Can I feed my dog and cat sardines? All the basic information you need to know!
Let’s talk about sardines!
It appears that a huge amount of people feed sardines to their pets, whether they include them in their home made diets, add them to their pet’s biscuits, or even just as a treat.
Friends and clients always seem excited to tell me that they feed sardines and that their pet loves them!
However, I also get asked a lot of questions such as, “Are sardines really as great as they are hyped up to be?” “which sardines are best to feed?” and then there is always a comment on “Sardines make my pet smell super fishy, is there something can do about it?!”
Should I feed Sardines to my Dog or Cat?
So first of all, YES, sardines are as great as everyone says they are! Oily fish are great for cats and dogs, although we must bare in mind that they present an issue with toxins and heavy metals that are inside most fish that cause a great health concern. Sardines, however, have a very short life span therefore they don’t accumulate as many heavy metals and toxins as some of their longer-living fishy friends! So they are a great choice if you're looking at adding oily fish.
Sardines have a huge amount of health benefits! Here’s 6 health benefits for your pet because of sardines:
Full of protein for skin, hair, muscle, and connective tissue development.
Full of essential amino acids that your pet cannot produce themselves. These fatty acids assist in skin health as they help to reduce red and Inflamed skin if your dog has allergies.
These anti-inflammatory properties also help fight inflammation mediators in epileptic dogs or cats.
A fantastic source of B12 which is great for cardiovascular health for your dog or cat.
Studies also show that sardines are a good source of Vitamin D which could help prevent certain cancers, as well as the omega 3’s in sardines, can also prevent cancer from metabolising in your dog or cat.
The high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are great for bone and joint health as well as cognitive function and eye health.
Now which sardines are best to use?
So if you chose to feed your pet’s sardines from a can then I recommend buying the ones canned in water with no added salt! And not the ones in oil/brine as the salt content is too high.
However, I prefer to feed sardines fresh and not from a can. The reason for this is that canned sardines are cooked at high temperatures, resulting in a loss of nutritional benefits, and the toxins from the BPH lining in the tin, can leach into the sardines.
AND very important if you don’t like that fishy smell! The fresh sardines hardly smell at all! Canned sardines are very smelly!
You can buy frozen sardines from produce stores such as Farmer Jacks, Spud Shed, and your local fishmonger and they don’t smell anywhere near as much, and no stinky cans in the bins afterward!
Your pet will love the fresh sardines and can be fed frozen in the summer as a treat. My dogs love an occasional fish icy pole!
You can buy whole fresh sardines usually in two sizes, the smaller ones are better for smaller dogs, puppies, and cats, and they have bigger sizes for larger dogs and these sardines are very meaty.
For animals that don’t like a whole sardine or can’t eat them whole for whatever reason, they can easily be cut or blended up. My large dogs have theirs whole and my very small Chihuahua gets her cut up into smaller pieces!
And yes, the heads and tails can be eaten as well if your pet likes them, those bits are also very nutritious!
I hope this has cleared up some questions regarding sardines, and give the whole fresh Sardines a try!!