So, we adopted a bengal cat. She is six. We did not know she was a bengal until we brought the paperwork home. I did a little research on the breed, found I might be in for a wild ride.

Not only do I have a new cat, but this is my first cat EVER. So ... I'm sorta dumb. This is a dog house. Cat was like, where's my stuff?

So far, great temperament. Quite vocal. Not a cuddler (boo!). Loves the water. Loves the kids. Hates the dogs.

I am glad I found this forum. Problem is, in addition to dry cat food which the rescue place recommended, I have been giving her a half can of tuna every day. And not cat tuna. Human canned tuna. Now I read that this is not very good for cats because of the mercury content. I am so ashamed! This has been going on for a couple of weeks!

Problem is: Cat loves tuna. She meows to high heaven when it is tuna time. But clearly this cannot go on. Should I start mixing with raw meat? Canned wet cat food? Chicken? Beef? Tuna sometimes? I am afraid the cat will now need therapy without some tuna.

Please tell me how to fix my beautiful cat (which I broke).

I think it would be good to get her a good quality canned cat food and start giving it to her everyday. She will love the cat food just as much as the tuna , if you find what she really likes. Also you could give her Tuna as a treat every now and then but I wouldnt make it a regular event. Hope that helps! Good luck!!

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I have given her some canned Wellness brand chicken & salmon, but she's looking at it like it's poo. Granted this is only the first day I've done this. Perhaps she'll come around?

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We live in Washington D.C. We brought home a few cans of Wellness because that's what the foster parent recommended, but I'm not tied to any particular brand, as long as it doesn't give her tummy troubles and she gets the vitamins she needs. I just searched AvoDerm and that is available here. Maybe something with Tuna IN it to start. Like Tuna and Methadone.

I hope eventually she will get hungry enough, and the dry food helps. I first gave her the human tuna because I thought, oh, she'll like it, and it's a new home, and this will make her happy and comfortable. But then she liked it so much that I couldn't stop. As soon as I came home from the gym every morning I would get a bizarre series of LOUD meows that I KNOW means Tu-NA! Tu-NA! Tu-NA!

But when we put down THAT-WHICH-IS-NOT-TUNA, we got a really snooty-sounding meow which I think means "Take this back to the kitchen for it is not Tuna." Then snubbing. Then walking haughtily away. Then crouching in the corner with her eyes trained on me like a sniper. She definitely hates me. I feel like a drug dealer

Recovering addict here:

No dry food.

Humanz Tuna is cooked or at least heated to kill bacteria. This means no Taurine, no bones no calcium and other vital nutrients are missing.

I feed 100% raw(NOT SUPERMARKET MEAT) but do add a bit of caned tuna so I'm a Hippocrat. I however add the nutrients to it. Its also high in sodium.

Just mix a bit in with a quality grain free wet food. Ween him off of it, you can just use the water from the can. Never feed tuna with oil cats can't properly digest vegetable oils.

My cat likes Weruva cat food but will eat its own poo with a bit of tuna in it

PS cat food tuna doesn't have the same heroin in it. So feel free to try chicken or beef etc.

My first cat too. No problem mine loves dogs so give it time.

Viper, you're back!

My boys like Merrick's Before Grain 96% tuna flavor. Maybe that may help wean her off of the human grade tuna. Sometimes I open a can of sardines for them. They go crazy over it. I've been told that sardines are great to add to raw recipes.

Google "yellow fat disease" Tuna is a terrible staple for cats. You need to stop that immediately. Even if it weren't for that, like others have pointed out, it's not a complete food so your cat is going to have health issues because of various deficiencies.

My recommendation is to feed something like Tiki Cat or Weruva where the meat is shredded and I'm guessing is going to have a lot of the same appeal as human tuna.

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The little monsters 3

I came back to post some snowy pix of Pouncey in the gallery.

I typed a very long and detailed explanation of the ups and downs of sardines ...then something happed and poof gone

I don't feel like doing it again but if you ask I'll explain in detail why you need to be careful with them. Canned sardines are a NO! Raw are really healthy and high in omega oils. There is a danger with feeding any raw fish to cats you must take the proper precautions.

This does not apply to canned tuna because its cooked.

Whatever drug drives them crazy is in canned tuna. Not raw tuna or sardines (my experience).

If your not going to make your own food just wean off the tuna. Its not poison just not healthy. I'm sure there's Mercury and sodium but that effects us to. (I love tuna) The issues are lack of nutrition mainly Steatitis (yellow fat disease) and Taurine deficiency.

If you want to know I'll explain how raw fish effects cats differently than other mammals. I give raw fish to my cat so its OK if you understand the dangers.

K, viper, I'll take your word for it on the canned sardines. I'm out of them anyway. Going to look at the pics!

So I've been mixing good quality cat food (but only beef and chicken so far) with a spoon of human tuna + tuna water. And I mean mixing it. Yet the cat somehow manages to unmix it, picking out the tiny pieces of tuna and then glaring at me with the I-KNOW-WHAT-YOU-DID face. I did not realize the cat was going to be smarter than me. By the way, this was right before she gave me a neck puncture wound and then opened my bathroom cupboard and slept on top of my tampons all night in protest. But I digress.

So, I've just ordered a case of the Merrick 96 percent tuna. I also ordered some Weruva.

Please, God, let it work, and forgive me for I knew not what I did when I did it.

Last night we had prime rib for Christmas dinner and I brought her up a few little bites. She deigned to eat that after poking around at it for awhile with cold-hard skepticism. PRIME RIB! Do cats not like prime rib? Is prime rib not better than tuna? CHEAP DATE.

I also made the mistake of trying to give her some milk the first night I brought her home. She looked at me like I was freaking crazy. Human Tuna = bad. Milk = bad.

I think she WANTS to go back to the shelter. She keeps looking at me like "Did they not screen you?"

Sardines, including canned, are full of good omega oil/fat which is essential in a cats diet.

Not all canned comes in oil, and you can drain the oil off and dry the sardines so there is not much oil. Sardines/tuna in brine is also bad because of the high salt content. Best bet is to use that in spring water although its not essential as the fish can be drained/rinsed etc.

In my experience, not all cats like tuna. I have 5 cats and only one likes tuna, the other 4 hate it. I think it's got quite a strong smell that sone cats love. Cats actually taste food through smell and so the smellier the food, the better it may taste. That is why a lot of cats do not like fridge cold food as it has no smell.

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Lollo