Tuna or Not Tuna? That is the Question.

At times clients will ask me what they should feed their cats.  I find that is difficult question to answer.  When you read any literature about cat food you will find that contradictions abound.  Some authors say to only feed raw food.  Others counter never feed raw food.  Some say stay away from supermarket brands.  Others say it doesn’t matter. 

Although I have some opinions about what I should feed my cats, I have learned to keep my opinions to myself…except one.  I do not feed canned tuna to my cats except as a very rare treat and I caution my clients about feeding their cats tuna on a regular basis.

I don’t feed my cats canned tuna made for humans because the processing destroys taurine, an amino acid that is essential to cats' health.  And I don’t feed my cats canned tuna made for cats because even though taurine is added after processing the tuna still contains questionable amounts of mercury.

Most people know that the FDA has advised pregnant women and small children to limit consumption of canned tuna.  Check the FDA website if you are interested in specific amounts.  It only makes sense to me that if too much tuna can affect a little human body adversely then it certainly can affect a little cat body adversely, too.

Sometimes it’s difficult to find cat foods that don’t have tuna in them.  The list of ingredients may start out with turkey or chicken but if you are patient, and read to the end of the inch long list of ingredients in print the size of a pinhead, you will many times see tuna or some other unnamed fish on the list.  I spend a lot of time when I'm shopping for cat food to make sure that I getting what I want and not what I don't want. 

When deciding what to feed my cats I try to use my good sense.  I want to give them food that supports their health.  I, also, want them to enjoy their food.  Everyone, even a kitty, loves treats.  So, I will give my kitties the occasional bowl of juice off of an open can of people tuna or a small can of cat tuna on rare occasion as a treat, but other that that, I have decided not tuna.

What's a Ticaboo?

This is Ticaboo, the other half of our two cat family.  We adopted her about 10 years ago.  At the time we were down to one cat, Black Cat, who seemed to be tiring of having to shoulder all of the love and expectations placed on him by my husband and me.  We knew we wanted another kitty, but were waiting for the right time, the right cat.

An unexpected visit to the vet with one of my client’s cats brought me face to face with a youngish tortoiseshell kitty with the longest tail I had ever seen.  She was in a cage in the waiting area, hoping to be adopted.  When I put my fingers through the wires of the cage she approached immediately and rubbed her face on my outstretched fingers.  I knew, then, that she was the one.

I went to the desk and asked what the procedure was to adopt the cat.  The receptionist asked if I would like to meet her, not knowing that we had already introduced ourselves.  I thought she might take the kitty from the cage and let me hold her so I said yes.  As we walked to the cage the receptionist told me not to be offended if she paid no attention to me because she was a shy little kitty.  I didn’t know what she was talking about.  When we got to the cage the tortie walked right up to me again and rubbed her face on my fingers.  “Well,” the receptionist said, “I guess she’s not shy with you.  I’ve never seen her do this.”

I had to jump through some hoops to get the adoption approved and it took about 3 weeks before we brought the tortoiseshell home.  My husband and I had previously decided we would name our kitties after small towns in Utah.  (I know.  What can I say?  It seemed like a good idea at the time.)  We studied a map of Utah intently and finally saw the perfect name:  Ticaboo.

Black Cat was totally crushed that we had brought in another cat.  It was as if he thought we were maligning his efforts at being the perfect cat.  After some assurance that he was still number one he established a détente relationship with Ticaboo.

Ticaboo was obviously glad to be out of her cage and into a home.  On the surface she seemed to settle in quickly but I sensed that she didn’t believe this was her home.  I found out later that in the first 6 to 9 months of her life she had lived in four different homes.  Our home was number five.  No wonder she kept thinking she would be moved without notice.  It took her several years to get over that.  Finally, just a few years ago, she seemed to relax and realize that she wasn’t going anywhere.

In this new year I have so much for which to be thankful:  a job, friends, family, an amazing husband and two kitties who make my house feel like home.