Thoughts / Input / Experience / Guidance on Pink Salmon

[ElisabethM]

Has anyone fed canned Alaskan salmon with bones and skin?
The downside is the salt, and when we have fed this we rinse it with fresh water a few times and drain
The meat has bones in it which are chewable and are great

We try to give a variety of foods; due to costs this is an affordable nutrition powerhouse, with the bones, skin and a fair amount of vitamin d.

@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina @Dr. Sara

 

[DayshaG]

Has anyone fed canned Alaskan salmon with bones and skin from a can?
The downside is the salt, and when we have fed this we rinse it with fresh water a few times and drain
The meat has bones in it which are chewable and are great

We try to give a variety of foods; due to costs this is an affordable nutrition powerhouse, with the bones, skin and a fair amount of vitamin d.

@Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina @Dr. Sara

@ElisabethM I had been feeding my kitty Bella who was on a prescribed kidney diet from a vet nutritionist canned salmon along with other ingredients added. The vet had me actually remove the skin and bones though, as I followed a recipe that included a powder calcium supplement. She liked it, though I have transitioned Bella back to raw after I spoke with another vet that had a different opinion. But I am also curious about what others share about the salmon as I have heard some negative things, like about toxicity, etc. Good luck! FYI my kitties used to enjoy the soft bones of the fish as well, those little vertebral discs!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Elisabeth!

Yes, tho a very limited amount.

From a toxic-exposure perspective, I try to avoid big fish like salmon, tuna and swordfish.

 

[ElisabethM]

Hi Elisabeth!

Yes, tho a very limited amount.

From a toxic-exposure perspective, I try to avoid big fish like salmon, tuna and swordfish.

You mean from the perspective of too much mercury? Everything I find online says salmon is low in mercury . . . but feeding everday it can build up is the concern right? There are dry dog foods with fish which is usually whitefish; is this because whitefish is that much lower in mercury that feeding everyday is not a concern? For example I fed him the Honest Kitchen fish recipe mix for a month and he loved it. The first ingredient and protein source is whitefish. According to this page's statistics salmon is lower in mercury than whitefish. Whitefish are bigger than pink salmon ... He will have chunk light tuna in water rinsed once or twice a month due to it being a whole protein affordable available; due to mercury - which is lowest in chunk light

 

[ElisabethM]

Everything I have read says salmon are low in mercury; is that the toxicity that you are referring to?

@ElisabethM I had been feeding my kitty Bella who was on a prescribed kidney diet from a vet nutritionist canned salmon along with other ingredients added. The vet had me actually remove the skin and bones though, as I followed a recipe that included a powder calcium supplement. She liked it, though I have transitioned Bella back to raw after I spoke with another vet that had a different opinion. But I am also curious about what others share about the salmon as I have heard some negative things, like about toxicity, etc. Good luck! FYI my kitties used to enjoy the soft bones of the fish as well, those little vertebral discs!

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Salmon has to be specifically wild-caught. Make sure it says so on the label. Otherwise it's farmed and quite toxic.

Alaska salmon is safer in terms of pollutants than Pacific salmon, where the babies have to swim through the salmon-farm pens on their way to the ocean. Many juveniles die of lice and other diseases they pick up that way.

No problem with skin/bones though, in general.

But I'm not a big fan of fish for pets. littlebigcat.com/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/

 

[Dr. Jeff]

You mean from the perspective of too much mercury?

Lots of stuff (especially if farmed)! I think "pink" is wild so depend on where and how it is caught.

feeding everday it can build up is the concern right?

Yes again.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Search sustainable seafood recommendations by Seafood Watch

Use the Seafood Watch recommendation search tool to find seafood that's fished or farmed in environmentally sustainable ways.

www.seafoodwatch.org

 

[GinnyW]

We eat TJ's canned Alaskan line-caught salmon, and also Kroger canned seine-caught (Thailand) mackerel. Yuji gets a few ounces of either in his dinner on occasion, with other items. But most times, he gets a big California sardine, fresh and raw. These come flash-frozen by the case, and are lovely. We also use SeaPet fish body oil as a supplement, alternating with MCT oil, and a couple of capsules daily of krill oil as well.

