Is there any reason why I can't feed my cat on sardines forever?

butler_helen

I normally feed my cat whatever is the cheapest/on offer etc in the supermarkets but he's started to get fussy.

So to make the problem worse I bought some sardines to see whether the issue was his fussyness or a real reason why he wasn't eating.

I would revert back to normal cat food but the sardines are actually cheaper! They're 35p for a can of 3 in sunflower oil in Lidl. He loves them and one meal is one sardine so he would cost me a maximum of 2 cans a day (70p) in comparison to 5 pouches/1.5 tins which are nearer £1.

However, does anyone know or have any good links which show what I can/cant feed him? I have tried the vet but they're engaged and he isn't off there again until November 20th and in the meantime I dont want to kill him with kindness.

He is clearly happy with the situation but id really love to hear if I am killing him with 'human food'?

xh

timmmers

My cats love them too..even in tomato sauce :rolleyes:

The only thing that I think may be dodgy is the oil? Fish is fine for cats , but the same thing contantly would worry me a little too....vet is best, or even the online vet here may be helpful /

http://www.justanswer.com/brands/Veterinary?r=ppc|ga|4|Pets|Veterinarian&ofid=103&JPKW=online%20vet%20advice&JPDC=S&JPST=&JPAD=4141458240&JPAF=txt&JPCD=20091013&JPRC=1&JPOP=Jesse_categories_veterinary_new&gclid=CKfSp76K9J0CFYIA4wodyjxIHw

Have you seen this place? http://food4-cats.co.uk they are pretty cheap and it's real meat they sell. I cooked it a little for mine...they aren't used to raw meats for main meals, but it's cheap compared to tins and sachets.

t

Fire_Fox

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm
http://www.orijenpetfoods.co.uk/acatalog/ORIJEN_White_Paper%2809%29.pdf
http://www.catinfo.org/

Cats are obligate carnivores, they must eat meat. It isn't natural for them to eat fish, some are allergic to it and they cannot get all the nutrients they need in the right proportions from fish alone, although it can be included in a balanced diet. Bananas are healthy for humans, but what would happen if you only ate bananas?

Cats need a mix of protein from meat, minerals from bone, taurine and vitamins from offal (especially heart), essential fatty acids (fish oil and meat fat). Cats can't convert plant oils to essential fatty acids so the sunflower oil wouldn't do the cat any good and neither will the salt.

Have you ever tried giving your cat a raw chicken wing? Again this isn't a balanced diet on it's own, but if the cat takes to raw it can be much cheaper and healthier than even own brand tinned cat food. I've also tried my cat on the Food4Cats products and he goes crazy for raw!! If you fed only wet you'd feed half a 'sausage' or 50p worth of food a day, including delivery charge.

If you want to feed a reasonably priced fish-based cat food then try Pets at Home Purely in the small tins, 44p for 165g, or Feline Fayre Asda 60p for a 400g tin or four pouches for £1. Note that FF is not complete so you need to go halves with dry food, but some flavours were as low as 19p a pouch in Home Bargains! Both foods contain 50% to 70% fish which hopefully will mean your cat will like it as much as mine does, and it will fill him up more than the 4% meat own brand foods.

BitterAndTwisted

If you're shopping in Lidl anyway you could do worse than trying out their pouches and the Opticat Vitality biscuits. My little fella likes the biscuits but will only lick the gravy off the pouch-meat. I've tried him on sardines and raw meat but he's just not interested. The only thing that comes out of a tin that he interested in is tuna: it's pusscat crack-cocaine!

Apricot

I agree with Firefox here:
Providing variety in the diet ensures that all trace minerals and vitamins are being provided. Restricting variety in a diet increases the chances of missing essential nutrients or providing too much of another nutrient which can lead to serious health problems

Many fish products made for human consumption interfere with the natural absorption of vitamins in a cat food diet. It raises the phosphorous levels and urine pH to more alkaline which can contribute to urinary tract disorders. Also, Sardines are very high in salt and over time this can cause an electrolyte disturbance.

