Many of our local vets recommend Coatex fish oil for dogs and cats. But if you look at the first ingredient, it is borage oil. Borage oil is a seed oil extracted from the borage plant and is rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an omega-6 fatty acid. Omega-6 is good for the skin and fur, but it also has the tendency of causing inflammation. Coatex’s next two ingredients are fish gelatin (good for the skin) and fish oil (this would be the Omega-3 component).
I think Coatex is more suited for healthy skin and coat. I was looking for an Omega-3 supplement as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory for our cats. For capsules, I needed the size to be suitable for pilling cats, so it cannot be very big.
My search didn’t need to go very far, because husband and I both take Medikrill – a krill oil (I used to, until I switched to another fish oil), which is easily available in many local pharmacies. I checked all the ingredients and it’s all cat-friendly. The dosages and ingredients are cat-friendly too. I’ve also since checked with my vet-friend who is currently working in Australia and she agrees. I will not administer any product to our cats without first checking with our vet.
The absorption of krill oil is supposedly better than that of fish oil because of its phospholipid structure.
But a disclaimer first: Kindly consult your veterinarian before using this product on your cats. This is not a pet product. This is not a recommendation at all. It is only a sharing.
I’ve checked several fish oil products at the pharmacy and most of them have much higher content of fish oil which could be too high for cats. Remember that fish oil may reduce platelet stickiness, which could theoretically affect clotting time and may lead to bleeding if taken in high doses. I learnt this from a vet; she told me that some pets tended to bleed more during surgery and when she asked, they were on fish oil. The same can happen to humans too. My pharmacist told me that he had customer who took high doses of fish oil and he started haemorrhaging. So, these are all important points to consider very carefully.
I found this from several websites:
For cats, a good daily combined amount of EPA and DHA combined is around 30 mg per kg of body weight. This can be achieved through dietary sources like fish or supplements. Some studies suggest that cats may benefit more from DHA than EPA, so a supplement designed specifically for felines is often recommended.
So for Tabs, who is about 4.2kg, I am definitely not overdosing her with Medikrill which I plan to give on alternate days, just to play it safe. Other signs to watch out for would be diarrhoea, vomiting or oily skin. Ginger is 6.5kg, so that’s definitely not overdosing at all!
See the size comparison? A Medikrill capsule is even smaller than a Coatex capsule.
Some research backing of Medikrill:
As an anti-inflammatory and it is good for joint health. Both Tabs and Ginger have arthritis, so it would be good for them.
Bioavailability is very important; it means how much of a supplement or food actually enters the bloodstream when it is eaten so that it can have an active effect. Medikrill is molecularly-distilled.
More information: https://medikrill.life/
This is Coatex’s ingredients, for comparison. The plus point is that it contains Vitamin E which acts as an antioxidant, safeguarding Omega-3s (like EPA and DHA) from being damaged by free radicals and other oxidative processes.
Medikrill has astaxanthin which prevents the oxidation of the fish oil too. It also acts as a powerful antioxidant, it may enhance cats’ immune system, reduce oxidative stress, improve joint health, and support healthy aging. Astaxanthin can help protect against free radicals, which can damage cells, and it may also improve vision and cognitive function in older cats.
Here’s more from https://bestfriendsvet.com/library/fatty-acid-supplementation-in-cat/
Omega 3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and can treat, prevent or delay the onset of inflammatory diseases, including arthritis, allergies, cancer, kidney disease and heart disease. We highly recommend supplementing these for all pets at all ages. The specific Omega 3 fatty acids that dogs and cats benefit from are EPA and DHA. Please click on above link to read more.
Now, this product below, Fera Pet Organics Fish Oil has good quality fish oil (from small fishes) and Vitamin E as well! However, it is a liquid oil, not a capsule and once opened, it has to be refrigerated and used within 90 days. I have given our cats Fera Pets fish oil before, but I stopped after some time. Now, it’s time to start again, so I ordered and it arrived today.
And it is a veterinarian formulated product. So, from that aspect, it’s safe for pets. It is also molecularly-distilled.
But the smallest bottle is 8oz and you have to finish it within 90 days.
More information: https://www.ferapets.com/products/fish-oil-for-dogs/
Since it is a liquid, it’s not so easy to feed it to the cats. Adding anything to the food has never quite worked for our cats. They can definitely smell it out. So I had to use Cindy’s baby food (the pureed canned food) to help. I mixed it with the pureed food and added it into their normal food. With the high concentration of EPA and DHA, only a few drops would be needed per cat.
Ginger had Cindy’s WholePrey for dinner. He likes it.
Surprise, surprise, surprise, Robin ate it all up! Yes, with the little bit of oil mixed with Cindy’s baby food. Robin ate up the fish oil!!
But a few of the Monsters smelled it out and left that part uneaten.
Later on, everything was sapu habis, but I don’t know who ate it all up!
Juno is a complete darling! She licked up the Fera fish oil, mixed with some Ciao and her probiotics! She is so, so cooperative. We almost never had such cooperative cats before, truly! And that is why I have many tricks up my sleeves, accumulated and compiled over the 19 years of having cats!
As for the Blondies, I used Cindy’s baby food laced with the oil and rubbed it onto their mouths. For Samantha, I added it to her raw food which she usually finishes, but she smelled it out and refused to eat that part.
Will try again and again.
For those who are willing to lick up Fera fish oil by themselves, I will not stress them by pilling them with capsules. For those who really need the anti-inflammatory effect of fish oil, I will have to resort of whatever means I can to feed it to them. That would be Tabs and Ginger for now. Both can be pilled quite easily without much stress.
An important disclaimer: This is only sharing and does not contain any veterinary or medical advice. Kindly consult your veterinarian for professional advice for your pets. This is also not a recommendation of any of the products that are mentioned.
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