2 potential dangers in feeding tuna to a cat

This was a submission by a visitor upon which I commented. She was unaware of the potential hazards.

by Teresa
(Southampton ON Canada)

On way to loft

He sleeps atop the cabinets

Plumed

Reggie's favorite diet is canned tuna in water. He has that three times a day. I give him a few 'dental' treats with it. There is also a bowl of Whiskas, he goes through less than a cup a week.

The tuna turns bad quickly so I freeze meal-sized portions. He actually likes it with frost on it!
Price wise it's cheaper than cans of cat food and isn't taxed. It smells better too, at both ends.

I tried raw chicken bits and salmon, he walked away from it. He will eat mashed vegetables and dried potato flakes as a side dish.

At 8 months, he weighs 10 pounds but has a large frame. He spends his days speeding after birds and squirrels. His coat is shiny and his eyes are bright.

Teresa

Hi Teresa.. Thanks for sharing. Sorry I changed the title. I did so because it is an interesting topic and people search for "Feeding Tuna to a Cat", so hopefully they will find this page and the comments that I hope are made. I have also included some information on mercury poisoning and the fact that tuna per se is an unbalanced domestic cat diet.

Tuna and mercury poisoning

Canned tuna is one of the domestic cat's favourite foods and it can be a bit addictive. This can lead to a steady diet of tuna if the human caregiver wants to consistently please their cat. This would be bad for a cat because canned tuna packaged for people is not a balanced diet for domestic cats. Alone it does not provide all the nutrients that a cat requires.

And it is said that too much tuna can cause mercury poisoning. That comes from a veterinarian. The website Medical News Today tells us that large fish such as tuna can have mercury concentrations in their bodies that are 10,000 times higher than in the surrounding habitat. This seems to be the case because they are top of the food chain and below them small fish consume or absorb methylmercury. It is not broken down and is therefore built up in the bodies of tuna when they eat the small fish. The mercury in the seas and oceans comes from industrial facilities where it is used in power plants, cement plants and certain chemical manufacturing processes. Tuna is safe to eat in certain amounts.

Cat pic in public domain. Montage by PoC.

Mercury emission because of human activity is called anthropogenic. Mercury can also find its way into the seas and oceans through volcanoes and geothermal vents. This is a natural source of mercury. Natural sources account for 10% of mercury emissions while anthropogenic sources are responsible for 30% of all emissions. Re-emission accounts for the other 60%. The original source would probably be anthropogenic. "Re-emission" means that the mercury has been absorbed by say plant life and then re-released into the atmosphere.

Canned light tuna contains about 0.12 ppm of mercury. Canned white albacore tuna contains about 0.32 ppm of mercury. Medical News Today has quite an involved analysis of how much tuna you can eat over a certain period of time. There is a distinct possibility that you could end up with mercury poisoning of some description. For example, the FDA in America recommends avoiding fresh albacore tuna and tuna steak during pregnancy.

What is wrong with feeding cats tuna? Ans: it is not a complete cat food and it may cause mercury poisoning.

Too much tuna can cause mercury poisoning in children. Therefore, it is a short step to believe that too much tuna can cause mercury poisoning in domestic cats. Back in 2011, the California State Water Resources Control Board announced that the presence of methylmercury and polychlorinated biphenyls in Californian sport fish was widespread and a genuine concern for human health.

The worry is that mercury builds up and is not broken down. Some signs of mercury poisoning caused by eating too much contaminated tuna include peripheral neuropathy, reduced peripheral vision, loss of coordination, muscle weakness and possible impairments in speech and hearing. This applies to people of course but it is a worrying situation.

Wikipedia states that fish and shellfish contain concentrate mercury in their bodies often in the form of methylmercury. Tuna is long-lived which allows for a greater timescale for the mercury to build up in their bodies. It is recommended that people should only eat albacore tuna a few times per month to avoid mercury poisoning. This may guide us on feeding cats tuna.

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2 potential dangers in feeding tuna to a cat

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Apr 17, 2012

Reggie NEW
by: Ruth (Monty's Mom)

I love the way Reggie sleeps on top of the cupboards in your kitchen. He looks like he's really happy up there.