Feeding a combination of both high quality commercial food and natural foods will ensure a “balanced” diet is provided.
Natural foods include fresh raw meat (e.g. pieces of raw lamb, pieces of raw chicken) and raw meaty bones - human grade meat is preferable as pet meat sometimes contains preservatives which can be detrimental to a cats health.
Raw meaty bones provide several important health benefits. They keep teeth and gums healthy by preventing tartar build-up & they provide gastrointestinal and general health benefits.

KVet

They really do need cat food as it is balanced with all the vitamins and things they need. Back in the olden days ats used to get Taurine deficiency from being fed just one type of food. I even saw an xray of a cat that was JUST fed steak and it has hyperparathyroidism and deformed bones and it was awful. Taurine deficiency is the main problem as it can cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Fire_Fox

KVet wrote: »

They really do need cat food as it is balanced with all the vitamins and things they need. Back in the olden days ats used to get Taurine deficiency from being fed just one type of food. I even saw an xray of a cat that was JUST fed steak and it has hyperparathyroidism and deformed bones and it was awful. Taurine deficiency is the main problem as it can cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Which is why there is offal (heart) in the Food4Cats products. It's my understanding that it is fine to feed raw all the time, providing you get the right balance between meat, fat, bone and offal. Isn't that correct? I am presently also feeding a complete dry - if Noah will eat it!

Apricot

Yes as long as the cat is getting the correct proportions he can be fed a totally raw diet - they should be getting
80% raw boneless meat, 10% raw edible size meaty bones (too many cause constipation, 10% squishy organ meat.
You can also feed raw eggs including the shell - if your cat won't eat the shell just crack a raw egg into its bowl - this is a complete meal in itself

Waterfalls

KVet wrote: »

They really do need cat food as it is balanced with all the vitamins and things they need. Back in the olden days ats used to get Taurine deficiency from being fed just one type of food. I even saw an xray of a cat that was JUST fed steak and it has hyperparathyroidism and deformed bones and it was awful. Taurine deficiency is the main problem as it can cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

i was gonna mention this too. i saw this condition for this first time this year on a kitten that was only fed chicken.
it was very upsetting to see/nurse and it was very painful. thankfully she is on the mend know

def stick to cat food!!

MrsTinks

I've had to read up on the parathyroid and related conditions after my cat was suspected of possibly having a problem (cancer) with his... thankfully it was false alarm but the potential issues of problems like hyperparathyroid etc are not to be ignored! It shocked me
I feed the tinned fish (in tomato though) to my dog and 2 cats as a treat - fish alone is not enough to provide a complete and healthy diet Not many cats would actually eat fish in the wild - raw can be a great diet but please do a lot of research before doing so

Fire_Fox

princessleah_ wrote: »

Yes as long as the cat is getting the correct proportions he can be fed a totally raw diet - they should be getting
80% raw boneless meat, 10% raw edible size meaty bones (too many cause constipation, 10% squishy organ meat.
You can also feed raw eggs including the shell - if your cat won't eat the shell just crack a raw egg into its bowl - this is a complete meal in itself

I am working my way up to doing more prep myself, at the moment just feeding bought-in raw which has meat, bones and offal in the right proportions. Don't really want to stick with the minced stuff forever as Noah really enjoys munching on a chicken wing! :cool:

Planning to buy in some heart and pork tongue then, if he takes to that, buy a whole chicken and butcher into meal size hunks. Will still buy in the rabbit and beef and kidney mixes from Food4Cats for a bit of variety, and to be sure Noah gets enough bone. Also have some raw sprats in the freezer ...

From what I have read each meal doesn't have to be perfectly balanced, but each day should be. It's OK to feed more than 10% of heart as it is actually a muscle, but the liver content needs to be kept to a safe level. Raw doesn't seem to be that difficult, once you have done your planning you would quickly get into the swing of it (and I am going to cheat with some bought in!).