Cats & Human Food [N/A]

Daleandee

Daleandee

Final Approach
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Dale Andee
For those of you that have a feline friend, do you allow them people food?

I've looked at several lists of what is and is not safe to feed them.

My question comes because of my little buddy Rackki. He's a Maine Coon and if I'm eating food he wants some also. I don't believe there is anything he will not eat!

He's sixteen years old now and vet says he's likely got another 4-5 years in him. His is diabetic (yes he gets insulin) so there's that ...
 
They are carnivores, so it's pretty easy. Mine will eat almost any kind of meat (chicken is her favorite, or any fish). Most of them also love dairy, like cheeses, yogurt, etc.

All that stuff should be pretty safe. But I've seen cats that eat weird stuff like chips and popcorn. Not sure that is good for them. Meat and dairy is likely the safest bet.

Edit - though a lot of yogurt has a lot of sugar in it. So I'd probably keep an eye on that if the cat is diabetic.
 
My sister has two cats (from the same litter).

One goes absolutely nutso over ice cream.

The other is repulsed by ice cream.

go figure...
 
Even though it seems to be common knowledge that cats love milk, the truth is that many (most?) cats are intolerant of milk. It is best to avoid dairy products. It doesn't really have any nutrients cats need that they can't get elsewhere, so why risk it.

Cats are carnivores, but they are designed to eat the whole animal, stomach, intestines, organs and all, so they get the nourishment from the food their prey eats. Feeding cats a diet of pure muscle meat (steak, chicken, pork etc) is not balanced enough and will cause severe problems if that is a sole diet.

As long as your cat gets most of his nutrition from a food that is designed for cats, a few snacks won't hurt. In lieu of that, there are reputable companies that will sell you a recipe that you can cook your own cat food. These always include an amino acid (Taurine). Without this your cat can develop serious heart disease. Cats that are fed too much human food are prone to obesity and diabetes. Maine Coon cats are especially prone to this because, as you say, they love everything.

btw, Maine Coon cats are my favorite cat breed, even though all of my cats have been rescues, and none of them have been Maine Coons.
 
Apparently cat #2 (not even a rescue, but an adopted stray) is a Maine Coon. This thing is an absolute garbage disposal. It gets a steady diet of wet food, dry food, kitty treats, cuts of raw meat when I'm cooking or grilling, and everything that cat #1 won't eat.

I did a quick Google search on 'food that is bad for cats.' A couple sources said raw meat is bad for cats. Bull****t. That's what they eat in the wild.
 
JOhnH said:
the truth is that many (most?) cats are intolerant of milk. It is best to avoid dairy products
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Weird - good to know.
Though good luck to me attempting to explain that to my cat who seemingly appears out of nowhere whenever I break out a block of cheddar.
 
Our two cats catch and kill small rodents. Sometimes they'll eat the entire mouse (except for the bowel); other times they only eat the head. And sometimes they eat none of it. I've wondered if their natural instincts tells them what parts of their prey they should eat in order to offset any nutritional deficiency they might have at that moment. As for people food, one will eat roasted chicken or turkey. The other won't touch it. And neither will touch salmon, whether raw or cooked.
 
We have 3 cats, all rescues.

The youngest, a tortoise shell color, will eat anything. She threw up once and we discovered she had been eating peanuts. She will also eat corn, green beans, pinto beans but not yogurt. Also card board, and pieces of carpet lint. When she eats it is like watching Homer Simpson eat. She wolfs her food. We have to lock her in the hall bathroom to feed her so she won't get into the other cats food. And she will play in water. I'll put an inch of water in the tub and she will play in it like a kid, but not lay in it.

Our middle cat, a Russian Blue will eat the toppings off a pizza and yogurt. She is more like a dog. She will greet us at the door when we get home. She prefers to sleep on the recliner with the youngest cat. She adopted the young cat after she lost her momma at about 7-8 weeks old.

Our oldest cat will only eat her dry cat food. When we give her wet cat food, she will lick all the moisture off of it then eat the rest of it sometime during the night. And yogurt. She sleeps in the bedroom with my wife and me. She has a heated pet bed, and if we forget to turn it on, she will wakes up and remind us.

And my yogurt is sugar free. All three cats have their own dish for dry food.

All three like their kitty treats, the kind that is dry on the outside and wet on the inside. Treat time is 9.45p. At 9:44 the Russian Blue will jump up on the couch and just stare at me.

3 cats, 3 different personalities...
 
Various cats in our family eat various things.

One cat we picked up as a feral kitten refuses to eat most human food.

In contrast, another turned out to be a feline vacuum cleaner. Eats ANYTHING. Meat, corn on the cob, cheese, pizza, french fries, anything.

