Is tuna ok for cats to eat? I thought that I had read on here somewhere that it isn't good to give them tuna, but while browsing the cat food aisle I noticed there are several kinds of cat food with tuna (for example, Tiki Cat Ahi Tuna).

I just noticed that noone had replied to this. Not that I'm an expert but I know it's not good to give it to your cats often...just as humans shouldn't eat too much either, due to the mercury content. I will let mine have a few bits now and again though, if I'm having it myself. I don't think small amounts now and again will harm them. Just don't give them a full meal of it :-)

Canned Tuna is high in sodium and because it's cooked it's lacking certain nutrients. Tuna for cats will have the nutrients added and less sodium. Regular canned tuna is fine for an occasional treat raw tuna is even better but it shouldn't be a regular part of your cats diet.

My Raiden isn't fond of seafood of any type, so he only gets chicken, turkey and beef. Every now and then, my hubby will open a can of tuna and give Raiden the water. He'll usually lap that up. But he won't touch tuna cat food.

I too have been wondering about this. Our two bengals love encore wet food at the moment, especially the fish varieties. However the fish ones all have a high percentage of tuna. You'd think that they would warn customers if feeding too much of their product could be harmful but no warning exists on the packaging or their website. They haven't added any nutrients to the food, it's all natural, so I wonder how often I should be feeding them the fish varieties.

We do also feed them the chicken variety, a complete dry food (which they only pick at a bit) and until recently have been feeding them raw (they've gone off it a bit of late and the container sizes for the natural instinct raw are too big - by the time it's been out of the freezer and in the fridge a couple of days they've started to turn their noses up at it).

http://www.4yourcatshealth.com/cat-heal ... e-in-cats/

Steatitis (Yellow Fat Disease) In Cats

May 20, 2013 By Laurie Buckley
Steatitis, or yellow fat disease, is caused by a deficiency of vitamin E. Cats who are fed a diet containing excessive amounts of unsaturated fats end up with vitamin E being destroyed in their bodies. This results in a painful inflammation in the cats body fat. The fat will turn yellow and harden greatly.

A cat who eats sufficient quantities of red meat tuna will develop this extremely painful disease as it contains high levels of unsaturated fatty acids. If not properly supplemented with vitamin E an ongoing diet consisting of fish in general will lead to Steatitis. Cats should never be fed straight canned tuna intended for humans as it is the most dangerous of all due to its lack of supplementation of vitamin E.

The beginning signs of this disease include a greasy coat with flaky skin. The cats coat may also develop a fishy odor. The cat will become reluctant to move or be handled as the disease progresses. Even just being petted will become too painful for her. She will develop a fever and her appetite will decrease.

To diagnose Steatitis, a dietary history will be taken and will be confirmed by a biopsy of the fat.

Treatment will involve correcting the cats diet by switching her to a well-balanced food and supplementing with vitamin E.

To help prevent this disease from happening in the first place by never feeding your cat any tuna, even if it is commercial cat food. It is especially important to never feed your cat tuna intended for humans. Cats can easily become addicted to tuna since it has such a strong taste and odor. She may start rejecting other foods if you start feeding it to your cat. If you do intend to feed fish-flavored cat food to your cat, limit it to very occasionally and avoid giving her tuna all together.

I googled the question and found this. I'm going to look at some more articles.

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