My cat had a couple of hot spots, so the vet put her on a food

[Critters2]

with salmon as the first ingredient. Apparently, the omega-3s (or 6s, maybe both, not sure) in the fish are good for her skin. Her coat and skin have improved considerably! She looks better than she ever has.

But something occurred to me...should I be worried about mercury in this fish? I don't eat fish at all, so I haven't kept up on all the "mercury in fish" news. Anyone have any info about mercury in cat food?

Thanks!

[flvegan]

1. What were you feeding her before?

I ask because if your vet has suggested this food for the Omega-3 FA, you might be better off giving her a human grade supplement to get that ingredient to her. As we all know, the "food" that goes into animal feed is crap quality, so...

[Critters2]

2. She was getting Wysong Vitality before.

Now the vet has her on Purina Pro-Plan Salmon and Rice Formula. I was skeptical about Purina, but she's doing well on it. It's not the prescription Purina, but the vet does sell it.

Our vet stopped selling Hill's during the recall crisis. He was pissed off that one of Hill's prescription foods was recalled, said the prescription foods should all have been manufactured under strict supervision. So, he switched to Purina prescription diets, and sells Pro-Plan instead of Science Diet now. I must admit, my other cat, the one with flutd has shown amazing improvement since going off the Hill's. On Hill's he had constant crystal problems and UTIs. Hasn't had a single instance of either since switching to Purina Veterinary Diet. Which has improved my opinion of Purina.

But I digress. She was on Wysong. Now on Pro-Plan. Think a human supplement might be better?

[flvegan]

3. Wysong v Purina? Oh, sweet whiskers, yes.

Wysong is top of the tree in quality. Purina? Not so much. Look at the ingredients after the salmon. See anything like "animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols"? Yeah, that means they have no clue which animal nor which parts that is composed of.

Ask your vet about dosage, and then find yourself a quality human grade product and dose with the Wysong. That's my opinion.

[Critters2]

4. I pretty much felt this way,

which is why she was on Wysong to begin with. I may take a look at the Wysong website, and see if they have any supplements for this. They've got lots of supplements, probably human grade.

I still think Purina beats Hill's, but then, so does dumpster content. I'll look into supplementing the Wysong.

Thanks for your help, flvegan! :hi:

[flvegan]

5. Check it out

http://www.wysong.net/articles/fish_oil.shtml

Purina and Hills are both crap. On top of that, they both fund ugly forms of animal testing.

At any rate, good luck with kitteh! Oh, and if you switch back, don't toss the Purina you bought. A shelter or rescue could probably really use it these days.

[Critters2]

6. Thanks! I'll talk to the vet about dosage, and get a supplement.

I knew Hill's did animal testing. Somehow didn't think about Purina, though I should've known.

Thanks again!

[alarimer]

7. No. Mercury does not seem to be an issue in salmon.

Swordfish and tuna, possibly.

Generally speaking, this is a bio-magnification issue. Species higher on the food chain (swordfish and tuna- but it depends on the species of tuna) will have more of it in their tissues. And the warnings really only apply to pregnant women because of potential developmental problems. I doubt it's much of an issue at all for pets. And it is mostly overblown in my opinion.

[Critters2]

8. Thanks!!

I'm probably going to do some supplementing. But this is good to know. There are some "sensitive skin" cat foods that have tuna. I'll be avoiding those.

And I always wonder whether these things are overblown. I have no way of knowing.

Again, thanks! :hi:

[Thirtieschild]

9. Our dog had hot spots every year in October

The vet realized I was bringing him in the second week in October every year, sent us to a dog allergist, who did skin tests, lots of allergies (including an allergy to cats), I gave him shots once a week, no more hot spots.

Also - is the salmon Alaskan or Atlantic? I have a terrible reaction to Atlantic salmon, eat Alaskan salmon with no problem.

[Critters2]

11. I have no idea whether it's Alaskan or Atlantic. Interesting point.

The container just says "salmon".

The food is helping, and she likes it. So, it's easier than giving her shots.

[deathdog]

10. I've been reading this thread, and thought I'd suggest what I use.

Both my dog and cat are on Eagle Pack Salmon, Anchovy and Sardine cat and dog foods. My dog had skin problems, and the cat loved the smell of the food. So, I got her the cat version. They're both doing great. My cat never had hot spots, but my dog did. They've cleared up since switching to this food.
They don't do animal testing, according to their web page. Here it is.
http://www.eaglepack.com/


Here's the fish cat food page: http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_CatFish.html
It has plenty of fish! You can smell it when you open the bag!

[Critters2]

12. I've seen this brand at our local pet supply place.

It caught my eye once, because one bag said something about chicken raised on Amish farms or something. And it's made not far from here. I'll take another look.