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10 'People Foods' Cats Can Eat Too

More on PawNation: Cats, Nutrition, Tasty Treats

By Kelli Bender Jun 29, 2012

  • Flickr User: kenjisama
    1 of 12

    Most of us have fallen victim to a set of adorable puppy eyes, but have you ever seen a kitty make a sad face? Now, that is lethal. Felines usually pull this move when they want something really bad, like the food you are currently enjoying. While there are quite a few foods you should never feed to your cat, there are also a handful you don't need to feel bad about sharing together. So start nomming!

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    FISH

    Canned fish, like tuna, is fine to share with your kitty in small portions. Though your feline will probably try to beg for a bigger bite, it is important to keep it small. This will prevent your cat from ingesting too much mercury, fatty acids and magnesium, which can cause health problems. Your furry friend's diet should never solely consist of canned fish. (Catster)

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    CHEESE

    Again, small is the key word when it comes to treating your kitty. Cheese is a good source of protein for felines, but since many cats are lactose intolerant, larger portions can cause digestive issues. Try feeding your friend cottage cheese or low-lactose cheeses before attempting anything richer. Most importantly, make sure to make dairy a special surprise, not an everyday treat. (Animal Planet)

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    BROCCOLI

    A cat's diet is dependent on protein, but sometimes they get a craving for veggies. If you notice your cat chomping on house plants, try feeding it a small portion of steamed broccoli. This could satisfy their desire for greens and keep them away from potentially toxic house plants. Veggies, like plants and grass, can also help your cat clear up digestive troubles. If you are interested in keeping you cat on a vegetarian diet full-time, you should talk it over with your vet before making the switch. (Care 2)

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    EGGS

    Give your cat a real breakfast by serving up some eggs. Scrambled and hard-boiled eggs are excellent for giving your feline a dose of protein. Just be careful not to use any butter or cooking spray during the preparation of the eggs that you are planning to hand over to your kitties. While there isn't a consensus, most vets recommend staying away from raw eggs, since the same food-borne illnesses that affect humans can upset pets as well. (PetMD)

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    LEAN DELI MEATS

    Serving deli meats such as turkey, ham and chicken can be a delicious way to snazz up your cat's meals. It is important to check any meat you plan on feeding your cat for preservatives, flavorings and other additives. Additionally, portions should be kept small and used only as a snack, not as your feline's main source of food. (Yahoo)

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    MELON

    Like broccoli, melon could be a good bite to feed cats to stop them from chewing on house plants. Cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon are fine for your cat to ingest in small quantities, as long as seeds are removed. The fruits can help you feline with digestive issues, but should be offered only occasionally because cats are carnivorous and their bodies can't digest large amounts of plant matter. (Love Meow)

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    SPINACH

    Once again, if your cat is craving some green stuff, spinach can be a good way to go, especially when you are trying to help your pet relieve tummy troubles. Spinach should not be fed to cats with a history of urinary or kidney problems, since the calcium oxalates in the leaf can form crystals in the urinary tract. (ASPCA)

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    BEEF

    Though they may look cute and cuddly, cats are downright fericious carnivores. The feline body is built to thrive on meat. If you choose to feed your cat beef, you should give only small amounts and always avoid fatty portions. Kitties have obesity issues too, so make sure you keep their best interest in mind when giving them a bit of beef. Raw meat is also not the best choice due to food-borne illnesses. (Animal Planet)

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    BANANAS

    If you've got a crazy cat, you can make it even more bananas by feeding them the actual fruit. Frozen bananas are a safe snack to feed your cat if it has that craving. As with the other non-meat products on this list, bananas should be fed to your kitty only in small portions, since cats are natural carnivores. (PetMD)

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    Next: The Most Dangerous People Foods You Can Feed Your Pet

    CANNED BABY FOOD

    Meat-based baby foods can be a helpful way to encourage a cat with a health problem, like chronic kidney disease, to eat their needed food and medicine. Before buying, it is crucial to check the ingredients for onion and garlic powder, since both can be extremely harmful to cats. Feeding your cat baby food should not become a part of you cat's normal diet. (Feline CRF)

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☠ ʇdɯ0ɹd ɥsɐq ☠

I strongly suggest before you take this for granted that you use scholar.google and investigate the facts; 99% of lists on what animals can and can't eat according to most articles on websites such as these are entirely incorrect. You still find people listing chocolate as dangerous for dogs, when in fact it is more accurate to say 'air is toxic to humans' than 'chocolate is toxic to dogs' as CO2 and even oxygen toxicity will occur in a much smaller dosage of air than is required to poison a dog (something in the line of 200 pounds of chocolate in a 12 hour period for a 16 pound dog), so please do research these things not on websites such as these but find peer reviewed vet journals on scholar.google that are reputable!

