Five human foods for Puss

It can be hard to resist spoiling your feline with a special treat from the dinner table. But as wise cat owners know, many human foods can be unsafe for your cat because we have vastly different nutritional needs from them. Even some kinds of food your cat loves and begs for might wreak havoc on your lovable furball's digestive system.

Here are five foods you can treat Puss to.

1. Vegetables

While humans are omnivores, meaning we can survive on meat and vegetables, a cat is classified as an obligate carnivore, meaning it needs meat to survive (or at least thrive). So, it's true that cats, unlike humans, don't derive much nutrition from vegetables. Despite that, some cats enjoy chomping on plants every once in a while to get roughage or fiber. Some recommended vegetables include baked carrots, steamed asparagus or broccoli, green beans, winter squash, or chopped greens. Wash veggies thoroughly and avoid anything that might be indigestible, like uncooked carrots.

2. Cheese

Many cats love cheese, and it's a good source of protein for them. And although some cats are able to eat it without any problem, you'll find that dairy products often make the list of dangerous foods for cats. That's because as many cats mature to adulthood, they become lactose intolerant. For these adult cats, any cheese, milk or other dairy will cause diarrhea.

If you're interested in feeding your cat dairy, give it a very small amount at first to see how its digestive system handles it. It might be able to safely handle small portions of cottage cheese, or even yogurt and sour cream. You can also try giving your cat low-lactose varieties of cheese and milk.

If you only feed dairy to your cat occasionally as a special treat, you'll be able to use it to get a finicky cat to take its medicine. Some sneaky cat owners actually grind up pills for their feline and put the powder on cheese or butter to get them to ingest the medicine

3. Fish

Most cats love fish, and it can provide some much needed nutrients for them. After all, you'll find it in many commercial cat foods. So, if you're preparing a nice tuna sandwich, it shouldn't do any harm to sneak your cat a bite.

But -- and there's always a "but" -- you should be aware of some concerns with serving your cat too much fish. The high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in a heavy tuna diet will deplete a cat's supply of vitamin E. You should also be aware that carnivorous fish like tuna, salmon and swordfish are more likely to contain higher levels of mercury than cod, halibut and flounder. Avoid giving uncooked fish as it may contain too much thiaminase, which breaks down thiamine, an essential vitamin. This is addition to the safety hazard of eating raw fish. For instance, uncooked freshwater fish might carry a tapeworm.

4. Eggs

Eggs are great for humans and cats because they're rich in protein. In fact, many books that promote natural cat diets strongly encourage owners to give their cats eggs. After all, in the wild, cats would occasionally raid the nests of birds. Vets agree that cooked eggs, such as scrambled or hard-boiled, make an excellent and nutritious treat for a cat.

However, although some natural diet books recommend raw eggs -- which provide more nutritional benefits and are what a cat would get in the wild --, it may be too dangerous. Salmonella and E. coli have become too much of a risk. Another concern is that eggs are very allergenic. Therefore, it important to keep watch for manifestations of an allergic reaction if you do feed your cat eggs.

5. Meat

Because cats are carnivores, animal meat is one of the safest human foods to give a cat, which it why we rank it at No. 1. Cooked poultry is probably the best choice. Uncooked meat brings with it the same safety concerns as uncooked fish or eggs. can cause diarrhea. This is why you shouldn't let your cat finish your rejected fat trimmings from the table.

So, it seems that moderation is important for everything we can give a cat -- except of course, our unconditional love.

Article source: http://www.animalplanet.com/pets/5-human-foods-cats-can-eat.htm

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