Cats & Tuna?

Generally speaking, tuna does not hve the minerals and vitamins that prepared cat food has. What the heck, if Pheobe is in her dotage (your words) then give her what she likes and try to add some suppliments along the line.

Isn't it Tuna that we shouldn't eat more than once a week because of the high mercury levels? I think I'd be alternating with other fish - what about cooking up some coley or something for her, to ring the changes a bit. Bulbaholic's point about nutrients still stands, though, coley won't solve that, but if fish is what she wants at her age, why not.

Thank you both...I figured that might be the case. She will eat Iams sometimes & they are packed with goodies so she should be ok.

why not ring the vet for advice. I hadnt realised that rabbits were not meant to have lettuce....

No many animals should have lettuce as its sopharific (spelt wrong me thinks...)!

If this is a cat in her 'dotage' to heck with discussions around what she should or shouldn't eat... feed her what she wants and if that is tinned tuna so what. If she is eating Iams then she will get all the minerals she needs. Our teo go on and off foods like the faddy Siamese madams that they are :-)

Hi lovely Phoebe....you look like a kitten xxx...:>)

Yes, let her have what she likes Fluff, they seem to know what is best for them.......like my Teddy who only eats co-op sandwhich ham and dry biscuits!!

Lord arn't cats funny Janey

Hi Fluff, how old is Phoebe? There are a few of us on GOY with older, fussy cats, my Jessy is 16. Has Phoebe lost weight? If she hasnt, I'm sure she's fine. The last time I went to the vets, they weighed Jessy and she had lost a little weight and I'm taking her back in 3 months time to make sure she hasnt lost any more.

She is a lovely looking cat.

You're not wrong there Moon_grower!...:o)

as it goes bones from a butchers arnt good for dogs and they definatly do fine without them.at her age everyone is right.why mend something that isnt broken .

Guy loves tuna and hates sardines I buy the tuna in water the little he eats once a week he thinks is a treat! So go for it?

a frend of mine has a cat that is geting alonge not shore how old but I have known it for at least ten years it is fit as a fiddle it loves to be teased looks like a young cat and eats nothing but tuna, I conpleatly agree that we should not eat that fish in fact there used to be a brand that bosted that it was not cuught in a net,and had a picture of an angler on the tin, I got in tutch with the firm and thretend to the trades discription people ,as longelineing with a line over two miles longe killing albertroses was nothing to do with the picture on the tin ,they promist to remove it and to be fair I have not seen it for over a year, and by the way all cat's naturaly eat meat except I belive the osalot,

I have three cats all have their favorite food fads( just like us)Ollie eats anything and every thing he was a stray who came to live with me smokey who loves gravy cat food with biscuits but cant eat any fishy cat food and lastley whiskas who is about 12 plus she was a rescue cat she just likes two bites and her water from the bath room sink . They are all in good health.

I've had a couple of cats who reached very old age (20ish) and both became somewhat fussy the older they got. I was just glad to give them something they would eat. A supplement sounds like a good idea though, if you can get it down her without too much trauma. Mind you, we all know 'how to give a cat a pill' now don't we! lol

Apparently they go off the packet food because their sense of smell deteriorates. My husband's old cat has to move from cat food to dog food, as it smells stronger. Given that tuna has a pretty strong pong, she can probably still smell it and therefore likes it. Give her what she likes I say - they do seem to know, and if she's not a gannet (like mine!) it shouldn't do her any harm. I would also try and hide a few biscuits in the tuna - so that she gets some of the nutrients from those. She'e lovely by the way - beautiful face.

Thats interesting about the smell as ours (10) gets older he certainly does'nt seem to enjoy the pouchs so much?

My cousin's a vet, and she says she tells cat owners to switch to dog food quite a bit - or at least the smelliest cat food they can find. I think it all smells pretty bad to be honest! I opened a Salmon with Sauce packet this morning..the stench...the cats both wolfed it down though, so no problems with their appetites.

you can make a dog into a vegitarian but you can not a cat .they are true predetors and need at least 45% protiene in there diet .all cats are meat eaters .osalot are bird eaters bye the way.all spiders are poisonas just some have not got enough venom or the teeth to put it into us.

