• Amused
  • Angry
  • Annoyed
  • Awesome
  • Bemused
  • Cocky
  • Cool
  • Crazy
  • Crying
  • Depressed
  • Down
  • Drunk
  • Embarrased
  • Enraged
  • Friendly
  • Geeky
  • Godly
  • Happy
  • Hateful
  • Hungry
  • Innocent
  • Meh
  • Piratey
  • Poorly
  • Sad
  • Secret
  • Shy
  • Sneaky
  • Tired
  • Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
    Results 1 to 20 of 61

    Thread: Feeding Koi cat food?

    1. #1
      bammbammkoi's Avatar
      bammbammkoi is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Posts
      202

      Feeding Koi cat food?

      I heard from a few people that they feed there koi cat food. I'm starting to wonder if that would work. Does anyone here feed there large koi cat food, if so why?

      I'm not planning to feed my koi cat food.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    2. #2
      Cowiche Ponder's Avatar
      Cowiche Ponder is offline Living my life's dream
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Aug 2004
      Location
      Cowiche, WA
      Posts
      18,433
      I know of people that do too. I'm not sure that cat food is good for the cats, why feed it to the koi

    3. #3
      bammbammkoi's Avatar
      bammbammkoi is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Posts
      202
      I'm glad i'm not the only one who heard that. Is cat food better for koi?

      Why not feed koi food to cats..

    4. #4
      sweetpea's Avatar
      sweetpea is offline Our Resident Angel
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jul 2004
      Location
      Northern Virginia
      Posts
      11,690
      Each kind of food is specifically manufactured for that particular
      kind of pet.
      Dog food does not have all of the nutrients that cats require.
      And visa versa.
      sweetpea's angel
      Diane

      :usa:

      Charter Fan Club Member #7b
      Esteemed Member of the KK
      Proud Member Of The WWKC

    5. #5
      FishOCD's Avatar
      FishOCD is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2007
      Location
      Ohio
      Posts
      3,601
      As my mother used to say, "If you're hungry enough, you'll eat anything." (This in response to our moans of displeasure over something, usually green, on our plate.)

      I believe a hungry koi will eat anything and while cat food may keep them "fed", in the wild they would not normally have access to the beef or chicken in pet food. (Cheap cat food also has dyes that come out the other end the same color as it went in. Do I want red and green koi poop?) Maybe if you used a high-quality cat food in addition to a koi food to make sure of koi-specific vitamins. (Of course cat and dog food is now toxic from the contaminated Chinese wheat... )

    6. #6
      Headache's Avatar
      Headache is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jan 2006
      Location
      Louisville ,KY
      Posts
      3,562
      One other point : What would the Cat Food do to the Water Quality of the pond ? I would think most/if not all Fish food is maded to go in water , I don't believe Cat Food would be . All that I see from this (Feeding Koi , Cat Food) is a BIG future problem in the pond/koi .

    7. #7
      cindy's Avatar
      cindy is offline Administrator
      is Loving retirement
       
      Feeling:
      Happy
       
      Join Date
      May 2004
      Location
      Mt. Wash. KY - 7 miles outside Louisville
      Posts
      59,503
      Quote Originally Posted by sweetpea View Post
      Each kind of food is specifically manufactured for that particular
      kind of pet.
      Dog food does not have all of the nutrients that cats require.
      And visa versa.
      exactly.

    8. #8
      dick benbow's Avatar
      dick benbow is offline "The Koi Coach"
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Mar 2007
      Location
      Seattle, Wa
      Posts
      4,734
      Bless your heart sweetpea.....I think you've put your finger on the crux of the matter...each pet has ingredients specific to their need....I don't think our koi need any tainted wheat glutten from china.

      back in the day when I first got started folks tried to beat the High cost of koi food with trout chow....wow did they learn the hardway in our cool NW waters. Lots of indigestion and tumors.

      stick with koi food. learn to read the ingredients and % of protein. Learn ehat to feed in what temperature range. While a penny saved in food may end up costing you more in health problems for you babies....

    9. #9
      cindy's Avatar
      cindy is offline Administrator
      is Loving retirement
       
      Feeling:
      Happy
       
      Join Date
      May 2004
      Location
      Mt. Wash. KY - 7 miles outside Louisville
      Posts
      59,503
      and fatty livers. One of the first things I ask on a pond call if I see fish with beer bellys, is what do you feed.

    10. #10
      danzcool is offline Senior Member
      is Peachy, even though I've had
      no peaches this year
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2004
      Location
      Benicia, CA, still on the bay so that it cools off nightly but far enough from the coast to be nice.
      Posts
      3,688
      I think the issue with cat and dog food is that it has too high a fat content, and ends up long term causing liver issues.
      Koiphen member since 05-13-2004

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    11. #11
      SONATINE's Avatar
      SONATINE is offline KARP Runner
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Aug 2005
      Location
      ATLANTA, GA
      Posts
      2,530
      I was talking to the dealer where I buy my koi. He's Japanese and said he went to a club meeting in South Georgia at a member's house. He said that the owner of the home/pond was throwing in this special food to their koi. Not knowing what it was , he asked the owner what she was feeding her koi, she replied cat food, that's what everyone here uses. He was impressed as to how much the koi seemed to like it. So, he went back to try it as a treat and sure enough, the koi loved it. But it left a oil slick on the surface of the water. He discontinued it immediately. I would think that you'd be better off using a cheap koi food than a food designed for a cat. Their systems are so different.