His kryptonite is bread. He had been a stray hanging around daycare, and we think the kids were feeding him parts of their sandwiches. Leave a full loaf on the counter, and he will drag it off and try to devour it under a table.

What do you name a cat that steals bread? Only one option: Jean Valjean.
cats les miz.jpg

Ron Wanttaja
 
Sac Arrow said:
I did a quick Google search on 'food that is bad for cats.' A couple sources said raw meat is bad for cats. Bull****t. That's what they eat in the wild.
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Good old Dr. Google.
Yes, cats eat meat. But they eat the whole animal. They don't carve out the ribeye and the New York Strip. They eat the stomach, intestines, heart, liver, brains and everything else. Then they poop out whatever they can't digest.
 
ETres said:
Our two cats catch and kill small rodents. Sometimes they'll eat the entire mouse (except for the bowel); other times they only eat the head. And sometimes they eat none of it.
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Cats are one of the only animals (other than humans) that kill for the fun of it and not just because they are hungry. If they kill something when not hungry, they may not eat any of it, or just the tastiest or easiest to get to part.
As for people food, one will eat roasted chicken or turkey. The other won't touch it. And neither will touch salmon, whether raw or cooked.
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Another myth about cats (and dogs) is that cats love fish. That is not usually true, although most cats will eat fish. But dogs LOVE fish. The deader and stinkier the better. But pet food commercials have people believing that cats love fish and dogs love bacon cheeseburgers. It's all marketing.
 
JOhnH said:
Another myth about cats (and dogs) is that cats love fish. That is not usually true, although most cats will eat fish. But dogs LOVE fish. The deader and stinkier the better. But pet food commercials have people believing that cats love fish and dogs love bacon cheeseburgers. It's all marketing.
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And you would not believe the stares I get in the store when I try to explain that. I mention that cats hate the water and they go, "Oh yeah..."
 
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We have two cats, both strays from the street.

One of them mostly leaves people food alone, except for when I make @2-Bit Speed a sandwich. Then she will beg or steal the spinach. If I don't leave some out for her, she'll try to steal it out of his sandwich. She doesn't touch the lunchmeat or the cheese. Only the spinach.

The other cat will attempt to steal any kind of meat off the cutting board while I'm cooking (she thinks she goes invisible when she crouches), tries to steal potato chips and goldfish from your hand as you put them in your mouth, and will lick out the pan I use to make eggs in the morning if I don't wash it immediately. However, her favorite thing is ice cream, and she chases 2-Bit Speed all over the house when he has a bowl of any flavor, making quite the racket as she begs for a bite. He never gives her any, but she always tries to sneak in to lick the bowl after he's done.
 
Just want to say that not all cats are intolerant of dairy products. Just most of them. If your cat likes ice cream, and doesn't throw up or have diarrhea afterwards, then a "little bit" might be ok.
 
That cat throws up when she eats too quickly. I don't really want to tempt fate.
 
My Maine Coon was found in an out building (storage). When I rode my motorcycle to the job I would park in there to keep it out of the sun. One morning I heard a squeaking sound but thought it was birds building in the eves and I was in a hurry. A few hours later I went to get the bike and I heard it again. In the back dark corner of this shed was something covered in cobwebs. I though at first it was a mouse or small rat but upon examination it was a small kitten with it's eyes barely open.

So I dumped everything out of my lunch box, tossed him in there, strapped him to the back seat and away we went. As soon as the wife saw him she scooped him up and disappeared to the vet. Came home with a nursing bottle and other items. She was in love!

Someone mentioned peanuts. My cat loves them. But I have to crunch them up or he will let you see them again ... shortly after he eats them. Crunch them up and he has no problems with them. He loves popcorn, and I've even given him a small piece of pork rinds ... yep, gone in a flash. He also loves leftover salad. He's a little thief too! If you leave cookies where he can get them, he will. But now that he's getting older he can't climb quite like he used to so it's a little easier to out smart him.

I wasn't a cat person (nothing against them just wasn't a fan of felines) but if you ever have a Maine Coon (you can own a dog, but you can only have a cat) you will become a cat person. They are extremely gentle, smart, loyal, and loveable!
 
We have one that goes nuts for barbecue Pringles. He'll take them right out of my wife's hand as she is trying to eat one. Had another that loved hot tea. He would dip a paw in and cup it so that he could get a bunch at one time. When I met Val long years ago, she said I corrupted her oldest cat. Bambi suddenly developed a taste for beef jerky and would tear the kitchen apart looking for it, if she knew there was some in the apartment.
 
Matthew said:
All the cats that have wandered through my kitchen seem to like bbq.
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I imagine that is a survival thing. After all, cats are survivors.
Is there anything in your kitchen besides bbq?
Beer maybe?
 
