Hi aquariangt:
I can’t answer that question either!!!!
I feel the fish issue is important, however I choose my battles. Lol If I could never feed fish again I do think it would be best, but they are older kitties and are addicted to fish. I feed it every three days, sometimes two. It is also difficult for me to find even better brands that don’t contain some form of fish in the recipe that they will eat. I have had better luck finding a few grocery store brands that they will eat with no fish.
If I had to pick feeding canned that is some or mostly fish based to get my cat to eat wet food, I would pick canned with fish. Then eventually I would try my best to mix or rotate in some recipes that don’t contain fish.
If it helps, I started the new diet for my cats in September, it has taken me this long to limit fish to just two or three times a week. I aim for no fish, however that may never be in the picture for my cats and I am okay with that.
Recently rather than buying a fish based wet food I have been mixing wild caught mackerel or tinned sardines in with the wet food that they like that doesn’t contain fish. I would also be happy to feed wild caught over farmed fish at this point; so far, so good.
Here are some quotes and links to catinfo that discusses the possible health issues that may be associated with feeding fish to cats:
From catinfo.org:
“PBDEs – PBDEs are fire retardant chemicals that can be found in high concentrations in some fish and also in house dust. Since PBDEs are known to affect thyroid function, and cat foods tend to be high in fish, there may be a causal link between hyperthyroidism and fish consumption. This is one of several reasons why I recommend against feeding fish-based diets to cats.”
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
“You will notice that many of the higher protein diets are fish-based but it is not a good idea to feed fish to cats. Or, at least not as their main diet. Fish can be high in mercury, high in PBDEs (fire retardant chemicals linked to hyperthyroidism), high in phosphorus (not good for older cats’ kidneys) and can be very addicting. It is best to feed poultry-based diets to cats.”
Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition
