Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil for Cats
 

I just got some Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil for my cats. It's a liquid. I thought it was going to be in treat form. :rolleyes: I'm wondering if anyone has used this supplement for their cat and if it helped with their skin. My Gracie has dry skin and I thought this might help. The directions say 1/2 tsp. per 10 # of body weight. I'm wondering if I can put this on her food. It would have to be 1 teaspoon based on her weight (20# at least).

When the cats get "big" and you have mentioned that, they cannot groom the back of their body and tail area.

Sheba at one time was like this. When she was 16 I took her to the vet with the dandruff like you describe.

After testing for diabetes, etc, she was cleared of being ill. The vet gave us some prednisone for the skin, which I used for a short while, and gave a shrimp (human frozen tail on) as a treat for after pilling her. The pred was a small dose compared to what Oreo is getting now.

Slowly, Sheba started to beg for the shrimp when the 5 day pill time ended. So I continued it... being the soft touch I am.

That habit grew to 3 shrimps once a day as a treat, and Sheba lost weight, her fur perked up, and all the dry skin went away. This took about 2 yrs...slowly. The vet was AMAZED when I brought her back! Totally AMAZED. I called it the kittie Atkins diet... high protein, satisfied her and she ate less kibble etc.

We normally use Eukanuba which had Omega-3's added...to the kibble anyway. Sheba continued and lived far longer than predicted! By FAR!. She died just about at 24, (a couple of weeks short).

You can mix the salmon oil in food... but our cats won't touch it that way. Oils get rancid-- "off" very quickly. I'd store in the frig, but it might be "off" already.

I am now putting one large shrimp in Oreo's special tuna in oil, to help her with the increased appetite the prednisolone is causing. I figured if it could help Sheba, it may help Oreo, too.

Some fish oils have an off --scent. And our cats will not take them mixed in food. I've tried.

I'd mix 1/2 of what you intend at first for the real dose, and mix well into some soft food that has a fish base. If she turns her nose up, then you may have to do human tuna in oil to get her going.

Oreo won't eat anything with an off scent. She is hugely piccy.
So she refused the shrimp alone--as it was "new" (and maybe reminded her of Sheba--Who knows!). I chopped it finely up and mixed in her tuna, and it went down the hatch in a blink of an eye!

Now, your kitty is already "chunky" so the oil form of tuna is maybe not needed. You could try the tuna in water, not albacore, but the cheap light tuna for humans. Albacore is higher in mercury contaminants.

Look at the kibble you give, and see if it has the Omega-3's in it. Most premium foods do. IAMs was one of the first cat food places to put them in. (I found them a decade ago).

So bottom line. If the oil has been on a shelf for a long time, the cat may refuse it. Sniff it yourself and see if it seems chemically off. Keep in frig once opened. Check the exp date.
Foods for animals normally are not supervised as closely as people things in general. So it is possible it might be "off" already.

They all eat the Iam's ProActive Digestive Health dry cat food as well as Wellness wet food. I'm wondering if they already get enough Omega 3's with this combination. None of them are very good at eating anything that I've tampered with (like trying to hide a crushed up pill). This new stuff smells funny to me so I'm likely not going to try it with the cats. Maybe just a little olive oil added to the wet food would help her dry skin. And you're right.....she is too fat to reach her back! :o

I would try to increase protein, so she eats less kibble.

You can do the shrimp...I think it is high in taurine too, which cats need. I thaw them in warm water, before giving..since I use the frozen. And I've been known to have one myself! LOL

Or chicken that is freshly prepared without seasoning, or turkey.
When she gets more concentrated protein, she will eat less kibble and she may lose weight like Sheba did.

Once you move off commercial cat food some, you'll need to add some taurine to her subsititutes. This is very inexpensive. About 250mg a meal 3 times a week. Jarrow taurine for humans is very inexpensive 1000mg/cap. Has no taste that they refuse either.

Indoor cats who don't go outside tend to eat more. That is just the way life is.

Our little kitten just loves Turkey skins! Wow...
We had a fall dinner for Halloween... Turkey thighs made in a dutch oven... he really went for the skins. (I don't season them, so the cats can have them). Just a little broth to steam them in.

Basically I think low fat diets make them have dry skin.

The shrimp really fixed Sheba and she expected them every day too!

I've been giving Tuna in canola oil for Oreo occasionally now because of her high dose steroids which make her very hungry, and it has been very good for her coat! I thought the oil would help her eliminate,
The Vet remarked on this Monday. I add supplemental taurine
to it because cats need this amino acid critically. We are now approaching the first estimate of 2mo longevity with her cancer.
Looks like she will easily pass this milestone.