can you feed a cat tuna?

Question

can you feed cats tuna. plus what human food is okay for them?

Answer 1

As a treat every once in awhile, it's ok. But, tuna has some issues with cats where it depletes certain nutrients.

Also, Think about the recommendations for humans. It's recommended that they don't consume tuna more than once or twice a week. If that's the limit on a 150 lb human, how healthy can it be for a 10lb cat?

Cats don't need human food. Buy a premade high quality food (like blue buffalo or natural balance) and feed that regularly.

A bit of your tuna juice or a small chunk of cheese every once in awhile won't hurt your cat. It just shouldn't be a regular event.

Here's a list of foods to avoid: http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/humanfood.htm

Note that it includes onion and garlic. Be sure that anything you give them is free from that.

Answer 2

No, you really shouldn't give them tuna. The juice from the can, as long as the tuna is packed in water and not oil, is ok now and again, but not the tuna.

Cats have different dietary needs than humans, and as such, should not be given human food on a regular basis. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need a lot of high quality protein, and not much else. Humans are omnivores - we can eat meat, grains, veggies, and fruits.

Another problem is that cats require Taurine added directly to their diet - humans do not. So when you give a cat human food, they are not getting Taurine. It's very important that cats get Taurine.

So just stick to cat food for your cat. The ocassional scrap of meat - without sauces, creams, etc - should be ok, but nothing else.

Answer 3

You can in a pinch but human tuna in a can is too rich for cats. Way too much sodium. If you can find a brand called Figaro, they really groove on it. Be very careful of feeding cats dairy products because it is a myth that cats must have milk. As a treat, perhaps, but not as a steady diet. We had one cat that would not eat anything else but milk. Constantly vomited. Died because of an enzyme incapability. I was a kid at the time. Thought milk was OK for cats. Not cow's milk. I do feed the cats from the plate on a regular basis. Hamburger and some finely cut-up steak from your plate is just fine. It isn't the meat, fish or poultry you feed them, it is the seasonings you add. Just make sure that whatever you feed is not on the list from menufoods.com. Toodles!

Answer 4

Sorry to tell you this but you can not feed tuna to a cat unless it is for a treat and it will be once in a while and as for human food that is no good for them. The best thing to feed your cat is hard cat food which is good on there teeth. If you keep feeding them tuna when your cat gets order they will get spoil teeth and that is no good for them. My mother did that and later on she was feeding her cat baby food and you don't want that. Do what is best for your cat and also talk to your vet. Good luck

Answer 5

I actually just found out from my vet a few weeks back, that although tuna can be a nice treat once in a while, this should NOT comprise the main part of a cat's diet. Absolutely no milk. Cats cannot tolerate milk in their diet, and most cats are lactose intolerant. Instead, you can give your cat KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) as this is more nutritionally balanced for cats.

Answer 6

Of course cats can have tuna. Pets aren't really supposed to have table scraps or human food. It's ok if you give them table scraps once in a while, but never pickles, grapes, chocolate, or potatoe chips. Remember, do not feed them table scraps everyday. Just like, every week. Maybe not even.

Answer 7

Sometimes I will give my cats tuna from a can. I do not think human food is really good for them. Pumpkin from a can bve given to the cat. Just a quarter of a tea spoon.

Answer 8

Yes you can feed tuna but not to much. It should not be an every day thing. Chicken,turkey,beef,hot dogs,eggs,Ice cream ( not much of that either ) yogurt< they love yogurt,and cheese...Most anything they will eat. Cats are picky...I have 1 that want eat human food.

Answer 9

It's odd to me that human grade tuna is considered high in mercury and should not be consumed by cats. However, the cat food itself has tuna in it, and knowing the greed of Capitalist cat food companies, I cannot imagine they filter the tuna they use in their cat food to remove the mercury content. So, to say that human grade tuna has mercury in it, what do you think the non-human grade, tuna-based cat food has in it? So, should humans begin eating the tuna cat food because it has less mercury in it than human grade tuna? No. I think, unfortunately, that our primitive society doesn't care about non-human lifeforms. The truth is, I would rather feed them human quality food, than who-knows-what-is-in-it food.

To say that tuna food for cats has less mercury in it is either based on what propaganda the cat food industry puts out, or is based on simple ignorance.

For those who contest my words, please provide mercury content numbers in human grade tuna and cat grade tuna.

Answer 10

tuna is good for cats, And your cat will let you know what kind of food they like, our food is OK for them in moderation, My cat likes chicken and any thing with a lot of oil in it potato chips Cheetos crackers popcorn, I could go on and on, My brothers cat will not touch human food and is very picky about the cat food he will eat. There just like us in so many ways