Can cats eat starkist tuna? With the different options in deciding on choosing the right diet plan for cats. One of the major question feline owners are faced with is the question “Can my Cat Eat This”, as much as this is a good concern, worthy of note is the fact that as a cat owner, you need to find out the risks or nutritional value of such food or diet as this is more important than if the cat can eat it.
In this blog we will be exploring several questions in the heart of feline owners; Can my cats eat Starkist Tuna? Can Eating Starkist Tuna Kill my Cat?, Do Cats love starkist tuna, do cats love starkist tuna, etc?
Table of Contents
- What is Starkist Tuna
- Do cats like starkist Tuna ?
- Do Cats Hate Starkist Tuna
- Can Eating Starkist Tuna Kill My Cat
- Can Cats Eat Starkist Tuna
- What should you feed your tuna-loving cat?
- Healthy ways to feed your Cat with Tuna
What is Starkist Tuna
Tuna is an affordable and easy-to-manage fish in many households, often making itself seen in sandwiches and casseroles.
Companies like StarKist have leveraged that, creating different varieties of flavored tuna and canned tuna to let people pick and choose what they would like.
If tuna is a fixture in your house, you may also have noticed that it makes your cat come running, even for the stuff with other flavorings. And since tuna is fish, and most people think cats eat lots of fish, feeding them tuna seems perfectly natural. But is it safe?
Do cats like starkist Tuna ?
Our feline friends possess this strong ability to perceive either a smell or an aroma and fish is not an exemption especially the canned tuna You would probably make your cat extremely happy if you fed them StarKist tuna! Many Cats love Tuna. and will come begging for it whenever they smell it.
Do Cats Hate Starkist Tuna
First, let’s get one thing out of the way: cats can’t taste the difference between different brands of tuna. So, if your cat loves one brand of tuna, they’ll likely love all brands. Therefore, it doesn’t matter whether you choose to buy Starkist or another brand.
Now, onto the question at hand: do cats love or hate Starkist tuna? The answer is that it really depends on the individual cat. Some cats might really enjoy the taste of Starkist tuna, while other cats might not be a fan.
The best way to figure out if your cat loves or hates Starkist tuna is to try it out and see how your cat reacts. If your cat loves it, then you’ve found a winner. If they don’t seem to be interested, then you can always try a different brand of tuna.
In most cases, cats are usually pretty open to trying different types of food. So, even if your cat doesn’t seem to love Starkist tuna, they might still enjoy it. Just be sure to offer a variety of flavors and textures so that your cat gets a balanced and healthy diet.
Can Eating Starkist Tuna Kill My Cat
As much as feline owners love to give their feline friends a good treat the question of “is this safe for my cat” always pops up and the question of “can starkist tuna kill my cat” is not an exemption. Feeding your cat tuna in itself is not dangerous as long as it is plain StarKist tuna packed in water and only a small amount as a treat, it’s very unlikely that eating it will kill your cat. However, this is with the assumption that:
- Your cat isn’t allergic to fish (and fish allergies are surprisingly common among cats)
- You aren’t feeding your cat with only tuna. Tuna lacks too many nutrients that our feline friends need and it’s high in calories, so you end up with a malnourished and obese cat who will not be living its best life and will likely get sick.
First of all, it’s important to note that cats can be allergic to tuna (and in fact to all fish). If they are allergic, they are more likely to be itchy, vomit, have digestive problems, and be lethargic after eating it.
Fish allergies are the third most likely food for cats to be allergic to, behind beef and dairy! You don’t want to subject your cat to being uncomfortable for hours after eating fish, even if your cat thinks it’s well worth it.
Tuna (including StarKist Tuna of course) is also high in mercury. Tuna is one of the most mercury-laden fish and mercury poisoning can make a cat very ill. (Remember that it doesn’t take nearly as much of something to make a cat sick as it does a human).
Symptoms of mercury poisoning include:
- Dizziness
- Loss of balance
- Loss of coordination
- Neurological damage
These symptoms are also similar to other illnesses like thiaminase (Vitamin B deficiency) which can also come about as a result of eating too much fish! The worst offender is Albacore tuna which has three times the amount of mercury as other fish due to their size.
Other issues with tuna include:
- Tuna ‘addiction’ is where a cat can get too used to eating tuna and won’t eat anything else.
- Steatitis or yellow fat disease, where the fat in your cat hardens can cause extreme pain.
- High in mineral salts which can cause bladder stones.
- Too much-unsaturated fat.
- Not enough vitamin E or other antioxidants.
- High in calories.
Now, before you empty your pantry, keep in mind that these things come about if your cat tries to live on tuna and isn’t given its usual food to eat instead.
When fed in a small amount once in a while as a treat, tuna is perfectly safe (assuming no allergies).
Can Cats Eat Starkist Tuna
As a pet owner especially a feline lover, one of the recurring questions that come to mind when it comes to a cat’s diet is “ can my cat eat this or that” the question of “if “ has become a reoccurring one and this is not an exemption either.
Cats can eat starkist tuna but with a caveat. some cats love it others don’t. More so, Your feline friend shouldn’t be fed with only starkist tuna as the main diet. Tuna alone lacks some basic nutritional necessities needed by your feline friend.
Be sure to avoid feeding your cats with flavored tuna, this treat should be occasionally not every day as this can lead to poisoning for your cat. Also, note that not all cats like tuna and hence can have an allergy to eating it when you feed them it.
StarKist is a brand that uses high-quality tuna fish and offers low-sodium products. So yes, you can give your cat StarKist tuna, as long as it’s packed in water and doesn’t contain harmful additives or flavors. The tuna is wild-caught, so it may contain higher levels of mercury than commercially bred fish, though.
What should you feed your tuna-loving cat?
Make sure the basis of your cat’s diet is high-quality pet food formulated specifically for cats. Healthy, grain-free canned cat foods have salmon as the first ingredient and may satisfy your cat’s craving for fish.
If you choose to feed your cat human-grade canned tuna, limit it to an occasional treat. Try to choose “chunk light” tuna in water rather than “white” tuna.
Healthy ways to feed your Cat with Tuna
It’s always a good idea to talk to your veterinarian before adding any new foods to your cat’s diet. If you get your veterinarian’s prompt and you wish to feed your cat tuna, follow the same guidelines as you would for feeding your cat any treat.
Supplemental treats like tuna should make up less than 10 percent of your cat’s daily calories. The rest of your cat’s diet (90 percent) should come from high-quality, complete-and-balanced cat food.
To avoid potential issues that can arise from eating too much tuna, including the development of picky eating habits, avoid feeding tuna every day and instead limit tuna to an occasional surprise for your cat. Also, avoid feeding your cat with flavored tuna but rather with plain tuna in water.