Hiya Fluff. TC is about 15 and I get him the cheap' own brand' tuna. I either give it to him by itself or mix it in with pouch food. Loves both. Also leave down a bowl of the dry stuff, so he can have a nibble whenever he wants. :-))

I seem to recall my cat had a penchant for sardines as she got really old and doddery, as well as tuna and other fish

ok I stand corected but which cat is the fish eater, not pet's out of tins , by the way I know a lab that goes mad over mackral but just bites off and eats the heads,

Thanks so much everyone for your responses...I've just looked up dotage on the online dictionary...& it actually means senility & loss of mental faculties! Poor Phoebe...I do her an injustice...it's me that's in my dotage, not her!!
It's funny about rabbits & lettuce...we used to give hedgehogs milk - soaked bread & now we are told they want cat or dog food!
Phoebe is about 10 years old & has always been a littl'un...she hasn't lost any weight so hopefully she has many years left to sample her tuna!
It's also weird how we started feeding cats fish when they are natural meat - eaters...wonder why that started?
Thank you for your compliments, your advice & your different cats' preferences!! Fascinating stuff.

Maybe something to do with them being called 'Blacksmiths' Fluff.....they ended up in the garden pond !! lol :-))

Maybe that's the stronger smell then Bamboo? Could be.
I think there is a wild cat that eats fish Cliffo...it's actually called the 'fishing cat'.

Sue?....Wot you on about?! Have you been at the sherry again??!!! ;o)

NO !!! lol Will pm you :-)

There are several cat food brands that, how can I put this, smell and look better than the tinned tuna I get for myself! My very fussy cat loves hilife tuna (perfection and 70%). I used to get him Applaws and Almo but he seems to have gone off those. On a few odd occasions he has also been known to eat Tesco finest and Sainsbury's encore.............. Hope it's ok to mention brand names. Apart from spending money on their products, I'm not in any way connected with any cat food manufacturers or shops or supermarkets.

Thanks Redtabby...it's fine to mention brands as far as I'm concerned. Cats are renowned for being fussy aren't they? If my little poppet loves tuna she can jolly well have it...after all the joy she brings us she can have caviar if she wants!!

there is a cat called a fishing cat and jaguars regulerly include fish and turtles in there diet

I think cats came from the east where fish was perhaps more plentyful than meat?
Young hedgehogs get the trots with milk. So the hedgehog people advice us not to leave it for them, our hedgehogs love any cat food but if its tinned fish they toss the dish on the lawn. Strange pecking order we noticed the youngsters come first then the medium ones and lastly the oldest biggest one.

The One Show tonght had a bit about hedgepigs Denise...they were saying how low in numbers they are getting...if I put cat meat out for them do you think my cats would be a threat to the little ones or are their spines enough to put them off even at a young age?

Pheobe is gorgeous :o) I've got 2 cats 17 and 12, Penny & Ronaldo. They drive me crazy with their eatings habits. Ronaldo will only eat Ikea prawns £6.99 a bag!!!...and he would live on dry biscuits but he's not allowed due to urinary problems and Penny my old lady cat loves cheepo tuna in water along with various pouches. One week she will devour the gravy kind next week turns her nose up! But I love them just the same. I'm a vet receptionist and lots of our clients eat only tuna so I suppose its ok, obviously better to have a more varied diet but its better than not eating at all. Love to your fur baby, PPR.

Fluff my cat shows a healthy respect for them and will sit with me and watch. The hedgehogs get so used to the food they come at the same times everynight, one evening sitting on the patio one came, ignored me and the cat and sat under my chair. If anything is in their way they do a wide circle right round the garden and come from another direction. Dont put the food out till almost dark or cats will eat it. Putting it in a different part of the patio throws them and takes a while for them to find it. I leave water in a shallow bowl too but they tip it up. I love the way when its empty or if they dont like it they tip the bowl over on to the lawn and push it with their noses..

