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1567499 tn?1295405431

Is too much tuna juice bad for a cat? If so how much is too much?

Is too much tuna juice bad for a cat? If so how much is too much?
History:
My overweight cat is in recovery for liver failure from eating a day lily approx 3 weeks ago. he is still fairly jaundice and is not eating on his own but he is definitely getting stronger and better at fighting off the syringe lol). Some of the pink has returned to his nose and green to his eyes. We love him so much and tuna juice is the only thing that he has eaten on his own. He is currently on a Medi-Cal recovery food (every 4-5 hours with 10cc water and 5cc Dextrose) and an anti-vomit pill, Apo-Metoclop 5mg every 12hrs. Our vet has taken him off the antibiotics and an anti-vomit liquid that went 2 hrs before them.
Is there something else I could offer him that would encourage him to eat or drink on his own?
Any and all opinions on the tuna and his condition and very much appreciated!
Thank you,
Melanie Drew
13 Responses
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541150 tn?1306033843
mdrew:

I had a cat with liver issues as well. I had to syringe feed him for about two months. Keep trying to encourage him with different foods to see what he goes for. He will eventually eat. He just needs more time. Three weeks isn't enough to completely recover. He needs to feel good to be able to try any foods. I would encourage my kitty with everything and anything. He then finally started eating on his own once his pink color returned. Trust your pet. He will let you know when he is ready. Be patient.

I so feel for you. I went through a lot with Abby. Thought he'd die!
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
Maybe I should try sardines as well.I'm not findind the treat I used to buy for my cats,the places where you can find that brand have only the one for dogs :-(
The other brand available is not so good and the package dont have "zipping" system - not to mention its a little more expensive.They dont like that the same way.
Something tells me eggs won't substitute those :-)
Helpful - 0
681148 tn?1437661591
Hmm, I'll have to buy eggs just to give to my kitty--if she'll eat them.  She used to not.  I myself can't eat that many of them, but if the kitty will eat a little of the yolk that sounds like a great way of hopefully preventing the necessity of using hairball remedy.
Helpful - 0
587315 tn?1333552783
I'd have to say that for a short term, there's nothing wrong w/ the tuna.  You've got to do what you've got to do to get him to eat.  And, right now, recovering from liver failure he's got to eat.  For the long term, tuna every day is not good.  

Why not try some strained meat baby foods?  Microwave for a few seconds and I'm sure it'll tempt your kitty.  You can also try chicken broth.  

Best wishes to you!!  

PS-I can't believe he ate a day lily!!!  What was the appeal in that one??
Helpful - 0
535822 tn?1443976780
oh thats good thank you, she smells me cooking them and runs in for some breakfast with us .....
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
oh for sure!!  the egg yolks are a good source of lecithin, helps with the hairballs...)
Helpful - 0
535822 tn?1443976780
one more question , is a little egg okay about twice a week and she only eats a couple of mouthfuls .
Helpful - 0
681148 tn?1437661591
Since it sounds like your kitty is not sick, if you want to spoil your kitty without worrying about whether kitty is getting too much salt or mercury, I would give the kitty the dried fish treats.  I didn't think about the mercury in canned fish, but I was more concerned about the kitty getting too much salt, since they're much smaller creatures than we are and need far less salt than we do.  My kitty loves her freeze dried salmon kitty treats.  Petco stopped carrying the one called Wild Side Salmon, but Pet Smart has something similar from a company called Beef Eaters that comes in a tub.  The main difference I found was that I have to take a knife and cut the big chunks of this brand into the smaller bite sized treat size.  Akira's former owner used to give her Wild Side Salmon and had it delivered from a company in our area that specializes in healthy animal foods and home delivery.  This was a good option for her former owner, since she was blind and had other health issues.  The product is natural wild caught salmon that is freeze dried, the texture my kitty prefers and size consistency that made it convenient for someone who simply preferred not to have to deal with a sharp knife to cut the treats.  

Anyway, this is probably a better option for you and your kitty if you just wanted to spoil your kitty with fish as a treat.  There are other natural fish cat treats I've tried, but Akira didn't like them.  She didn't like the texture of the dried salmon that looked like kibble.

Oh, I found out that cats tend to like olive oil and coconut oil.  I learned that both of these oils are helpful for cats, as long as it's not overdone.  I did a bit of research to find out if it's okay to give coconut oil to the cat and found out that it's actually added to some cat supplements anyway.  I never give this cat more than enough to taste it, because of fear of overdoing it, but I do rub it on the dry spot at the head of her tail once in a while, but just enough to help the skin.  Fortunately, cats do need more fats than dogs or people do.  

I just thought you might want to know about this kind of fish treat option, if you're concerned about overdoing it with the canned fish.  The other kitties on this thread have been sick, so anything to improve their appetite and get them to eat would take precedence in my mind, in order to get them over the hurdle and back to health again.

Then, of course, if you're treating kitty, you can always buy fresh fish from a good source for yourself and give the kitty a small portion of the raw fish before you cook it for yourself.  After all, since we try to be careful for ourselves when buying fish, since these days we need to be, this is a good way to treat the kitty, too.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I have to disagree with Opus on one point.  If you are going to feed tuna juice, tuna packed in oil is better for your cat.  It not only provides more calories, it also contains lipids, which studies have shown have a diluting effect on the levels of mercury.  Generally speaking, the higher the fat content, the lower the mercury.  I agree with Annie that sardines are a better choice,  They smell stronger and because they are much smaller and younger fish than tuna, they have far less accumulated heavy metals.  Also, fresh water fish have less mercury than salt water fish, and there are wild caught salmon oil supplements available at most pet stores. Low sodium chicken broth is also a good choice for keeping him hydrated.  
Helpful - 0
535822 tn?1443976780
I had been giving my Tweety a small amount of tuna maybe every week or two I didnt know it could be harmful, does this also apply to canned salmon ? and you say sardines are okay ?
Helpful - 0
134578 tn?1693250592
I'd give kitty sardines.  Their strong smell increases the cat's appetite.  Mix them with the cat food your cat usually eats, in just enough quantity for the smell to be really noticeable but not so much that the cat is getting too much fish.

Does your cat like beef broth?  
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
hi again, since the other route may get confusing I thought I'd add this more direct route to the enhancing tips...let us know if we can offer more suggestions ok.

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Tips%20for%20Transitioning%20PDF%201-14-11.pdf
Helpful - 0
874521 tn?1424116797
omg poor baby......I can't believe a cat would eat a lily, and I sure didn't know how poisonous they could be either, thanks for letting us know that!!

I'm afraid to have to tell you but tuna or its juice isn't good to be feeding kitty, I think its a mercury content thing, there are even warnings about how often we humans should be consuming it.....my one cat loves it too, I limit him to the light water packed tins...and just a tablespoon of the juice once a week...

I am sending you a site with tons of ideas about feeding and encouragement. theres a product called FORTIFLORA made by Purina, its a probiotic and used as a flavor enhancer....Or pour just a small amount of the tuna on his own diet to give him the smell and get him started eating that way without giving him alot of the actual juice.

http://www.catinfo.org/#My_cats_are_now_eating

the whole site has great info on it, I hope something there will help you get kitty eating soon and make a full recovery. please keep us updated, we'd love to follow his progress...♥


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