My kitty is on an all wet diet. He will ONLY eat FISH based foods for the last 4 months. Fancy Feast Savory Salmon (90%) of the time, or Weruva Mideast Feast (tuna & tilapia) & every now & then I can get a Wellness Chicken & Herring. Is it Ok to be feeding him so much fish? He was also borderline CRF at last blood test so I wonder if it is good or bad for his kidneys...His fur is the softest it's been & his flaky paw pads have really smoothed out. I know it's because his diabetes is under control now too, but I wonder if it's food related too. Basically I don't know if it's something I should be worried about overdoing.
Fish based foods- Is it ok to feed exclusively? FD & CRF
- Thread starter Punkyp
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Julia & Bandit (GA)
Member Since 2009
Most fish foods tend to be higher in phosphorus and sodium, which you want to avoid with CRF kitties. Have you tried feeding him a food lower in phosphorus, and maybe mixing a small amount of boiled fish in?
At the same time, you have to feed your cat what he'll eat. Friskies Special Diet Salmon is lower in phosphorus, and Wellness Salmon and Trout has lower phosphorus and ok sodium for a fish food as well. Another one to try maybe is Merrick's Surf and Turf? It's beef and seafood, but it has low phosphorus, low sodium, and a high quality protein--all very good for kidney issues.
At the same time, you have to feed your cat what he'll eat. Friskies Special Diet Salmon is lower in phosphorus, and Wellness Salmon and Trout has lower phosphorus and ok sodium for a fish food as well. Another one to try maybe is Merrick's Surf and Turf? It's beef and seafood, but it has low phosphorus, low sodium, and a high quality protein--all very good for kidney issues.
squeem3
Member Since 2009
Here's some info: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1123 There's a link there to a CRF-friendly food list. You can compare the food list to Binky's charts and and this one and try to find a food that is fairly low in carbs for the FD and low in sodium/phosphorus for the CRF.
Have you tried sprinkling crushed up freeze dried fish treats on top of regular meat canned food to make it more appealing?
Have you tried sprinkling crushed up freeze dried fish treats on top of regular meat canned food to make it more appealing?
Lisa dvm
Member Since 2009
I do not feed fish to my cats. Issues include:
1) link to hyperthyoridism (PBDEs = fire retardant chemicals)
2) mercury and other heavy metal/toxin contamination
3) addiction so they won't eat more appropriate protein sources
4) often high in phosphorus and other minerals - not good for CKD or some enthusiastic crystal formers
5) seafood is hyperallergenic in some cats => IBD, skin allergies, etc
When I used fish to break my cats' dry food addiction in 2002, I weaned them off of it asap...and onto more appropriate poultry and rabbit.
1) link to hyperthyoridism (PBDEs = fire retardant chemicals)
2) mercury and other heavy metal/toxin contamination
3) addiction so they won't eat more appropriate protein sources
4) often high in phosphorus and other minerals - not good for CKD or some enthusiastic crystal formers
5) seafood is hyperallergenic in some cats => IBD, skin allergies, etc
When I used fish to break my cats' dry food addiction in 2002, I weaned them off of it asap...and onto more appropriate poultry and rabbit.
Becky & Morlei
Member Since 2012
Thanks for posting this info...I'm trying to convert my four kitties (1 just recently diagnosed) to an all wet food diet...my sugarkitty will eat almost anything but my other three prefer seafood/fish wet food (they prefer dry even more but that's being reduced fairly quickly in our house after being on this board for a few days)...however I'm a little concerned about one of them who has had kidney/urinary problems in the past. These tables and charts make it soooo much easier to try and find the right balance for all four kitties, thanks again!! =^..^=
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