My cat gets tuna sometimes, but not all the time. A friend of mine fed her cat tuna exclusively for wet food and some dry cat food also all his life. He got cancer of the mouth, which took his life at 18 years old and I've wondered if maybe a diet of all just one type of food put him more at risk for this? Of course, he was 18 -- I suppose his age was a risk factor for all kinds of things. I try to provide variety for Monty-- different types of wet cat food and tuna, sardines or salmon at times if I'm having some. I feel like the variety is a protection for him if one type of food isn't giving him all the nutrients he needs, or if there is a problem with one food. Elisa, a regular contributor at PoC, has written a lot about a natural diet for cats. She doesn't rely much on commercial brands, but she does make sure her cats are still getting all the nutrition they need. There's a tab for Elisa's articles-- if you scroll through them you should find some good information, and I'm sure she'd be happy to help with any questions.

Apr 15, 2012

tuna topic NEW
by: Teresa

Thank you for the information regarding the tuna.
Reg does not like chicken and since I don't eat beef, he doesn't either.
With all the cats I've had, none were given can cat food because of the high water content and filler. Most were happy with dry food. Reg is the first to eat tuna.

These are the nutrients in Tuna:
omega-3 fatty acids 300mg
Energy 200 cal.
Carbohydrates 0 g
Fat 8 g
Protein 29 g
Water 60 g
Vitamin A equiv.23 μg (3%)
Choline 29 mg (6%)
Vitamin D 269 IU (45%)
Calcium 13 mg (1%)
Iron 1.4 mg (11%)
Magnesium 31 mg (9%)
Phosphorus 311 mg (44%)
Potassium 207 mg (4%)

I supplement with the Temptations All Natural, it meets the nutritional standards of AAFO as well as several other brands.

The Whiskas is always available for a snack.

Apr 15, 2012

Feeding Tuna NEW
by: Barbara

Your cat is beautiful but my own personal opinion is that I wouldn't feed a cat exclusively on tuna, most cats love tuna and in fact can become addicted to it so that they won't eat anything else, I've had experience of this and the habit does take some breaking but cats are by nature meat eaters and not, as some people think, fish eaters this is because they need taurine in their diets which is obtained from meat. Tuna as an occasional treat is fine but not as a lifelong diet, your cat is very young and still growing and I'd like to suggest you alter his diet to include some good quality manufactured wet cat food (you can get tuna flavoured cat food too)which has all the vitamins and nutrients he needs. To start with you would probably have to mix the cat food with the tuna starting with a larger % of tuna to a smaller % of wet food and gradually make the tuna content smaller and the cat food content larger. Don't take my word for it, Google the subject there is a wealth of information about the effects of tuna on a cat's health, here is one link for starters.
http://canigivemycat.com/tuna-fish

Apr 14, 2012

It works
by: Michael

Hi...the diet works, it seems, but just one thing came to mind, thiamine deficiency in cats who just eat fish, usually raw fish (I realize that canned tuna is not raw fish).

Thiamine Deficiency In Cats.

I am not sure if the variety of tuna that you feed Reggie will cause a thiamine deficiency but there is the potential for it. Although he seems very healthy.

Thanks for sharing. I advocate a mix of some tuna (as a treat) and high quality wet (as the mainstay) and other treats.

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Comments

2 potential dangers in feeding tuna to a cat — 2 Comments

catmother on November 23, 2013 at 10:53 pm said:
Good grief. This cat is probably dead from mal nutrition by now. Tuna isn’t even good for cats and to feed it exclusively is down right animal abuse. Tuna is not balanced for cats.
Canned cat food contains the water that cats need for optimal health. Feed your cat a good quality canned food, or learn how to make your won cat food raw or cooked, but properly balanced.
Reply ↓
- Michael on November 24, 2013 at 8:24 am said:
  Yes, totally agree. Just because a cat likes tuna it does not mean he should be fed it all the time. As you state a carefully balanced diet is need for cats. The cat is quite inflexible in his diet compared to dogs and humans.
  Also, on a different matter, tuna is overfished massively and we are making the tuna extinct in the wild. I think it is time to rethink eating tuna. The Japanese are the worst in this regard.
  Thanks for visiting and commenting catmother.
  Reply ↓