Is Fish Harmful to Cats?
What About Thiamine Deficiency in Cats?
Author: Rakib Talukder
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Cats usually love fish, but they should either avoid it or only eat it in small amounts. Fish is not a natural food for cats and cat owners should know that. Is fish harmful to cats? Raw fish is a risk and cats may be in danger of developing thiamine deficiency.
If this was the case, your cat could experience loss of appetite, seizures, and also some gastrointestinal problems. A regular consumption of raw fish in your cat’s diet may also lead to death. You should avoid feeding your cat predatory fish, such as salmon, as this fish may contain a high level of heavy metals and other toxins.
Tilefish, mackerel, and shark are the worst contaminated, so you should not use them in your cat’s diet. There are also other reasons why cats should not eat fish. Most cats are sensitive or even allergic to fish. Fish-based foods are usually high in histamine, a protein which may lead to allergic reactions.
Fish can cause a food allergy, and studies have shown that fish is responsible for a large percentage of allergies in cats. Fish is one of the top three most frequent feline food allergens.
Cats are not able to synthesize vitamin K from fish-based foods, so it is necessary to add a supplement to cat foods that contain more than 25% fish. Also, some studies have linked hyperthyroidism with fish-based foods.
Although fish is bad for your cat and it can lead to many health issues, it does not mean that you should avoid it entirely. You can give your feline fish once in a while, and your cat will love you for it. If you want to feed your cat fish, it is better to feed your cat canned tuna, but in small amounts.
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Canned tuna should only be an occasional addition to your cat’s diet, not a regular part. If cats consume too much tuna and if tuna is a regular part of their diet, as stated above, it can lead to thiamine deficiency. Our recommendation is to feed your cat canned or frozen sardines because they are an excellent source of omega 3 fatty acids and protein.
You can also dehydrate sardines to make a delicious treat for your cat. Sardines are safe for your cat, but it is best to use them only as occasional treats. You can chop sardines or slice them into smaller pieces, and your cat will be happy.
As you have seen in this article, you should avoid feeding fish to your cat. Although fish is an excellent source of protein, it may have harmful effects on your cat’s health. Fish is not a natural feline food, so it should not be a regular part of your cat’s diet.
Nothing bad will happen to your cat if you feed her a small amount of fish, but if you include fish in your cat’s regular diet, it is not okay. If you feed your cat fish, you should only do it once in a while. It is best to choose canned tuna or sardines to feed your cat.
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“Is Fish Harmful to Cats? Thiamine Deficiency in Cats”
Guest Author: Rakib Talukder is the founder of Self Pet Care, a Resourceful blog dedicated to providing honest pet care advice and information for pets lovers.
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MY QUESTION FOR YOU TODAY:
Do you feed your cat fish?
Were you aware of the dangers?
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Her own animal experience is vast, having raised and rescued Alpine Goats, Chickens, Turkeys, Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pigs, Turtles, Raccoons, Cats, Dogs, and even an Opossum and Bearded Dragon.
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If fish is bad for cats, why do WE eat it? I would think it would be bad for us too. Be that as it may, anyone with a lick of sense knows to not feed their animals or themselves a mono diet. It’s not hard to look up nutrient lists on nutritiondata.self.com. My cats get mackerel, but it’s not their only food. They get full-fat yogurt and sour cream, and nutritional yeast which is loaded with the full set of B vitamins, thiamin is B1 and part of that group. I just leave it in a dish for them and they lick it up as needed. They also get chicken livers and beef liver which should have about all the nutrients they would be short of in the other type of food. They get meat-based kibble with rice, as we know most of the grains and potatoes and chickpeas etc are contaminated with Round-Up as that is how they make a quick harvest, I was shocked and disappointed to find out my favorite, Taste of the Wild was loaded with Round-Up too. So we went back to Diamond lamb and rice. It probably still has round up in it,(Rice doesn’t have the Round-Up issue probably because it is in A wet paddy) but that’s why I supplement my animals with extras. I also raise chickens and rabbits for meat and eggs and I make them scrambled eggs and cheese. My farm animals get organic feed and grass growing. So they have vitamin K2 in the fat, egg yolks, milk, and skin. And when I butcher, the cats gather around for a liver and organ feast.
I’ve heard this so many times! But still, the first thing people think to feed cats is fish! And from people with cats with allergies to fish and fish products, it’s nearly impossible to find a food without some fish component (like fish oil). I feed him a wet food treat that sometimes contains fish – sometimes not. He definitely prefers the fish though … much like I prefer doughnuts even though I know they aren’t good for me 😉