QUICK GIVEAWAY: Nordic Naturals fish oil for your cat’s health (P.S. Research associates omega-3s with cat longevity)

CONTEST CLOSED: We have a winner!  Thank you so much to everyone who tossed their cat’s name(s) in the hat. Congratulations to April and her cat Wee Gray!

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Let’s get right to the fun part:

Enter to win a bottle of high quality fish oil for your cat just by telling me your cat’s name in the Comments below the post. Do it cat-quick! – by this Friday 5pm April 6 PDT.

Even more fun – did you know that research linked essential-fatty-acids to increased cat lifespan? Yes, in the 2006 study, Effect of nutritional interventions on longevity of senior cats.

HOW TO WIN:

Just tell me your cat’s name in the Comments below this blog post.

Yep, that’s all!

Do it cat-quick!—before 5pm PDT this Friday (April 6)

What you can win and why it’s so great:

Nordic Naturals Pet Cod Liver Oil ($24 value + free shipping)

Nordic Naturals meets my nutritionist criteria for high quality fish oil:

1. It’s a marine (or algae) source. That’s important because cats can’t readily convert plant oils (e.g., flax seed oil) to the DHA and EPA that are the power properties of omega-3s.

2. It’s free of contaminants like heavy metals and PBDE. Nordic Naturals sent me this statement about PBDE:

“PBDE is a pollutant similar in structure to PCBs. These flame retardant chemicals tend to breakdown into dioxins and we test all of our fish oil lots for dioxin levels. Our oil suppliers test for this pollutant on a routine basis. Scientific literature has proven levels of PCBs and levels of PBDE are strongly correlated.  Our extremely low PCBs and dioxin level correlates to extremely low PDBE levels. Both toxin types are removed during the oil refining process.”

3. It’s processed in a way that preserves the quality without damaging the fats (damaged omega-3s are unhealthy).

For more details, check out their FAQ. I also recommend Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Pet liquid, made with wild sardine oil.

I can vouch for reports that when a cat starts getting good marine omega-3 fatty acids, a fast improvement in his health can be seen by shinier, softer fur. We certainly saw this with Phil and Joel.

Jean Hofve, DVM explains at LittleBigCat.com:

“Lack of a healthy balance of essential fatty acids is linked to many serious health conditions, such as allergies, skin diseases, obesity, cancer, insulin resistance, diabetes, asthma, arthritis…”

References

• Effect of Nutritional Interventions on Longevity of Senior Cats (PDF download) Cupp CJ, et al.. Intl J Appl Res Vet Med 2006
• How Fish Oil Helps Kill Off Cancer Cells, 2009 news article
• Omega-3s are Essential for Your Cat! by Jean Hofve, DVM
• The Effect of the Addition of Oil Preparation with Increased Content of n-3 Fatty Acids on Serum Lipid Profile and Clinical Condition of Cats with Miliary Dermatitis,  Zentralblatt für Veterinärmedizin 45, Agricultural University of Warsaw, Poland, September 1998

TIPS for introducing fish oil

I don’t want you to make my initial mistake, which was to put fish oil on my cat’s food only to have her reject it immediately.

As holistic vet Anne Reed later taught me, start by putting a tiny spot of oil on the side of your cat’s plate for a couple days, and then gradually mix it a little more and a little more each day. As your cat gets used to the smell over a few days, she will typically accept it regularly in her food.

The basic rules: