Foods You Shouldn’t Feed To Your Cat
Cats are shameless beggars. If you’re eating something, they’ll want to eat it too. They’ll rub against your feet, tap you on the knee, and if they’re feeling particularly bold, they’ll jump up onto your lap or even onto your table to try to persuade you to share with them. No matter how much they might seem to enjoy their preferred brand of cat food, they’re always far more interested in what you might be able to offer to them. Keeping reading to find out what food you need to Feed To Your Cat.
Aside from being persistent, cats are also adorable. They have exceptional skills when it comes to getting what they want. Part of it is down to their adorable faces – especially with younger cats. There’s a very good reason why the ‘OMG Kittens’ game makes so much money at online slot websites – cats could persuade us to buy anything. It isn’t even the only cat-themed UK Online Slots available; the people who design such things cottoned on to the fact that animals are great for parting people from their money a long time ago! Similarly to how the process of putting money into an online slots game provides an uncertain return, though, putting certain types of food into your cat can provide an uncertain return too. Some of those returns are very unwelcome.
There are several different types of food that you shouldn’t feed to your cat. Some of them are obvious, but others are foods that many of us believe cats can consume without any issues. Read on, and find out what to cut out of your beloved pet’s diet!
Chocolate
The notion of cats loving chocolate isn’t a new one, and there’s a degree of sense in believing that there’s no harm in doing so. Milk chocolate is mostly made from milk, and we all know cats like milk (more on that later), so what harm could it do? Actually, the answer to that question is ‘lots.’ All chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine, and theobromine is surprisingly toxic even to humans. If it’s harmful to humans, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find out that it’s even more harmful to cats. It can cause chronic sickness, and in extreme cases, it can cause heart failure. The darker the chocolate is, the more theobromine is present. It’s best just to avoid the risk, ignore your cat’s sweet tooth, and not give them any at all.
Dog Food
Cat food and dog food look the same, smell the same, and come with the same flavors. For that reason, it’s understandable that people believe that they’re made of the same things, and therefore it’s fine to feed cat food to dogs and vice versa. In a household that contains both cats and dogs, this can make shopping trips much easier. It’s a big mistake to do this, though. Dog food won’t actually poison your cat, but little by little, it will deprive your pet of the nutrients it needs to live a long and healthy cat. This is all about taurine. Both cats and dogs need taurine in order to survive, but it’s produced naturally inside a dog’s body and therefore isn’t included in their food. Cats aren’t so lucky, and can only take on taurine through external sources. If all they eat is dog food, they won’t get as much as they need, and eventually they’ll become sick because of it.
Raw Fish
We promise we’re not making this up. Despite pretty much everything you’ve ever read or believed about owning and feeding a cat, raw fish isn’t good for them. Your cat may well love the taste and smell of it and might be offended if you stop giving it to them, but it’s in their best interests to avoid it. Raw fish – and raw tuna, in particular, contains far more mercury than your cat’s delicate digestive system can handle. You don’t need us to lecture you about the dangers of mercury poisoning. Even without the mercury, the raw fish ebbs away the supply of the vitamin known as thiamine in your cat’s body – and if that vitamin supply becomes too low, it can lead to issues with the nervous system. You can still feed fish to your cat, including tuna, but cook it first. To make things even easier, just feed them tuna-flavored cat food. That’s been prepared in a way that minimizes the risk of harm.
Milk
We warned you that we were going to come back to milk! Feeding a cat a saucer of milk is a practice that goes back as long as the domestication of cats, but it doesn’t mean that it’s one that should make it into the next decade. It might surprise you to hear that almost all adult cats are lactose intolerant. They need milk when they’re kittens, but they get all the milk they need from their mothers. Their tolerance for milk – and dairy products in general – disappears as they get older. Their bodies stop producing the enzymes they need to break milk down and digest it properly, and so consuming it can give them stomach upsets. This also goes for cheese, which we know that some cat owners like to give to their pets occasionally too. Dairy products are unlikely to kill your pet, but unless you particularly enjoy dealing with feline diarrhea, you should give it a wide berth.
Some Vegetables
We’ve noticed an increasing trend for vegetarian humans to attempt to provide vegetarian diets to their cats, and it needs to stop. Humans can choose whether or not to be carnivores. Cats cannot. They’re natural-born carnivores, and if you can’t accept that, then cat ownership isn’t for you. Not all vegetables are dangerous, but tomatoes and potatoes pose a particular risk. Both of them are high in solanine – an alkaloid that’s extremely toxic to cats. Solanine disappears as tomatoes ripen – which is why red tomatoes might be included in some forms of cat food – but it never goes away in potatoes. Taking on alkaloids leads to digestive problems in cats – some of which go on to be life-long issues.
It’s probably a shock to you to find out that milk and raw fish should be off your cat’s menu, but we don’t come up with the science, we just share it with you! Professionally-made cat food is the product of extensive research and is formulated to give your pet everything it needs from a dietary perspective. That’s why it’s always the best thing to feed them. You can still provide the occasional scrap from your table, but make sure you don’t include any of the substances we’ve listed above!
