Elderly cat only eating (feline) tuna

50Twuncle

Our aging - though apparently still 100% fit 15 year old, crossbreed male cat, has always been picky with his food.
However - now, he will only eat "Feline" Tuna - "Encore" tuna with shrimp - being his favourite (only ?) choice !

Which concerns me - since tuna (feline or human) is apparently not good for cats...?
Is this going to cause any health issues and any suggestions as how to wean him off this expensive luxury ?
It is not a "complete" food - it is called "complimentary" - so a "treat" ?

NeilCr

I believe it's "human grade" tuna that is the real problem. Tuna cat food has lots of things mixed in with it.

If I am honest as he's got to 15 and is healthy then it wouldn't bother me too much. The bigger problem may occur if Encore suddenly stop producing it! So, I'd agree it would be a good idea to try to get him to eat some other food, as well. I tend to find it's a battle of wills with cats and food. Hunger will win through in the end!

When my mum was alive one of her cats would only eat Whiskas with Tuna. Her partner went to a cash and carry and bought a large quantity of it. At which point the cat decided she didn't like that food any more. Perhaps you should try that

':)

es5595

The biggest issue as you say is that it’s a complimentary food so it’s not providing the full spectrum a complete cat food does. It’s a naughty way of the manufacturers saving money.

My elderly cat (highly!) recommends Thrive tuna cans. They are complete, come in a variety of tuna flavours and if you get them from Amazon as a “subscribe and save” they’re not too expensive.

marliepanda

The problem with tuna is mostly that cats can get hooked, and you’re already at that point!

As long as you feed him a complete tuna food then he will be getting everything he needs, though trying to introduce some other food mixed in would be good.

Is it an ideal diet for them only to eat a complete tuna food? No. But if you can get him on a complete one then it could be worse. Please do not continue with a complemtary food only though.

Fen1

Have a look at zooplus or Bitiba. They have a wide range of foods that are not available in the shops.
Try buying one ( small!) tin each of different COMPLETE foods.

Does Moggy like biscuits? Balancing his diet with complete, high quality dry food might help with taurine and mineral deficiency. Something like Applaws? Definitely not cheapo biscuits that are just full of fillers and colouring.

50Twuncle

Fen1 wrote: »

Have a look at zooplus or Bitiba. They have a wide range of foods that are not available in the shops.
Try buying one ( small!) tin each of different COMPLETE foods.

Does Moggy like biscuits? Balancing his diet with complete, high quality dry food might help with taurine and mineral deficiency. Something like Applaws? Definitely not cheapo biscuits that are just full of fillers and colouring.

He does try eating biscuits but since half of his teeth were removed last year - he has problems with them getting stuck in the gaps !!

Fen1

Bless him!

Have you tried a cat milk? Viovet has Cimicat that has extra vitamins and minerals, and is suitable for all ages. It might give him a bit of a boost.

But then again, he might absolutely hate it. The joy of cats.

alanobrien

Hmm, so tuna is not good for cats? I am not sure our 21 year old cat would agree, she has always loved it and even though she is now mostly blind and deaf she knows when a can is opened and magically appears and would eat the lot if we let her.

You could try mixing it in with "proper" food, to ensure he gets a balanced diet. There are "senior" cat food products available and they may be worth a try, no idea what is different about them though.

50Twuncle

Fen1 wrote: »

Bless him!

Have you tried a cat milk? Viovet has Cimicat that has extra vitamins and minerals, and is suitable for all ages. It might give him a bit of a boost.

But then again, he might absolutely hate it. The joy of cats.

Cat milk upsets his stomach - makes him sick

50Twuncle

alanobrien wrote: »

Hmm, so tuna is not good for cats? I am not sure our 21 year old cat would agree, she has always loved it and even though she is now mostly blind and deaf she oknows when a can is opened and magically appears and would eat the lot if we let her.

You could try mixing it in with "proper" food, to ensure he gets a balanced diet. There are "senior" cat food products available and they may be worth a try, no idea what is different about them though.

Human Tuna - No
Cat Tuna - OK in restricted quantities

Fen1

Have you tried raw food? One of my cats will but the other won't ( tinned/sachets only.) If you look on MSE there's a lot of advice on raw feeding. You can buy ready -prepared that is ground meat, so no bones for Moggy to battle with.

Had to laugh at NeilCr's story. Mine's the same,:
My two LOVED a freebie food I was given. So I bought several trays. They're not fussed now, the little b*ggrs.