Before you apportion a bite with your cat , learn which solid food cats can safely eat and which may stimulate hurt .

cat are full - fledge members of the family , and as such , it often seems only natural to share everything with them — including meals . But depending on the food for thought , sharing your plate can harm your cat ’s health . Before you share that snack , be sure to know the difference between foods that are toxic to cat and the single that are safe .

Should You Feed a Cat Human Food?

Despite your cat ’s beggary and whining , treats and snacks suited for multitude just are n’t an essential part of their diet . We teamed up with theUniversity of Missouri Small Animal Clinical Nutrition Servicein Columbia , Mo. , to ascertain out what your cat needs to eat to be intelligent and what they can or can not exhaust safely . As it turns out , not much ( exterior of their veritable cat intellectual nourishment , that is ) .

" qat have specific nutrient requirements that must be met by their dieting , " the Clinical Nutrition Service say . " The wide-eyed and most convenient means to forgather a cat ’s nutrient essential is to supply them with acomplete and balanced commercial message dietformulated by a board - attest veterinary nutritionist or an individual with a Ph.D. in creature nutrition . "

This means that any vitamins and minerals render by treats — even thing like fruits and vegetables that us humans would regard respectable snacks — would overstep what a qat eat a complete and balanced dieting needs . And when it come to nutrients , more is n’t always merrier . In some cases , it can even be harmful .

man feeding cat a piece of candy

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What Kinds of Human Foods are Safe for Cats to Eat?

But if you still require to do by your cat , the Clinical Nutrition Service says there are several human solid food that are in general view to be secure for cats , as long as they do n’t calculate for more than 10 per centum of a cat ’s daily uptake . " For example , " the Clinical Nutrition Service explains , " if a cat is wipe out 250 kilocalorie per day , no more than 25 of those large calorie should come from any demented intellectual nourishment sources . " feed in more than that , and your cat-o'-nine-tails maybecome overweight .

However , the Clinical Nutrition Service also cautions that computerized tomography must be considered for their private needs , since some hombre may consume a particular solid food item with no issue and another cat may run through the same item and developvomiting , diarrhea , or other adverse signs . With this in mind , it ’s always a good musical theme to talk to your veterinarian before add up any young human food to your pet ’s dieting — even ones that are typically considered to be good .

Which Human Foods are Toxic to Cats?

" There are human food that are dangerous and should never be feed to computed axial tomography , " the Clinical Nutrition Service sound out . The ASPCA has a lengthy tilt ofhuman foods to avoid feed your quat , but it ’s probably not an exhaustive list since many food item have not undergo peer - reviewed bailiwick that have determined how toxic they are .

Here are a few no - go from the ASPCA ’s inclination of human intellectual nourishment that cats should avoid :

What Should You Do if Your Cat Eats Something Toxic?

If you know or distrust that your cat has consume a food item from the toxic list , call your veterinary surgeon or theASPCA Animal Poison Control Centerat 888 - 426 - 4435 as soon as possible . You do n’t need to wait until your cat-o'-nine-tails evince any signs of malady to seek service . The sooner you address any problem or potential problem , the better .

Thankfully , the Clinical Nutrition Service say that it seldom sees bozo with food - related toxicosis . It ’s typically more of a problem with dogs , who are more adventuresome and undiscriminating with regard to what they wipe out . And just like your cat , who is more than likely apprehensive about essay raw foods , it also pays foryouto be picky in what you feed them . Before get any change to your cat ’s dieting , utter to your veterinarianabout which component are dependable , and what amounts are OK for your cat to strain . No interrogative sentence ( or address ) is too modest for you to discuss .