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RE: Feeding cat human food

~c@t$_f0r_l!f&~ — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:23:35 GMT

its really not good for cats to feed them human food although i do it all the time but a little chicken here and there wont hurt-i mean, we cant help spoiling our cats!!!!! and your sister is just like me-i do that even when my mom tells me not to LOL its okay as long as its not like candy or ice cream bcuz cats are lactose intolerant-so no dairy! but other than that, its all good.

RE: Feeding cat human food

LolaPurrLooza — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:38:12 GMT

Feeding bits of human food, I think, is okay in moderation.

I've kept my kitties on a high-quality cat food diet since they were kittens; dry mostly but with a bit of moist thrown in a few times a week because they love it so much.

I do tend to offer certain "human" foods to my furbabies every so often as I'm eating (only the safe ones suited for feline consumption). It's interesting to note that my three boys have different tastes.

Mugsy, my former feral adoption, tends to go for cooked meats..in fact, a roast pork loin was what got him out of his carrier after he hid in it for two days after we brought him home. I had made dinner for my husband and I, and after he got a whiff of it he pretty much flew out of the carrier and buried his face in my husband's plate. It was really funny, and after that incident he was much more social.

Simba, my most passive kitty, is pretty delicate about what I offer him. He won't shove his face into what I'm eating, but simply sit politely until I offer him a bit. He likes cooked chicken, but favors most vanilla ice cream..he'll actually forget his manners for this treat and climb into my lap to sniff the bowl I'm eating from.

Loki, my very debonair and handsome "top cat" of my three (And Simba's brother) always has to inspect what I'm eating. Always. Every meal I prepare and sit down with, he has to scrutinize. He's a bit of a gourmet and an adventurous eater as well. From ice cream, to bits of pasta, nibbles of steak..he likes to test my food for me. The other night I brought home some spicy Thai coconut soup..he cleaned the bowl for me when I was done eating.

I would never feed my cats human food exclusively, but when done in moderation, and keeping in mind what foods may be harmful to cats, I feel it can strengthen the bond between the cat and his/her companion.

~Lola~

RE: Feeding cat human food

kitkat_18 — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:04:21 GMT

My cat Divcho likes eating cheese or chews on bones or might want some bread dipped in soup

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RE: Feeding cat human food

Roly&tupac — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:42:55 GMT

Hi , i am so glad i came across your question, My cat is totally the same . He is a 5 year old male black shorthair stubby tail,anr i have had him since he was 6 weeks old .I have numerously tried to feed him people food ;cooked chicken ,beef shrimp fish with no luck he will smell it and walk away . he will only eat fish flavoured dry cat food . I have tried to feed him soft cat food and all he does is lick away the juice and leave the rest . His favorate and ony treat he will eat is whiskas Temptations(i do not why but he is crazy for them . I am glad i read the responce from your letter about them needing xtra water thankfully tupac is a good drinker , he will sit and drink a good 1/4 cup at a time. I thought he was the only one with this problem,and was a bit concerned. Roly

RE: Feeding cat human food

PeaLoki&Gabe — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:22:27 GMT

If they won't eat moist cat food, make sure they get more water, extra water will help prevent crystal formation in the kidneys, which is potentially fatal.

RE: Feeding cat human food

Laurenec — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:24:37 GMT

My three cats won't even eat human food. I have given them some cooked chicken, they may sniff it but they leave it laying in the dish. I have given my cats some canned cat food and the only one they love is Fish and shrimp . The only food my cats will eat is Dry cat food. I try and give them human food and they walk away. I'm glad they're like that, I don't have to worry about them getting sick on human food now.

RE: Feeding cat human food

PeaLoki&Gabe — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:23:42 GMT

webmaven (8/18/2008)

cats are fussy. they won't eat what's not "cat food".

My cats seem to think anything I eat is "cat food", its in their house it must be theirs too!

RE: Feeding cat human food

webmaven — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:42:51 GMT

cats are fussy. they won't eat what's not "cat food". A piece of chicken or an ounce of cream won't hurt them, IMHO

RE: Feeding cat human food

PeaLoki&Gabe — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:43:36 GMT

Cats and all animals need some amount of salt, which is why horses use salt licks, and deer hunters will put them out too. (deer get hit by cars in winter by trying to lick the salt off the sides of the road). The saying someone is worth their dalt, is because Roman soldiers got paid in salt, it is vital to help mammalian bodies function correctly. The key is in moderation, as with all fats proteins sugars and carbs. We no longer know what 'moderation" actually is because there's so many choices out there, and are so full of chemicals and jargon, that the avderage person cannot make heads or tails of it. And that's just people food!

If we can't interpret our own food labels, how can we believe for a moment that we can accurately interpret our pet food labels? You almost need a PHd to do it!

