A VET has urgently warned cat owners to be aware of a common treat that could lead to an "addiction" and a painful body condition.

The alarming claims follow a video put out by pet care influencer Leigh Davidson, who outlined the potential dangers of too much fish.

While cats enjoy their swimming buddies as a snack, certain types including tuna can leave the felines with health issues.

Leigh posted the clip on her TikTok @Yourvetonline to warn animal lovers about the potential dangers.

She said: "Even though tuna isn't on the toxic food list for cats it certainly can't be recommended if you wish to feed your feline friend a balanced diet.

"This is because neither fresh nor canned tuna is nutritionally balanced and complete for cats and over time deficiencies and excesses can develop."

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Leigh claimed if cats consumed too much tuna they could develop deficiencies in their anatomical make up.

She said: "Tuna is high in phosphorous and while a healthy cat may cope ok with this, it won't be good for cats with kidney disease.

"Raw fish can also contain thiaminases, which is an enzyme that destroys thiamine or vitamin B1 – so therefore too much raw fish in a cat's diet will cause a deficiency.

"Symptoms of a thiamine deficiency include a loss of appetite, poor coordination and twitching."

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The vet also warned our fury friends could experience body pain.

She said: "Raw fish also contains high levels of fatty acids, which can result in vitamin E deficiencies and this causes a painful condition called steatitis, otherwise known as inflammation of fat.

"This causes a cat to have a fever and it hurts whenever they are touched or stroked.

"Some sources of tuna are incredibly high in mercury, which is toxic to cats and eating too much of it can lead to poisoning, muscle weakness, trembling and even seizures."

It comes as another vet issued a warning over the most common household products that could seriously harm people's pets.

Experts say it is important for Brits to use pet-safe cleaning products or they run the risk of making their animals very ill.

Pet-safe branded cleaning products contain ingredients that are less likely to harm precious pets.

Items without this branding – including carpet shampoo, stain removers, and laundry detergent – can hurt cats and dogs.

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PDSA, a vet charity for pets in need, says some staple household items – such as baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice – double up as great cleaning products that are both kinder to the environment and four-legged friends.

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