Has anyone heard that this food causes eye problems in cats? I was in Target purchasing Friskies ocean whitefish and tuna and the store clerk, who says she does rescue work, told me that a cat on a fish diet will eventually develop serious eye problems even detached retina caused by something in this food. This is the only food my calico will eat. I have been mixing it with Purina indoor food.
She also told me that a cat that can't get rid of hairballs will develop severe intestinal problems. My tabby throws up food now and then, but no hairballs. The clerk suggested that I give her Pro-pet hairball eliminator. My tabby is going to be 15 in March and is very healthy. What do you think? Ever heard of this?
Next time I'm at the vet I'll be asking these questions. Just curious if anyone has heard of this or has experience with it. TIA
We have had our calico "Pretty" for a month or two now since she adobted us. We do not buy commercial food but we do feed her fish, scraps from what we eat, canned sardines, chicken with bones, and canned wild salmon, etc. I add other healthy things, too. I do not see any hairballs but in the pet stores I see a number of items for these. If she is 15 ~ you must be doing something right! Blessings Jayna
*Member of The K.E.W.E.L. Jewels Club* The word HalleluYah means "Praise ye Yah". Yahshua is coming soon!
Posts: 388 | Location: Fountain Valley, CA 5 mi. from Disneyland | Registered: Jan 04, 2005
Sounds like your target clerk is a naive victim of urban legend, or internet "knowledge." Dont sweat it. Too much fish/tuna can be a bad idea, but that just means dont feed yout cat lots of canned fish. And if your kitty is 15, and hairballs have not been an issue in the past, again, dont sweat it.
However, Greenangel, I strongly recommend that you get your cat on CAT food.I know that others here have said the same thing, and you were not convinced, but really, what are you trying to accomplish in avoiding buying cat food?
This message has been edited. Last edited by: muscat,
My calico, Spot, won't eat anything but Friskies canned salmon. She's 16 years old, and has been refusing all other food for the past year. My vet knows this, and he isn't worried about it.
Spot is high thyroid, I shove pills down her throat for it morning and evening. She weighs less than the vet says she should, so he encourages me to indulge her, give her anything she'll eat, as much as she wants. So far the best way go get food in her has been Frisies Salmon in shallow dishes, while restraining Dax. He's obnoxious and won't let Spot eat.
Posts: 2759 | Location: Omaha, Nebraska, USA | Registered: Oct 13, 2002
My elder cat has recently had difficulty keeping dry food down. The vet isn't too concerned about it as long as she keeps something down. Right now that happens to be fancy feast grilled salmon and grilled turkey. We alternate between the two and she looks and seems to feel soooo much better. I think if your kitty is 15 and doing well on the fish, stick with what works!
Since adding canned cat food along with dry (per suggestion by the vet...especially for one of my kitties), the only canned food that they BOTH like is fancy feast tuna...but it has to be the grilled kind. I don't know why cats can be so picky.LOL
I have not heard anything about fish cat food causing any problems. The only thing that my vet told me was to be sure to feed the girls canned "cat" food instead of canned "people" food. I didn't ask why. The way I see it, I am not the professional so I just follow the advice given.
Hey Muscat (or anyone else)...do you know what is the difference between canned cat food tuna and canned people food tuna? Just wondering~
I agree that if your kitty is 15 yrs old...then you are definitely doing something right! May you have many more wonderful years with your kitty~
Paula
"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened"
Posts: 2109 | Location: Kentucky, USA | Registered: Oct 19, 2005
I think it would have to do something with the way human tuna is packed. I don't know if vegtable oil or whatever they call that stuff is good for cats. Or maybe human tuna has too much Omega. I'm not sure the reason, but my vet also warned me about it. Once in a blue moon ok to give a little bit, but not alot. My cat won't eat canned food, only dry and lots of it, but she'll go nuts when I open up a can of tuna. So I have to make sure she's in another room before I make a tuna fish sandwich.
Muscat, I want "Pretty" to remain pretty and well. That's why I care what I feed her. (Yesterday, after reading the labels, I did purchase two cans of Organics by Nature at Petsmart to give her a little change.) Many (or most?) pet products contain animal bi-products (i.e. they could have diseased or rendered animal parts, innards, and who knows what else?) Why do you think that most of them are so cheap? I would not feed a cat a lot of tuna because this particular fish has a lot of mercury. Wild salmon and sardines are better fish choices. Our own diets determine much about our own health ~ so does our kitty's!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: greenangel,
*Member of The K.E.W.E.L. Jewels Club* The word HalleluYah means "Praise ye Yah". Yahshua is coming soon!
Posts: 388 | Location: Fountain Valley, CA 5 mi. from Disneyland | Registered: Jan 04, 2005
My 15 year old tabby eats only dry food and she's the one who throws up her food. This a.m. she threw up the water that she just consumed! Probably drank too much - she'll only drink from the running faucet in my master bath! Talk about picky and spoiled! She's got the prettiest green eyes so I'm a softy.
The long-haired calico is the one who eats the fish. I do mix in some dry and today I also added some chicken. She didn't snub her food so maybe there's hope! She's very lean but eats like a horse! She's also beautiful with a black triangle on her nose, one orange front leg and one black front leg and 4 white paws.
