Question about cat food

[NetWareHead]

Just some questions about cat food, since I heard alot of conflicting information yesterday, I thought I could ask ATOT and get some more answers.

I adopted a cat yesterday and the lady who runs the adoption program helped me pick out a few things at the pet store to get me started. We got to the food aisle and she says that wet food in a can is a waste and cats should only be given dry food. I grew up with 2 cats in my house and my mom always gave them wet food along with a plate of dry food as well. I ended up just buying a bag of dry food but I'm still wondering if I should pick up a few cans of wet food as well.

Another thing she said, is that fish is harmful to cats since it was "never designed to be in their digestive system." I think its a bunch of BS, my 2 cats always begged for tuna in a can, along with shrimp or bits of whatever fish we ate for dinner. Whats the deal with fish and cats?

 

[jspeicher]

Domesticated cats are indeed very fond of tuna. However, regularly feeding your cat, "spoiling" it on tuna can be bad, as they can eventually refuse all other types of food.

 

[jspeicher]

googled -

Although our feline companions seem have a real taste for all things fishy, fish is in fact not a natural food for the species. Obviously it is the scent that makes these foods so appealing to felines, perhaps triggering some instinctive craving, not unlike a human's craving for greasy, baked goods. However, it could just as well be a learned taste preference. Many domestic cats raised in close contact with humans have exposure to fish from early on, predominantly through commercial foods containing fish meal as a protein source, as well as treats and table scraps*. Also, the stereotype teaches people that cats like fish, who then feed their cats fish, and the cats in turn prove their care giver right by developing a taste for it. That cats don't only eat what is good for them, but also posses the ability to learn taste preferences is indisputable. Every day in households all over the world the true carnivore cat behaves very much like an omnivore, stealing muffins and bread, or indulges in fruit and vegetables, often even ingesting things outright harmful like chocolate or tomatoes.

Care givers have to accept that no favour is done for the cat by feeding fish as a main staple.
Fish, no matter if whole, dressed, raw, cooked, or canned will cause nutritional deficiency of some kind, which in turn will eventually lead to serious disease.
If fish is to be included in the meal plan of the domestic cat, one may only do so sparingly as treats, or to entice a sick cat to eat. Other than that, the story of fish and cats shall remain a fairytale.

 

[SynthDude2001]

There are six cats at my mom's house, so I hope I've at least learned something.

We generally feed them a combination of wet food and dry food. Probably buy some of each and see which kind the cat seems to like more, I guess.

And yes, cats will claw your face off to get to tuna or other fish

 

[HiTek21]

We only feed my cats dry iams cat food and they've been eating it for the last 10 years or so. Cat's are too picky when it comes to eating so its too much trouble to feed them a can of wet cat food. If you put out the wet food and they aren't hungry the'll just walk away and it'll go bad sitting there.