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Does a Side of Fish Go With the Main Dish?

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Sunday, February 1, 2009

Dear Dr. Fox:

We are feeding our cat your homemade natural dietary supplement. We are also adding some canned mackerel to each meal, and I am wondering whether this is a good idea. Maggie Mae loves it.

J.S.

Circle Pines, Minn.

A small serving (no more than a tablespoon a day) of mackerel is an excellent source of nutritional oil for cats. So are sardines, which are low on the food chain compared with tuna.

Being near the top of the marine food chain, tuna contain more mercury and other hazardous contaminants. Avoid canned or farmed salmon, too, because tested samples are often contaminated with man-made chemicals, such as highly toxic dioxins and PCBs.

I advise feeding only small amounts of mackerel or sardines in oil because if they are not mixed well into the cats' regular food, they may eat only the fish.

Dear Dr. Fox:


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