By Nora Glover

You don’t have to be an experienced fisherman to select the best fish on the market. Yet, you have to know what you are looking for. Remember that your cat can’t actually complain about the weird taste or smell of the fish, so you have to check it yourself. If you already have a reliable seller, I recommend you to stick to it. But, if you are new to this business, pay attention to every offer, inspect the fish before you buy it.

Selecting Healthy Fresh Fish

You have to be extremely careful when choosing a fish. You will not be able to cut it and check whether it is still fresh. So, here are some tips that may help you with this task:

• Inspect the fish’s eyes – They must be wet, plump, clear, and shiny. They can’t be hollow. Bleary eyes mean that the fish either had a disease or it isn’t fresh. This is the best way to check whether the fish is healthy and fresh.
• Tail and fins – You can either inspect them visually or by touch. Both fins and tail must be wet, healthy-looking and unharmed. Ragged tails or fins are always a bad sign. Usually, it means that the fish was held in the net for a long time. Dried tails and fins are signs of a stale fish.
• Push the fish slightly – Don’t do it without the seller’s permission. If you can do it, try to feel whether it is wet and cold. Fresh fish can’t be sticky. It may be slick, but not sticky. Press it slightly. If it bounces back like your own skin, this fish is fresh. If it did not bounce back, this fish is probably stale.
• Gills of the proper color – If you don’t like the idea of touching fish’s gills at the shop, you may ask the shop assistant to help you. Usually, they gladly assist with that. Remember that gills of just-caught fish are red. Pale gills mean that fish was caught a long time ago. So, basically, if the color is still bright, the fish is fresh. If you notice that gills are sticky, try choosing another fish. Dark-brown or even black gills are also a bad sign. It means that the fish is too old.
• Check the scales – Consider it as one of the most important signs of fresh and healthy fish. Scales protect the fish in the water, and the stronger and shinier it is, the healthier the fish. Dry and thin scales that can be easily crumbled is the most obvious symptom of sickness or staleness.

Selecting Filleted Fish

If you don’t want to clean the fish and remove its bones, you can simply buy butchered fish. Fresh filleted parts require some inspection from you as well. Prepare to touch, smell, and check it carefully.

Pay attention to:

• Cracks and small breaks in the filet – If you see rifts, white strips or breaks in the filet, it means that this fish was mistreated or taken improperly. White lines are collagen sheaths that indicate the old age of the fish. Water in the container with the fish is a sign of the staleness as well, and the inability to hold the moisture in the tissue.
• Color of the filet – Depending on the type of fish, its meat should look differently. White fish like halibut or cod will have translucent meat. Salmon or tuna will have bright meat in its fresh state. All the fish must be glossy and wet.

La Creme Du Fish (Fish Cream) Recipe for Cats

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 carrot
• 1 egg
• 1 fish
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• 1 pinch of catnip
• Vitamin supplement for cats

You can name this dish as you like, your cat will love it anyway. I mentioned one fish in the recipe, but it really depends on the size of the fish and the number of portions you want to cook.

Instructions:

1. Warm 1 tbsp of oil in a pan on the medium heat. When it starts to boil, add fish. Then add the carrot and cook the fish for 5-7 minutes on each side. Turn down the heat and let cool.
2. Wash the egg and break it.  Don’t throw away the shell. Crush it until it turns into powder. Add this powder to the egg and mix them together.
3. Remove bones from the fish if there are some. Put the filet, carrot, and egg inside the blender. Mix everything together and blend. You will get a substance that looks like cream.
4. Add salt and catnip. Mix the dish one more time. Add vitamins. If the cream is too thick, add water.

Please note: Eating fish too often may result in thiamine deficiency. This recipe isn’t intended to be a source of complete, daily nutrition. It can be included as part of a nutritious diet for cats.

Author Bio:
My name is Nora Glover, and I am here to help you treat your cat properly. I am soon to be a professional cat doctor who dedicates all her free time to her cats and sharing my own experience with others on catademy.com. Since early childhood, I knew who I want to be. Growing up, I always was somewhere near the animals. And cats were my favorites. And now I want to teach you how to search for the best fish and cook it so your cat would love it.

 You may also be interested in reading:
Top 5 Sources of Antioxidants for Cats & Other Carnivores (With Infographic)
Natural Diet of Large Breed Domestic Cats
Natural Remedies for Hairballs (Trichobezoars / Bezoars) in Cats

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