask yourself, what qualifications do these people have to make such bold statements.
Get answers about YOUR animals from YOUR vet
Remember that anyone on the Internet can claim to be anything. Don't trust letters behind a person's name or anyone calling themselves Dr. influence you into believing that they know what they are writing about.. Get the truth from vet collages or from Harvard Medical or Johns Hopkins - they definitely know what they are writing about.
my family will give our cats the tuna water that we drain off when we make tuna for us. They love it as a treat and has never harmed them.
ReplyDeleteTaurin is great specially if you are suffering from anxiety since it can reduce some of the symptoms of anxiety. ..`';
ReplyDeleteHottest content article on our personal online site
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My mom asked her vet about feeding her 16 year old cat tuna. He said feed him as much as he would like to eat. She has been feeding him a half a can of tuna a day for 4 months. I decided to look it up. Liz above can't be more wrong. YOUR vet is just one opinion. Liz is right about not knowing who is behind any info on the internet. That is why you spend about 45 minutes cross referencing info on the net as I just have. The info above is repeated throughout the internet regarding tuna. Mom's vet is over 60 and still has his files stacked to the roof instead of storing them on the computer. Young vets are best; they keep up with the times and have not become "numb".
ReplyDeleteThank you for answering all the questions i had on this topic... and u saved me a ton of research. I barely got started with my own research on the matter when i found this page, but u confirmed what they all said and then some!! Many thanks! Kitties thank u too. Woo hoo, tuna juice gettin mixed in with their homemade catfood tonight!! i have one old lady kitty who swears she is both vegetarian and refusing to eat 'people food', except tuna of course. lol
ReplyDeleteOmg i have 2 cats one 5 and one 6 only ever fed them chunk tuna drained vet after their ops said give them bland food like tuna. They have dry food and conditioning treats too feel awful now case ive harmed them.tuna was all they liked to eat with dry food too. Do i just stop now and change diet i guess so.
ReplyDeleteAccording to all the naysayers, your cats should be dead. Maybe tuna isn’t the poison that they say it is. Maybe all this negativity surrounding tuna is b. s. posted by pet treat manufacturers, to scare us into paying their ridiculous prices. All things in moderation, but if it’s safe to feed my kids a tuna casserole, a teaspoon of tuna every day isn’t going to hurt my cat, as long as she also eats her pet food.
ReplyDelete