The trouble with sharing our meals with our feline friends is that we forget or just don't know what an appropriate portion is for them.

RE: Feeding cat human food

Ocimom — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 06:41:31 GMT

A total diet of human food is not good as you don't have the right combo for their needs. Cats need higher protein for one thing. But feeding some people food as treats is fine as long as the cat eats their own cat food.

We give ours (and the dog too) boiled chicken, a little raw and cooked hamburger, and some vegies as treats. Charlie also likes some types of fruit - peaches are his favorite.

RE: Feeding cat human food

Nicky's Mom — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:52:37 GMT

You bring up good points, PeaLoki&Gabe. I've heard that raw diets can be very good for cats. To clarify on one thing I said, when I was talking about a lot of human food being bad, I was referring to a lot of the junk food out there, like candy bars, potato chips and the like. (which I will admit, can be hard to eat in moderation!) Also, as you said with the ham, certain human foods have a lot of salt in them. So, not all human food is bad for cats (or humans for that matter.) but we have to be careful what we give our furbabies. (at least, that's what I learned from all of this.)

Nicky's Mom

RE: Feeding cat human food

PeaLoki&Gabe — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:40:58 GMT

If all human food was bad there probably wouldn't be a growing number of people making homemade pet foods. And there wouldn't be a growing number of books on creating a raw food pet diet, and burgeoning branches of veterinary medicine that deal with diet and nutrition only.

But doing this requires a lot of research, time and can be expensive. Most people don't take the time to do the research, have the time to pepare the meals, and think manufactured diets are cheaper.

Ham is not typically part of a cat's diet, but in very small amounts shouldn't be harmful.

RE: Feeding cat human food

Nicky's Mom — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:27:06 GMT

You know, this got me thinking about all this "human food" that is not good to give to our cats. (I will admit, I give mine little bites of my food sometimes, but I try not to let her lick anything too salty or anything.) A Lot of this human food is probably not good for us either! Think about all the preservatives, salt, sugar and fat that are in a lot of human foods. If we shouldn't be feeding this to our cats, maybe we shouldn't be eating some of it either... Just something to think about. And sorry your sister was offended, I don't think any of us meant to offend her. Don't feel bad about exxagerating a little either, I know I do sometimes without even realizing it. This whole post makes me realize that my parents and I (I'm 28 and live with them to help with the bills) really shouldn't be feeding our cats human food so much. and we end up doing it quite often! Not just one time. Sometimes you just don't think about how serious something can be...

Kelly (Nicky's Mom)

RE: Feeding cat human food

slegned — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:56:57 GMT

Perhaps you could offer the cat a cat treat when you are eating at the table. That way she will feel special that she is receiving something to eat too. That way she doesn't eat human food and doesn't feel left out.

RE: Feeding cat human food

PeaLoki&Gabe — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:50:24 GMT

OT/ I am the younger sister in my family, believe me your sister being mad at you from time to time is inevitable. A healthy sister relationship is going to have those kinds of bumps and bruises- then you get over it. (Usually because a parent has made the fatal flaw of trying to "help", and it does- you and you're sister are no longer mad at each other now you're mad at said parent!)

No one in my family ever thought my sister and I would be as close as we are, they thought one of us would be in jail for sorocide when we were in our teens!

One advantage to growing up is we realized which battles are worth fighting now. Getting mad over a post about feeding people food to a cat is not one of those, certainly not worth staying mad about.

On Topic: My trio love ham especially proscuitto, they were in heaven when my ex and i were butchering his deer and gave them bits of silver skin, and scrap meat pieces. We gave our female cat an OD of goose liver once (key word here once, she won't eat it now!) she was the only kitty at the time, and he had bagged a goose, so we gave her the liver, in little bits, before we knew it she had eaten the whole thing (and was looking for more)! She curled up in her donut bed and slept for three days! I see no problem with feeding a cat small amounts of appropriate human foods, like meats and some veggies. I wouldn't tempt fate and leave a whole ham out on the table and let them nibble their hearts content, but like kids, let them figure out what they do and don't like, can help you with buying their food. My cats don't like fish or seafood, I know this by trying to give them fish and seafood. (And the sheer number of cans of fish or seafood based cans of catfood that have been wasted)

RE: Feeding cat human food

divinemslou — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:10:54 GMT

Dear Magic"s Mama,

It is better to have your sister angry with you than to have your cat sick.

I'm sure Emily means well, means to be giving Magic a treat, but human food is not the right kind of treat.

Perhaps if you or your mother purchased some cat treats and let Emily give the treats to Magic, that might make everyone feel more a part of the process of raising Magic.