We have one that looks like a Maine coon but is only 5 lbs.

IMG20220529200505.jpg IMG20221104154313.jpg
 
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I like how this has turned into a "post your cat" thread. In keeping with the spirit, here's mine after what I assume is the result of too much human food.
Oh hai.jpg
 
Look at an anatomical chart for humans some time. What you'll see is we have a really long curvy GI tract, which allows us to partake of many foods. Try moving your jaw from side to side. You can do it, again that allows you to eat long soft different foods.

Now, go look at that same anatomical chart for cats. What you'll see is they have a very straight digestive system, as they're very specialized carnivores. They can't move their jaws from side to side at all, their whole digestive system is specialized to eat rodent, birds and other small prey. So no, you can't fed them human food, not any, not even a little bit. Even your meat likely has other stuff in it unless you're feeding your cat steak, in which case you moved down the bell curve from eccentric. I suspect canned cat food is better for them than the dry stuff, I just can't see the high a protein content being made into little chunkies, they have to add something else that's likely not good for your cat.

You really love your cat wand want to do what's best for it? Don't feed it human food. If you really want to feed human food to something get a dog. Their digestive systems are far more like ours, and they can take the stuff with less harm than to cats. And it you feed your dog it will love you forever and ever, no matter what else you do.
 
JOhnH said:
But pet food commercials have people believing that cats love fish and dogs love bacon cheeseburgers. It's all marketing.
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And pet food companies want you to believe that serving pets pet food that looks like hooman food is better for the pets.

2 of my cats also love oatmeal. I give them about half spoonful then they sit and wait for me to finish so they can lick the bowl.
 
steingar said:
So no, you can't fed them human food, not any, not even a little bit. Even your meat likely has other stuff in it unless you're feeding your cat steak, in which case you moved down the bell curve from eccentric.
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You present some good information, but you go a little overboard with the "you can't fed them human food, not any, not even a little bit" line.
After all, all cat food includes human food. It is just prepared differently.

Cat food and cat nutritional needs have been more scientifically researched than human food and nutritional needs. You can't put a human in a cage and feed it a controlled diet for years on end. And some of that testing includes food that is known to be harmful but need to test limits.


I suspect canned cat food is better for them than the dry stuff, I just can't see the high a protein content being made into little chunkies, they have to add something else that's likely not good for your cat.
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Correct. Dry food has too many carbs and too little protein and not enough water. Indoor cats especially tend to get insufficient water so they need moist food. Too little water causes dehydration and just like in people, the body interprets dehydration the same as it interprets hunger and induces the cat to eat more. Dry food contributes to obesity in cats and all the diseases that introduces. Even oatmeal is not natural for cats and not healthy. It pains me when I see people that I KNOW love their cats doing things that are bad for them.
 
JOhnH said:
Good old Dr. Google.
Yes, cats eat meat. But they eat the whole animal. They don't carve out the ribeye and the New York Strip. They eat the stomach, intestines, heart, liver, brains and everything else. Then they poop out whatever they can't digest.
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The cats poop out what they cannot digest and the dogs eat the cat poop. Nature recycles!

But as a dog owner, it's funny hearing about picky-eater cats. Dogs sniff something, determine it's rotting, stinky, and nasty and then eat it, since it might be food. If it's not food, you can always vomit it up later on the carpet.
 
JOhnH said:
You present some good information, but you go a little overboard with the "you can't fed them human food, not any, not even a little bit" line.
After all, all cat food includes human food. It is just prepared differently.
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But how much? And there's the rub. You start with a little. If the cat likes it and figures out where it comes from it may start asking. It gets more, it wants more. Says me don't start the cycle. Don't give it any, because you don't know how much tips the balance into being unhealthy, and even if you did it is very difficult to be that strict with a demanding pet. And cats can be more demanding than any other animal I know short of a 4 year old yard ape.

JOhnH said:
Cat food and cat nutritional needs have been more scientifically researched than human food and nutritional needs. You can't put a human in a cage and feed it a controlled diet for years on end. And some of that testing includes food that is known to be harmful but need to test limits.
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I doubt that very strongly, given that one of my colleagues works in the Nutrition department at my institution. I've never heard of a department or school of feline nutrition. I'm afraid I have to call BS on that claim, sorry.
 
We currently have two cats. The first one was a feral one that Margy took in and had fixed and now it's turned into a fat lazy lap cat. While he was still active, he taught the kitten that moved in on us how to hunt. She still earns her keep by keeping the hangar rodent free.

Their names, he's Orville and she's Katherine.
 
All my cats have liked bbq. So now I don’t know if bbq is people food my cats liked, or cat food that I like.
 
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