is it ok for my 1 year old cat to eat tin tuna?

Answer 1

Cat food made with tuna is okay, but not human tuna even packed in water. We fed our cat water packed tuna and she died of enterocolitis because of this. It broke our hear to lose her because we didn't know until it was just too late. PLEASE whatever you do ONLY feed cat food made for cats and keep human foods to yourself even if your cat begs for a little taste. There are so many human food ingredients which are very poisonous to cats because their bodies metabolize everything so slowly. Onions, garlic, chocolate, fat trimmings (causes pancreatis), grapes (puts the kidneys into failure), potatoes, tomatoes, etc. I learned this from doing so much research after losing our cat. I never knew and promise to stick with cat food and cat treats so our new cat will never have to suffer and live a full healthy life.

Answer 2

The canned tuna for humans isn't good for cats. You can fed a little once in a while but not as a steady diet and certainly not all the time. If your cat loves tuna, buy it canned cat food tuna which has added vitamins and minerals suited for a kitty.

Answer 3

When I was in Manila with my cat for a 2 year study, I fed him a lot of tin tuna mixed with a little rice. He loved it. Nothing bad ever happened to him and he is A-OK still. Yet, there are people who say that tuna should not be fed to cats becuase of tuna's high mercury levels.

Answer 4

Hi there again Kylee...many people are not aware that Tuna can be toxic to cats when consumed over a period of time. Here's a web article about Tuna and how it is toxic to cats (again any vet can confirm this fact as well): http://www.lenhumanesoc.org/Tips/ASPCA-Tuna.htm

"TUNA FOR CATS? NO!
Tuna can be fatal to cats and is not something to be fed to them...The human variety of tuna fish contains an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1 (thiamine). Cats who regularly eat tuna can develop a vitamin B1 deficiency, which results in neurological symptoms like dilated eyes, loss of equilibrium, seizures and death if this vitamin is not replaced. The scientific name of this disease is polioencephlomalacia.

Clearwater veterinarian Richard Brancato said that though most domestic cats do enjoy fish, feeding them a diet of only tuna can cause serious disorders.

Although it is high in protein, tuna lacks sufficient amounts of certain amino acids, mainly taurine, to maintain feline health. There is insufficient calcium to balance the phosphorus; the ratio in canned tuna is 1-to-14.8. This results in bone disease.

Many essential vitamins such as A and most B vitamins are also lacking, Brancato said. A common disease in cats fed a mainstay of canned tuna is steatitis, or yellow fat disease, an inflammation of the fat tissue in the body due to a deficiency of vitamin E.

Source: St. Petersburg Times, published May 14, 2000"

Here's another answer by a veterinarian just recently about the dangers of tuna: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnXV7g3jq309q2QXly7n9WLsy6IX?qid=20061018194725AAzYqfz

A Veterinarian Answered:
... Actually, it is.

I've had to treat numerous cats over the years for pretty severe enteritis resulting from eating tuna meat. One of my own babies got so ill from it when someone else left it sitting out on the counter for 5 minutes while he turned his back to take a phone call, that I had to put her on IV fluids for 2 days, in addition to intestinal medications.

How many cats do you know who go swimming in the ocean to catch tuna and eat it as part of their natural diet???

Tuna-FLAVORED food....okay. Tuna meat.....bad.

I 'love' brownies....but that doesn't mean they're good for me. Cats also 'love' antifreeze....but we all know what it will do to them. :-/

The most you should do is to use the water that is drained off from the can of tuna (not the oil...for another reason), and drizzle it over their dry cat food once or twice a month. They'll think they died and went to cat heaven!....but without the danger.

Save the tuna meat for your sandwiches.
Source(s):
I'm a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine with 20 yrs exp in private practice (27 total years in the profession.)

Answer 5

It's fine....as long as it's not the only food he gets. They have nutritional needs that need to be met and feeding them tuna for every meal won't meet those needs. It's fine as a treat or an occasional meal.

Answer 6

the water packed low sodium (unsalted) one is the best. Regular tuna has too much salt for a regular diet..

Answer 7

If it is an occasional treat and if it is in spring water then there is nothing wrong with it.

Answer 8

I dont see anything wrong with it. As long as she/he can swallow, you can feed them tuna

Answer 9

yea i dont see why not cats eat fish all the time

Answer 10

Yeah of course go for it it'sd my cats and dogs favourite ( I only have one dog) they love it.