Articles like these are anecdotal, and everyone has an additional anecdotal story or two to repeat, yet few people stop and question the nonsense they hear. I was recently told by an ex 'vet nurse' that all human food except plain meat is dangerous for pets, I pointed out that it sounded like nonsense because if that were true the world wouldn't have a feral dog or cat problem as you don't find pet food or plain meat in bins! Naturally they wouldn't listen to it, but they too also still hold the belief that theobromine (although they don't know the name of the ingredient, or the LD50, or ... much of anything for that matter!) is toxic to dogs and instead argue from authority that because they were once a vet nurse they 'know' because they have 'seen it happen'. I don't doubt they've seen horrible things, but with the educational requirement for such a position being two years of high school minimum I do doubt that they know what they saw when they saw it.

So, don't fall for pseudoscience, investigate, research, read and educate yourself solidly. It's very easy to find the LD50 of toxins and there is plenty of material on animal welfare available to be read in reputable journals and not on websites maintained by communities or one or two people with strange ideas.

I'm not saying this article specifically is wrong, I am saying don't trust anything that isn't in a peer reviewed source, ever. Read up on it yourself, verify claims that don't sound right. Because most of the time if it sounds like alarmist nonsense, it probably is!

April 11 2013 at 11:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Marvin

Was happy to see bananas on the list. When we started finding dried up peelings under the bed we began to suspect one of our six furry children. Then, we found the suspect pulling a peeling from the 'dumpy bowl' under our kitchen sink. Now we keep a lid on the bowl but give this crazy kitty a strip of peeling and a small piece of a banana now and then as a treat.

February 26 2013 at 5:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
miguel arias

and he likes to lick random stuff like penises and what not

January 11 2013 at 6:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
miguel arias

I just feed my cat random stuff and he turned out fine.

January 11 2013 at 6:46 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
miguel arias

I just feed my cat

January 11 2013 at 6:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Kate Viscardi

"Talk it over with your vet" if you're interested in making your cat 100% vegetarian? Any vet worth their salt will tell you what to do with that idea. Cats are obligate carnivores. That means they have to eat meat. No choice about it.

Cats really should not have tuna at all - it is too rich for them and carries the danger of yellow fat disease. Generally, the felids have a lot of idiosyncrasies which mean they react differently to most other animals to a lot of foods and drugs, which is why they should not be treated with things like aromatherapy oils either.

And yes, of course it's nonsense that cats shouldn't have raw meat, but be aware of the bacteria that can be present from the processing and that cooking gets rid of things like salmonella that wouldn't be a risk if the cat catches its own. If they do, they should be wormed regularly.

November 10 2012 at 4:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
cee21gem

Cats will be cats they survive esp. those alley cats

August 13 2012 at 11:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
rr709

For sure - dry food is killing all our pets - they can't digest the stuff especially as they get older. Also the source of so many urinary tract infections in male cats. Actually most of the wet food is OK if you stick to the ones that say NO BY PRODUCTS. Another thing to watch out for - the white coating on the inside of the cat food can lids - may cause cancer.

July 11 2012 at 5:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
douttfire

What about alley cats? Do they know the rules about cheese and canned fish?

July 03 2012 at 10:43 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply
soundbw

Bananas...really? My cat turns her head even when I get near her with 'em!.....however, she does love real wheat grass - she finds no difference between "kitty grass" in the cat food section at $5.99, and the 'people grass' in the vegetable section for $2.99....yep - deli meats, eggs and cheese all get a "meow" in gratitude...ahhh

July 03 2012 at 7:58 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply
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