Our feline friends are carnivores and as such their digestive systems are designed for high protein diets and not suited to treats fit for human consumption.Digestion is a process designed to break down food that supplies your cat with the necessary nutrients and subsequent energy to live a healthy, energy-filled life. As a cat's digestive system is developed for a high protein diet it has powerful gastric juices that assist in breaking down bones and meat. Their digestive systems do not have the necessary enzymes for a diet rich in plant matter or carbohydrates.As a responsible cat owner, it is important to understand what makes for good cat nutrition and what cat treats should be avoided. The following 'foods' and 'treats' are not recommended for cats:
Dog Food - Dog food does not contain sufficient proteins and taurine, which is an essential amino acid that cats produce in insufficient amounts. Dog food is not nutritionally balanced for cats. Similarly, dogs should not be fed cat food.
Canned Human Tuna - Canned tuna is not harmful provided it is an occasional treat and does not constitute your cat's main diet. Tuna is high in mercury and may result in mercury poisoning. Canned tuna also has a high sodium (salt) content and it not nutritionally balanced.
Garlic and Onion - Whilst a single feeding of food containing onions and garlic is not likely to make your cat ill, longterm, the sulfoxides and disulfides contained in these bulbs damages red blood cells which contain hemoglobin that is the oxygen carrying component of red blood cells. Reduced oxygen supply to the cat's organs can cause severe health problems and in severe cases - death
Tomatoes - Unripe or green tomatoes contain solanine, a toxin harmful to cats. Ingestion of tomatoes can cause diarrhea and vomiting.
Grapes and raisins - Whilst the experts have not established what component contained in grapes and raisins causes renal (kidney) damage, cat's that have ingested them have reportedly suffered renal failure.
Chocolate - This sweet treat is a no-no for cats and dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that cats cannot metabolize. Apart from nausea and vomiting, chocolate stimulates the central nervous system, increases the heart rate and may cause seizures and death. The more pure the chocolate the more dangerous it is.
Dairy Products - Whilst there is much debate on the subject of cow's milk for cats, the fact is that cats do not have the right enzymes to breakdown dairy products made from cow's milk (ice cream, cheese). They may suffer from gastrointestinal problems as a result of a lactose intolerance. The question of growth hormone in cow's milk is also a matter of separate debate.
Caffeine - tea and coffee contains caffeine and caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant and not recommended for cats.
Alcohol - save the Budweiser and Johnnie Walker for human consumption. Finally, it's advisable to feed your cat a veterinary approved commercial cat food. If you are trained in the field of animal nutrition, organic cat foods or even homemade foods are perfect alternatives, provided they are nutritionally balanced. Give your cat occasional treats - but cat treats designed for cats.
Cat Behaviors - Eating Out Of and Tearing Up the Bag of Cat Food
We have had a guest cat living with us for awhile and he brought with him some strange cat behavior. One of the things he does is bite and claw at the cat food in the bag, even if the bowl is full. I think its a game to him but it make a real mess. He doesn't stop until he gets it open and spreads it all over the floor.Now he isn't our cat but I figure he needs to live by our rules. We could put the food up but we have two cats now and our cat Sid eats out of the bowl and we can leave the bag of cat food on the floor next to where we feed the cats. It's convenient for us and that's how we like it, were the humans.When training our Sid since he was a kitten we had certain rules in mind and those were the Cat behaviors we worked on teaching him.These are cat behaviors we believe any cat in our house should obey(and Sid Does)
Eat the cat food out of a bowl and not the bag of food
Know it's name and come when called(at least most of the time)
Stay off of the sink
Use the cat box at all times
Don't bite the hand that feeds youWhen it came to the new cat Tabby, he needed some discipline so we started working with him after a period of time at least until we knew he felt comfortable in our home. We used the same tactics that we used with Sid, since they worked pretty well with him. There are many trains of thought for training a cat but this is what we did,
We use repetition when teaching him his name, call him a lot, and everyone be consistent. Don't use similar sounding words when calling your cat. Keep on until you get a response
Teach them the word NO. Again be consistent and get a response. Everyone should use the same word, not stop or don't do that, stick with the same word.
For biting use OUCH or NO and loudly. Make sure your not petting your cat to the point they have had enough. They will bite to tell you to stop. Sometimes they just want to sit on your lap.
We use a water bottle for really stubborn behavior. A quick spray and a loud NO will work very well. All we have to do now is pick up the water bottle if Sid is misbehaving.
With using all of the above we have taught Tabby to leave the bag of cat food alone and eat out of the bowl. He has also learned to recognize his name much better and will come to me sometimes, all are huge strides since Tabby has been an outside cat and his inside manners needed some improvement.
Eat the cat food out of a bowl and not the bag of food
Know it's name and come when called(at least most of the time)
Stay off of the sink
Use the cat box at all times
Don't bite the hand that feeds youWhen it came to the new cat Tabby, he needed some discipline so we started working with him after a period of time at least until we knew he felt comfortable in our home. We used the same tactics that we used with Sid, since they worked pretty well with him. There are many trains of thought for training a cat but this is what we did,
We use repetition when teaching him his name, call him a lot, and everyone be consistent. Don't use similar sounding words when calling your cat. Keep on until you get a response
Teach them the word NO. Again be consistent and get a response. Everyone should use the same word, not stop or don't do that, stick with the same word.
For biting use OUCH or NO and loudly. Make sure your not petting your cat to the point they have had enough. They will bite to tell you to stop. Sometimes they just want to sit on your lap.
We use a water bottle for really stubborn behavior. A quick spray and a loud NO will work very well. All we have to do now is pick up the water bottle if Sid is misbehaving.
With using all of the above we have taught Tabby to leave the bag of cat food alone and eat out of the bowl. He has also learned to recognize his name much better and will come to me sometimes, all are huge strides since Tabby has been an outside cat and his inside manners needed some improvement.
Cat Food Allergies - Signs and Symptoms That Your Cat is Allergic to the Food You Are Giving It
You cannot exactly tell you that you are giving him or her the wrong type of food. In fact, your cat may not realize how the food that he or she is eating is making him or her uncomfortable. According to studies, cat food allergies is very common among cats in the country. There are many types of cat food being sold in the market today that does not really sit well the stomach of some cats. Most of these foot that cause allergies are meat based products such as those that are made out of beef. In some cases, it containing fish and dairy products could also make your cat sick.Since your cat will not be able to tell you that the food you are giving him or her is making him or her sick, you better be alert to the signs and symptoms of food allergies. You quick attention to the condition of your cat may well save his or her life.Signs and SymptomsAllergies may be manifested in the dryness and flaking of your cat's skin. If you notice that your cat has flakes and that it constantly scratching itself in some parts of its body, it would be wise for you to investigate the cause of this behavior. Experts believe that there are certain ingredients that can cause allergies that may lead to balding of your cat. If you don't want your cat to lose its beautiful coat, you better switch to another type of food and see what happens. In most cases, cat allergies symptoms disappear once you discontinue giving your cat something that caused the allergies.Another sign of cat food allergies is the loss of appetite on your cat. In some cases, you cat may experience irritable bowel syndrome where your cat will have loose stools or constipation. If you notice that your cat is less active that he or she used to be, observe your cat for a day and note the way he or she defecates. If your cat does not eat much, strains when passing stool or pass loose stool, you should take your cat to the vet at once. Cat food allergies can have some serious on some cats so make sure that your cat is okay by taking it to the vet immediately.