I also have a long-haired all black male with golden eyes. He's no problem with food; eats anything you give him and everyone else's! Even the dogs' food if he can get away with it which doesn't happen too often! All my furbabies are rescues.
Human vs cat tuna: Canned tuna, as you'd make a sandwich from, is just cooked tuna, packed in water or oil. Pure fish. Canned "tuna" or other fish cat-food is cat food that has it's primary protein source as tuna. Just as a canned dog food may say "chicken" it is not pure chicken. There may be some sort of pure tuna "snack" out there for cats that I dont know about, but too much fish can cause bladder problems in some cats, so just dont overdo it on the fish.
greenangel, I understand that you care about your kitty, which is why I'm concerned. You said: "We do not buy commercial food but we do feed her fish, scraps from what we eat, canned sardines, chicken with bones, and canned wild salmon, etc. I add other healthy things, too."
That sounds like a lot of fish, and chicken with bones is not a great idea (raw= samonella, cooked= brittle dangerous bones). Adding scraps of what you eat doesn't tell me much, but it just does not sound consistent or advisable. Cats and dogs really do better on LESS variety. I think you are risking poor nutrition, pancreatitis, heart disease and dietary allergies/IBD.
Its my understanding cat food, no matter what the flavor, contains all the nutrients a cat needs. Some of it comes from the animal that is featured in the food name (ie, Spot's favorite "Pacific Salmon"). But some of it comes from parts of the animal humans don't normally eat, or from plants, or is produced specifically to go in petfood. I will continue to feed my cats purchased cat food. Mine are 16, 14, and 10 years old. Apparently I'm doing something right.
Posts: 2759 | Location: Omaha, Nebraska, USA | Registered: Oct 13, 2002
If you watch outdoor cats who are hunters, they always eat the animal by products. It's what they prefer. They always seem to prefer eating the gross stuff out of the animal and leave the remaining carcass on your doorstep. My BIL's cat is a 16 year old hunter. Brings everyting home, possum, snakes, rodents, squirrels, birds, and things twice his size. This cat's name is Garfield, and he lives up to his name.
I give my cats canned food in the morning, and another can at night. I also have dry food for them during the day when I'm not there. There's always water. One of the inside cats, will only drink water in the bathroom sink, and it has to be warm. If it's not the right temperature, he won't drink it. One of the others loves milk. I know it upsets their tummies, but I can't resist those eyes. I do not give them table scraps. And I only give them fish about once a week.They love tuna, ad Friskies whitefish. Everytime they hear me open a can they all come running whether or not its for them.
Posts: 580 | Location: Chadbourn, NC USA | Registered: Jan 06, 2004
Cats can be so finnicky, sometimes it just doesn't matter what we think is best for them.
My cats free feed on dry food. Once in a while, I'll offer them some canned food or bits of cooked meat. They almost always reject the cooked meat. They used to like some canned tuna, but not anymore.
I had read about the byproducts and thought they were gross, so I switched from the Friskies to canned brands that didn't list that on the label. Guess what. Apparently, they prefer the byproducts! So far, they have rejected every flavor of that Harmony brand and the Paul Newman brand. Well, they don't get that much canned food anyway.
I didn't know that hunting cats go for the byproducts. I did read that canned byproducts can include parts from animals whose muscle meat was rejected for various reasons, including illness or disease. That's why I started trying to avoid it. But, if other posters have had success with it with their cats in their teens, then Go Byproducts!
Human food is missing some of the nutrients needed by cat, specifically Taurine. Commercial cat food has these nutrients added. If you MUST feed a cat a homemade diet, please supplement it. Cats can live on a 'raw' diet, but their eyes and other organs are affected. Discuss it with a vet, not the cashier at Target.
Posts: 55 | Location: South Carolina | Registered: Oct 28, 2008
I think moderation is always the key. True, cats on their own generally eat the whole (fill in the blank) small animal they catch, or close to it.
I think the commercial foods are fine, I try to stay at the mid to high end stuff, and I also offer the dry food all the time. I have always kind of rotated the food they get, they haven't had issues. when I cook chicken for myself, I often "share" that with the cats. Same for any fish I bake or grill.
I have a sister who is absolutely certain that fish will cause instant death to cats. She, too, talked to "someone" who claimed to have some kind of subculture understanding of how pet food companies are all out to kill our pets. Sometimes people just want to think outside the box, what can you do?
Posts: 1905 | Location: San Diego, CA | Registered: Sep 18, 2002
We have had our calico "Pretty" for a month or two now since she adobted us. We do not buy commercial food but we do feed her fish, scraps from what we eat, canned sardines, chicken with bones, and canned wild salmon, etc. I add other healthy things, too. I do not see any hairballs but in the pet stores I see a number of items for these. 
Blessings 
Jayna
May you have many more wonderful years with your kitty~ 
Many (or most?) pet products contain animal bi-products (i.e. they could have diseased or rendered animal parts, innards, and who knows what else?) Why do you think that most of them are so cheap? 
Wild salmon and sardines are better fish choices. 