Winfield with Strawberry
There are several schools of thought about feeding a cat. While most cat owners purchase over-the-counter cat food—canned and/or kibble—some feed only raw. Some cats are on prescription food diets for certain ailments—diabetes and kidney disease, for example. My grandmother used to cook chicken for her beloved Siamese cats.
How many of you feed packaged cat treats? We give our kitties a dehydrated chicken treat twice a day—on demand, you might say. Looks like chalk, but the cats love it. They also appreciate a grassy treat from time to time. Did you know you can buy little containers of grass for your cats to nibble on? Our Himalayan, when she’d see us start to step out of the house, used to beg for us to pick grass and bring it in for her to eat. Cats do create interesting rituals.
Lily is a real beggar-kitty. She’s obsessed with food—hers, Sophie’s, mine, whatever drops on the floor in the kitchen…Her favorites are cheese (which should be given to cats only in small portions), eggs (I never give them to her raw), cantaloupe, and peas. She will bypass a piece of chicken or fish on my plate to get a yummy pea.
Some veggies and fruits are okay to feed cats. In fact, when Lily had a health crisis and 
stopped eating, we used canned pumpkin to help get her back on track. Sweet potatoes, peas, some squash, apples, green beans, carrots are all supposed to be okay for cats. Veterinarians caution, though, don’t let your cat eat so much of these extra treats that they are not eating the foods they need.
We used to have a cat that liked cantaloupe above anything else. When I’d come home from the market with a good cantaloupe—one that was ripe—he’d always greet me in the kitchen as I unloaded the grocery bags. If I brought home a cantaloupe and he did not come into the kitchen, I knew it wasn’t ripe, yet. I always thought I’d like to take him into the store with me to pick a cantaloupe.
Now let’s discuss the foods that we may enjoy but are known to be harmful to cats.
- Chocolate
- Onions and garlic
- Green tomatoes
- Potatoes
- Caffeine
- Grapes and raisins
- Avocado
Do not give your cats chocolate treats of any kind. Do cats even like chocolate? Some certainly do. A friend made us the most decadent frosted brownie once. After going to bed that night, I remembered I’d neglected to cover the brownie pan and when I got up to do it, I found our Himalayan cat on the table chowing down on that delicious dessert. Who knew? She’d never done anything like that before.
Don’t let your cats play with or chew on tea bags. Evidently the caffeine can cause havoc with their system.
Cats love avocado. But that is another food you should keep to yourself. Don’t share bites with your cat.
Kittens love to chase grapes that fall on the floor. But you’d better pick them up and give the kitten a ball instead. Grapes and raisins are dangerous for cats. They can cause kidney failure. This is something I learned just recently. I had a cat once—the one named PomPom—who loved raisins. When I’d get out a small box of raisins for a snack, she was all over me wanting some and she’d eat raisin after raisin with me. It was the only thing she begged for. She remained healthy throughout her life despite my potentially deadly mistake.
Let’s end this by discussing milk and milk products. Most adult cats are lactose intolerant, so milk should probably not be a part of their diet. Since there are so many milk substitutes, almond, soy, coconut, rice milk, I checked with experts on this issue. Are these items safe for cats? Most say, NO. But if your cat doesn’t seem to have an issue with milk or milk products (intestinal distress, for example), then maybe a lap now and then won’t hurt.
If you have questions about feeding your cat milk products, substitute milk products, or anything else we’ve listed or that your cat seems to like, spend time doing research before giving in to her begging. Some cats seem to like the sweet taste of antifreeze, but we all know it can be deadly. So can some seemingly safe foods.