RE: Feeding cat human food

imtripodsmom — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:02:07 GMT

Maybe I'm getting old, or this thread has been edited, but I could've sworn in the beginning that you made it sound as if Emily was being mean and stubborn, and was shoving people food in Magic's mouth. Forgive me if I am in error. You must understand that we care very much about our kitties, and when we hear of someone doing something to a kitty that could make him/her sick, we get pretty upset.

Emily dear, I am sorry. We all care about Magic and don't want him to get sick. That's why we said everything to make you stop feeding Magic people food. Promise us you'll only give Magic cat food, okay? I'm sure you're a very nice person, and don't really want to hurt Magic. But your sister got concerned and asked us for advice, and we gave it to her, thinking things were worse than they are. I'm soory we misunderstood. Can we all be friends now?

RE: Feeding cat human food

Cat_Lover — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:37:24 GMT

Define human food please. Small amounts of certain vegetables like brocolli, peas, carrots, green beans, celery, tomatoes, etc are beneficial to your cat and are even found in some cat kibble. Tiny bits of tuna, salmon, chicken or turkey are helpful if you are trick training your cat. It is always nice to give your cat a bit of variety in it's diet.

Just don't let your cat eat onions, garlic, chocolate, greasy foods and other food items that are harmful to your cat.

RE: Feeding cat human food

cats_dolls — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:11:50 GMT

I'm sorry! I certainly didn't mean to get you in trouble!

RE: Feeding cat human food

Magic's Moma — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:22:48 GMT

My sister is not bad,I was exagarting a little.She fed him once (human food) Please,PLEASE,PLEASE SAY YOUR SORRY!!!PLEASE.My sister is one of the most smart,wonderful people I know.Please don't call her hard headed. She is mad at me to the XTREME.I'm in truoble,and my sister is mad at me.

Okay,

Emily,I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm sorry.I'm SORRY!!!!!!

RE: Feeding cat human food

cats_dolls — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:42:40 GMT

OK, you just gave me an idea. Enlist your mother's help on this one. Have your mother tell her that every time she gets caught feeding Magic a bite of people food, she will have to eat a bite of cat food. Before she gets any of her dinner! Then your mother will need to follow through and actually feed your sister a bite of cat food. Trust me, your sister won't eat enough of the cat food for your kitty to miss it - don't ask me how I know. I'll just say that it's a long story and that I am just about as stubborn as they come!

RE: Feeding cat human food

Magic's Moma — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:22:29 GMT

Guys,please:

My sister looked at this and.She is very mad.Don't say anything bad about her and I won't.Please edit your topic,and please aploigize to her.I'm taking this seriously.My family is great,and my sister is wonderul.Please.I don't want her to be mad at me until I'm dead.....and then some.My sister can be hard to convince,but she is really sweet.I care about what she thinks of me.Please.

RE: Feeding cat human food

Socks&Oliver — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 11:45:04 GMT

if you have not tried being firm with her, i suggest you do it now. how old is she? tell your mom if she keeps it up. she needs to learn how to listen. hide the ham where she cant find it, if that is possible.

RE: Feeding cat human food

cricket — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:55:46 GMT

You sure have a lot of trouble with your sister. Where on earth are your parents? You should talk to them about the possibility of the food making the cat sick. If they aren't worried about the cat you might try telling them that trips to the vet can get expensive! So much easier to avoid!!!

RE: Feeding cat human food

imtripodsmom — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:27:31 GMT

If I feed my cat Tripod a bit of human grade ham, she throws up. Last year she got pancreatitis, and ever since I can't let her lick my ice cream bowl anymore. Too much fat....

The ASPCA site has a list of foods that can actually poison certain animals. Cats should not be fed onions or other members of the onion family because they damage blood cells.

Maybe you can enlist other family members in telling your sister. Tell her if Magic gets sick from eating people food, she has to pay for the vet. And you're not kidding. The key is persistance. And you can't back down even once. Stubborn people need consistent reminding. Eventually she should come around.

RE: Feeding cat human food

crazykatlady — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:31:26 GMT

Good Luck, I'm sorry I am not much help.... Your Idea might work, things sometimes look better in writing.

RE: Feeding cat human food

Magic's Moma — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 19:00:48 GMT

I know it's not good for them.But that's like when we eat at the kitchen table (Birthdays,holidays,or special days)!Oh well,this may take some convincing (and possible drawing and printing up rules!).

RE: Feeding cat human food

crazykatlady — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:54:12 GMT

Well feeding Jazzie human food is not good either.. Cats and dogs need to eat the food that is designed for them... Human food is not good for animals it has to much stuff added to it that is not good for them. Feeding them food other than cat or dog food cause weight gain and bad behavior such as begging... So just expalin that begging animals is not an attractive trait in them, and that pets that are overweight has expensive health issues...

Feeding cat human food

Magic's Moma — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:29:11 GMT

My sister feeds my cat human food.