Hi Pennyp love the sound of your cats who's the boss in your house? prawns! never given Guy prawns feel guilty now, that hes missed out. But his favorite dinner is roast chicken its the only time he hangs around the kichen. Other wise at 4pm everyday he asks for his dinner. He drinks a lot of water but only from the basin in the ensuite wont drink from any other sink or a bowl because he likes to stand in the water while he drinks.

Oh no! Don't tell Phoebe you can get Iams prawns PPR...Lol !!! She too likes gravy one week then not the next. Also it must be freshly opened...not that Morrissey minds...he always hoovers up what she won't eat!

Ok Denise I'll give it a go feeding the hedgys...we have a sensor light so don't know if that will be set off or even put them off.
I was in a tent once with the light still on, having had fish & chips for supper & had left the remains by the 'door' & a hedgy came in & snuffled thru' the lot!!

I understand that the PETA organization (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has uncovered some unpleasant things about IAMs and Felix which might be worth looking up.

and I thought my frend was alone in spoiling her cat, I will bet you all do things like her, although you don't say, every morning she puts a specal blanket over her bed because that is were the cat likes to sleep , some times she has to get up in the middle of the night to let the cat out and wate for it to come back. it is a lovly cat though and has a lovly temperment, I think the world of it, but I am put in mind of a cat I had for 17years the only time it came to the house was 5oclock every day for it's grub, no dog dair enter our garden, and at one time the post woman used to leave our mail next door because the cat used chase her, you could not have it on your knee because it used to dig rather large claws in to your legs, dont get me wrong it was a frendly cat to the famaly and viseters but it could not stand the post lady, it was brought up with jackrussels and a lab who it was grate frends with and the jackrussels used to fight by roaling on there backs and striking out with front and back feet, wonder were they got that from? but the cat was the leader of the pack.

Lol Cliffo, I wonder if postmen/women often get attacked by cats! I think we all pander to our cats. Mine has a 'special' blanket on the bed too and I also used to have a cat who woke me up in the night to go out and I waited for her to come back, usually only a couple of minutes. It was a toilet trip for us both!! Now I've got a cat flap - cat uses it , I don't! lol

I had a cat flap fitted Lily ... TC took one look and looked at me as if to say, "If you think I'm going through THAT .......!!" I even tried to tempt him through with boiled ham .... reached his paw through the hole and nicked it !! lol :-))
He just sits and looks through it ... a window at his level....! haha

if a bird lands or strays into the cats visionthe cat will be through it like lighteningIT WILL NOT USE IT BECAUSE YOU WANT IT TOO,it is just showing you that it owns you not the other way round , know your place Sue, lol

Oh I know my place Cliffo, but I've had the flap for three years and he just looks through it ! :-))

We had our back door replaced earlier in the year and the cat flap had to be positioned slightly higher than before. B, myself and the joiner were all worried that they wouldn't use... in fact they like it better as they don't have to stoop to go through also this one is clear plastic so they can see out and the previous one was opaque which they did not like at all. Recently their best pal Jack a beautiful seal point siamese was killed on the road in front of our house - obviously on the way to visit our lady friends. Jack's owner told B that Pip was down they looking for Jack and crying for days.

Daisy only uses the cat flap when the butler is off duty Sue!

My cat uses the bathroom window as a cat flap because it opens over a lower roof so he can come and go Makes you jump if your in there and he knocks on the glass though.

The Egyptian cats used to hunt along the banks of the Nile.......probably where they got their love of fish from.........:o)

I enjoy tuna, but classify it as "people food". My cats enjoy the water it is packed in. I drain and squeeze the water out and don't have to dispose of it. The last thing I would give them is oil or oil packed tuna. Remember oil is a lubricate and if they drink oil, guess what gets lubed and guess who cleans up the mess.

I missed this question when you asked it Fluff :-/

I give my two tinned tuna in brine (they won't touch it in oil) twice a week.
The remainder of the time they get their own cat foods.

Does anyone get the same sort of 'looks' as me ? There are times when he turns his nose up at stuff he's eaten the day before ! Those are the days that only tuna will do ! lol Strange thing though, when I go on holiday and my neighbour comes in twice a day ..... I asked her and she says that he eats what ever pouch she puts down !! So it's official, they know that they can wind us around their little fingers .... and they do !!! lol :~)))