We live on Puget Sound, and the salmon fishery here is of dubious quality and much contention. Amateur fishermen do take them in season, but I don't seem to be standing in the right lines

I still think a moderate quantity of fish in variety is a plus, and we both enjoy it.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

I agree Ginny, for dogs. For cats, I prefer to really limit fish.

Puget Sound is not just dubious quality, but heavily polluted with all sorts of drugs and such. It's full of fish farms too, so it's also where most of the baby salmon catch sea lice and other nasties. So refraining from local salmon is probably a good idea!

My grandfather was a salmon fisherman in Alaska, so in addition to safety concerns, when I eat salmon, it has to come from there. Speaking of which, I have half a salmon in the freezer... maybe time to get that puppy out! Yum!

 

[Dr. Christina]

And many of my feline clients thrived on a diet with regular fish. There is no one right answer, for sure. Checking the seafood watch is great.

"For example I fed him the Honest Kitchen fish recipe mix for a month and he loved it."

When you feed a wider variety (not one brand for a month, or a year) you minimize a lot of the toxicity problems and also provide different aminio acids and other nutrients.

Also, learn how to energetically ask for yes/no answers to help decide if a food or supplements is good at this point. Dowsing, pendulum, body sway and many others. Sue Whittiker did a great talk on this.

Dr. Christina

 

[DayshaG]

Good morning! @Dr. Jeff @Dr. Christina @Dr. Jean Hofve Thought I'd jump back on the fish talk. I have been feeding Bella and Maya Primal brand raw but many of the flavors I feed them happen to be a blend like chicken & salmon or beef & salmon. Would you believe this to be an issue? I may have to switch brands as the kitties are finicky about, say, straight rabbit. And Dr. Herman my homeopath had wanted Bella to be eating beef for a bit to help her anemia (which has resolved at this time with her most recent blood work done last week, yay!!!!) ?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Would you believe this to be an issue?

As long as the fish is only part of a varied diet, I would not consider this to be an issue.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

That's fine, I just don't recommend an all-fish diet or even a *lot* of fish due to toxicity issues and connection with urinary problems in some cats.

 

[ElisabethM]

Salmon has to be specifically wild-caught. Make sure it says so on the label. Otherwise it's farmed and quite toxic.

Alaska salmon is safer in terms of pollutants than Pacific salmon, where the babies have to swim through the salmon-farm pens on their way to the ocean. Many juveniles die of lice and other diseases they pick up that way.

No problem with skin/bones though, in general.

But I'm not a big fan of fish for pets. littlebigcat.com/why-fish-is-dangerous-for-cats/

Thankfully the one we get is both wild caught and Alaskan; and says so in big letters on the can . . .
That is info I like to know re the babies swimming through the pens on their way to the ocean. Humans are so parasitive to nature the earth and other species.

 

[GinnyW]

We are also concerned about "salmon poisoning". This is a bacterium which lives in a liver fluke which in turn lives in a freshwater snail. So any salmon which travels up into fresh water - ALL of them unless interrupted by dams and hatcheries - can pick up this disease.

It seems that any fish which spawns in waters including, and north of, the Copper River drainage - this is British Columbia and Alaska - is free of these due to the frigid water temperature. So there is something else about which to think.

Also, note that ANY "Atlantic salmon" Is gonna be pen-raised and not worth a damn, nutritionally - food coloring, inadequate nutrition, drugs, ABX, etc. Doesn't matter where the pens are - "Atlantic" salmon can be raised anywhere.

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

We are also concerned about "salmon poisoning". This is a bacterium which lives in a liver fluke which in turn lives in a freshwater snail. So any salmon which travels up into fresh water - ALL of them unless interrupted by dams and hatcheries - can pick up this disease.

It seems that any fish which spawns in waters including, and north of, the Copper River drainage - this is British Columbia and Alaska - is free of these due to the frigid water temperature. So there is something else about which to think.

Also, note that ANY "Atlantic salmon" Is gonna be pen-raised and not worth a damn, nutritionally - food coloring, inadequate nutrition, drugs, ABX, etc. Doesn't matter where the pens are - "Atlantic" salmon can be raised anywhere.

That's one reason why I don't recommend feeding raw fish!

And yes, Atlantic, Scottish, Norwegian, Nova Scotia, Icelandic--all farmed.