    12. #12
      PapaBear is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Location
      Elsewhere
      Posts
      1,842
      All food is definitely not created equal, and without a very detailed ingredient lisitng as well as proccessing information it would seem to be an unacceptable risk. Typical cat feed is heavy on cornmeal (cheap fodder that Koi don't digest it well at all), high in animal fats (there's your oilslick in the making), and many have high ash content as well. Why risk saving a dime on food when you'll likely spend it ten times over on health issues and pond maintenence problems?

    13. #13
      bammbammkoi's Avatar
      bammbammkoi is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Posts
      202
      This is very interesting, I thought it was just a few people who feed there koi cat food. This is making me wonder what other stuff people feed their koi. I believe cheap koi food is about the same price as cheap koi food. Why risk saving a few bucks to get cat food and possible losing your koi that you raise from a fry to twenty inches or so.


      Does anyone here feed there Koi cat food?

      I don't feed my koi cat food; I buy bulk koi food and split them with a few of my friends.

    14. #14
      bammbammkoi's Avatar
      bammbammkoi is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Posts
      202
      Oh yea, if anyone feed there koi cat food please post a picture of your koi.

    15. #15
      Leekinneykoi's Avatar
      Leekinneykoi is offline Supporting Member
      is 17 years and still working on
      the 2 week pond
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Aug 2005
      Location
      Colerain, Ohio (Belmont Co.)
      Posts
      14,442
      Quote Originally Posted by Headache View Post
      One other point : What would the Cat Food do to the Water Quality of the pond ? I would think most/if not all Fish food is maded to go in water , I don't believe Cat Food would be . All that I see from this (Feeding Koi , Cat Food) is a BIG future problem in the pond/koi .
      Yes you put cat food in water to make gravy LoL, nice brown gravy pond water .
      Quote Originally Posted by PapaBear View Post
      All food is definitely not created equal, and without a very detailed ingredient lisitng as well as proccessing information it would seem to be an unacceptable risk. Typical cat feed is heavy on cornmeal (cheap fodder that Koi don't digest it well at all), high in animal fats (there's your oilslick in the making), and many have high ash content as well. Why risk saving a dime on food when you'll likely spend it ten times over on health issues and pond maintenence problems?
      Yep all that and with all the recent recalls, I wonder if any koi got any of the poison foods and some poor cheapo lost his fish.
      My favorite Quotes:

      The person who makes no mistakes usually does not make anything.
      Everything starts as somebody's daydream
      Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn from no other


      Proud Annual Charter Member # 3

    16. #16
      bammbammkoi's Avatar
      bammbammkoi is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Posts
      202
      Quote Originally Posted by Leekinneykoi View Post

      Yep all that and with all the recent recalls, I wonder if any koi got any of the poison foods and some poor cheapo lost his fish.

      I think dry food is safe but wet food is the one that has poison.

    17. #17
      West Coast's Avatar
      West Coast is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2007
      Location
      Lincoln, CA
      Posts
      214
      When in doubt refer to the AKCA site in the KHA program and read the module on Koi nutrition. Cats are carnivorous and require high protein content with high lipid counts and bad fat. Koi digestion will have difficulty with this type of diet not to mension the wreck it plays on internal organs.
      Most fruits and veggies are great for koi. High vitamin C and other essential vitamins and minerals can be found there. Cat food lacks most if not all essential vitamins for Koi. Please stick with what works. Good quality koi food.

    18. #18
      richtoybox's Avatar
      richtoybox is offline Administrator
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      Awesome
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2005
      Location
      Sandston, VA
      Posts
      14,345
      Quote Originally Posted by bammbammkoi View Post
      I'm glad i'm not the only one who heard that. Is cat food better for koi?

      Why not feed koi food to cats..
      My sister's cat sits at the edge of the pond while the koi are being fed, begging. The cat would actually eat out of one side of the hand while one of her koi was eating out the other side of the same time. Koi and cat were nose to nose more times than you could count.
      Zone 7 A/B
      Keep your words sweet. You never know when you may have to eat them.
      Richard

    19. #19
      PapaBear is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      May 2006
      Location
      Elsewhere
      Posts
      1,842
      Quote Originally Posted by RichToyBox View Post
      My sister's cat sits at the edge of the pond while the koi are being fed, begging. The cat would actually eat out of one side of the hand while one of her koi was eating out the other side of the same time. Koi and cat were nose to nose more times than you could count.
      Our pets resemble that remark At fish feeding time the dogs INSIST on getting some (we even have a miniature dachsund that will swim around the pond eating floating pellets ). We have to put a few handsfull on the rocks for the dogs so they'll leave us alone while we feed the fishies (don't tell the dogs, but they get cheap catfish food , the Koi get the good stuff )
      The cats are a different story... Our old tomcat has an aversion to the pond. One evening we were sitting pondside after feeding our babies, and Velcro the cat decided to get a drink from the pond. It was getting dark and apparantly his tongue lapping the water looked like a bug so our biggest male came up, mouth wide open to have a snack . Interspecies french kissing , and velcro the cat... no longer drinks from the pond

    20. #20
      cindy's Avatar
      cindy is offline Administrator
      is Loving retirement
       
      Feeling:
      Happy
       
      Join Date
      May 2004
      Location
      Mt. Wash. KY - 7 miles outside Louisville
      Posts
      59,503
      Quote Originally Posted by West Coast View Post
      When in doubt refer to the AKCA site in the KHA program and read the module on Koi nutrition. Cats are carnivorous and require high protein content with high lipid counts and bad fat. Koi digestion will have difficulty with this type of diet not to mension the wreck it plays on internal organs.
      Most fruits and veggies are great for koi. High vitamin C and other essential vitamins and minerals can be found there. Cat food lacks most if not all essential vitamins for Koi. Please stick with what works. Good quality koi food.
      Thats what I was going to say. I learned a bunch in the section Chris Neaves taught.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •