(I posted the same text in the cat food sub but haven’t gotten much to work off of. The reason I want to avoid or at least decrease tuna consumption is because tuna tends to have more heavy metals (mercury) than other fish, and it can accumulate in cats’ bodies over time. Mercury poisoning can cause neurological and kidney problems.
Sorry for the long post. Apparently I have a lot on my mind)
Japan seems to have very limited options for kitten foods, and even more limited in favor varieties.
The only ones I found that have no tuna is purina pro plan, kalkan (aka whiskas), nutro, and n&d. One of each in their whole line. The kalkan one, my boy hated and my girl tolerated, purina pro they were okay with first time around but second time my boy wasn’t as keen anymore, n&d I haven’t tried yet but have a few cans bought to try. Purina pro and n&d are also pretty expensive. Nutro chicken I have not tried yet, but boy hated the chicken and tuna version so I don’t have high hopes. I think royal canin‘s kitten wet food is also fish free, but they both are not fans of all three varieties sold here.
I’ve accepted the fact that fish is pretty much unavoidable here, but the high usage of tuna does scare me due to risk of mercury poisoning. Every brand’s kitten food I see tuna is one of the main ingredients. I understand that tuna on occasion is fine but the lack of any other flavors is pretty concerning. The adult foods have more choices in proteins, so I guess I have that to look forward to, but also that means I will have fish addicted cats to transition.
At the time being I’ve been feeding foods where tuna is only one of the proteins (usually mixed with like bonito, sea bream, imitation crab, or chicken). This does limit me to few varieties. Kalkan has the most variety of flavors for kittens it seems, although save for the just chicken one I talked about earlier, all contain tuna.
I also have dry kibble always available.
For some extra info on the cats:
Boy: est 18 weeks. pickiest (or finickiest) cat I’ve ever encountered. The wet foods he tolerates, he only eats a small amount(like a tablespoon). He almost never goes back to his leftovers. We call him our sensitive prince. He will spend all day worrying me from how sleepy he is and how little he eats, wet or dry, then once the clock hits 11pm he’s a rocket flying through the living room throwing mma smack down moves, scarfing down the dry kibble(he does still eat some dry throughout the day, late night just seems to trigger his hunger) . Is pretty good at drinking water. Weight is increasing so I assume he’s meeting his caloric needs. Currently has a bacterial skin infection being treated with ointment. One big poop right before bedtime.
Girl: est 20 weeks. Sweetest thing, always rumbling with purrs. Will chow down most wet food, including whatever leftovers from boy. If anything she’ll stop eating from her own bowl to eat some of boy’s. Not much of a dry food eater so it’s a little hard to make sure she’s getting enough calories. I do see her munching from the dry bowl on occasion, just not as intensely like boy. Is ready to play all day, naps are optional. Not as much of a water drinker, but she eats much more wet food than boy. Weight stagnates some weeks, increases others, so I wish she could eat more dry for the extra calories. Currently has a fungal skin infection being treated with oral and topical medicine. Three to four poops a day, and does have a tendency to have soft stool (but not liquid diarrhea).
Both are crazy about churu, they get one tube of complete nutrition churu for kittens each a day. (Of course they only have tuna flavor)
I assume boy “hates” a food when he takes a few bites, then starts doing the burying motion, and never comes back again. Each time I bring the food back to him, he’ll sniff and do the burying motion.
They both also prefer their wet and dry separate, and don’t enjoy moistened dry food. Purina’s fortiflora doesn’t seem to affect how “good” a food is, as their eating patterns did not change.
by Calm_Pie9369