Cats and Human Food

Cats are not like dogs, and when I first got Janelle I was so over protective. I went to all sorts of cat web sites and looked at all the human food that was dangerous to her and tried to keep her away from it, I soon realized that if she only had one lick or bite of something it wouldn't kill her, but I was rather annoyed when I found out my boyfriend tried giving my cat beer when I was away - but what is more common from Janelle is for her to beg for food.

Whenever someone gets any food, even if she has no interest in it, she will climb up to that person and bat at them relentlessly. She will try to take anything off your plate just so she can bite it, play with it or eventually eat it.

If I go into the kitchen and take out a can of anything she will automatically assume it is a can of cat food for her and starts meowing relentlessly. She will meow and meow and meow when someone is making a tuna sandwich, the trick is to not give her any. She will harass me the most because I am the one who feeds her her own food so she can always try to get me to give her some of my food. That's probably why she is gaining so much weight.

Here are five foods that you should definitely keep your cat away from (knowledge I picked up from various internet searches over the past 8 months):

1) Onions - Onions are very bad for cats, I read on Pet Safety that onions contain a substance that destroys red blood cells and can cause anemia within cats! Garlic also contains that substance, but to a lesser degree.

2) Chocolate - Vet Medicine on About.com talks about the toxicity of chocolate for cats and dogs. And Cat World talks about how chocolate acts as a diuretic to cats and can drain them of their fluids, the caffeine in chocolate can cause their hearts to race very fast and that's not good, and they could go into a coma, have a seizure or even die.

3) Grapes / Raisins - Cats can bat around grapes on the floor and play with them, but if a cat eats a grape or raisin they can get severe kidney damage, according to Cat World.

4) Sugar - Sugar isn't exactly a food, but it is in food. It can lead to obesity in your cat so you should definitely keep your cat away from anything that has a lot of sugar.

5) Dairy Products - As kittens cats can digest milk, but as they get older they can't digest lactose as well. Dennis and I will let Janelle drink the milk from our cereal that is left over, but we try to only let that happen a couple times a week or less. Milk and cheese can cause diarrhea and even vomiting, so maybe now and then give a little bit, but don't make it a habit.

Choosing the right cat food

It may seem simple, you go into PetCo and pick out some cat food that is reasonably priced, but for the longevity of your furry friend it's important to read labels and find out which cat food is the best.

When we brought Janelle home from the shelter they gave us a bag of "Science Diet" cat food. We noticed that she was going to the bathroom a lot and then we read the label. Science Diet claims to be number one recommended by vets, but it contains stuff that isn't good for cats. The first ingredient is chicken byproduct. The word "byproduct" in itself suggests that it would be something gross. What is chicken byproduct? Chicken byproduct is the heads,bones, feet, lungs, intestines, liver, etc. It is basically the stuff that we humans choose not to eat. The stuff is really just a filler for cats and doesn't have any true benefits for them. Another ingredient that Science Diet includes is corn, it may not be "common knowledge," but cat owners that are educated about the well being of their cats would know that corn is not something that cats should be consuming. It's just not healthy and it makes the cats go to the bathroom more.

The pet stores have all sorts of different cat food for those who need to lose weight, those with hairball issues, etc. I did a lot of searching at PetCo to find the perfect fit for my cat. The L.I.D brand (Limited Ingredient Diet) was a good one for a little while, my cat liked it a lot, but it was a bit expensive. Blue Buffalo claims to be the best with all natural products, but it is so expensive.

I choose Purina One Beyond. All the ingredients are natural and even the packaging is made out of recycled materials. A six pound bag can go for around $13 which is a really great deal. The flavor of choice that my cat loves the most is the Salmon flavor. It has brown rice as well which is good for cats and the first ingredient is salmon, real salmon, not any chicken byproduct or corn meal. Here is the list of ingredients in its entirety, taken from the web site:

"Salmon, chicken meal, whole brown rice, soybean meal, whole barley, whole oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), soy protein isolate, brewers dried yeast, dried egg product, dried beet pulp, natural flavor, fish oil, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, whole cranberries, caramel color, dried tomatoes, dried spinach, salt, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, calcium phosphate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite."

Always make sure to feed the cat the right amount. A cat that is 5 to 9 pounds should get 1/3 - 2/3 a cup twice a day, whereas a cat that is over 10 pounds can handle 1/2 cup to an entire cup twice a day. Make sure to always measure it out and to not just assume, luckily the shelter gave me a measuring cup so that I can make sure she eats the appropriate amount. She has gained some weight, but that's probably due to the treats she gets and when she gets human food (We will discuss cats and human food in the next blog post).