Your cat loves tuna, even comes running when she hears the tuna can open.
But is it safe for her to eat?
We humans have heard tuna is a big fish and concentrates mercury. We have been told to limit our tuna consumption. This warning is because tuna eats little fish. Little fish eat smaller fish and plankton. Plankton are contaminated with mercury because our oceans are contaminated with mercury.
There are two major considerations just regarding the tuna and mercury levels and here they are:
- First, we can buy low mercury (sold as no mercury ) tuna.
- Second, there are legal allowable levels of mercury in pet food. Canned cat food legally contains mercury.
Your human edible tuna just might have less mercury than canned cat food.
Ok. So then you argue “my cat can’t eat just canned tuna, it’s not balanced.” True. But that’s a different argument. And that tuna can be balanced with a couple of different diet balancers.
But if the goal is to stop feeding junk food to your cat, then make the switch to tuna. And once he/she is eating the tuna, we’ll get it balanced.
Baby steps. Cats are tough to switch to real food. Don’t use the mercury excuse; we can feed tuna safely following the above guidelines.
Consultations available in Tampa, Clearwater and virtually for pet owners seeking natural wellness solutions.