5 Foods You Should Never Feed Your Cat

Whether you’re a first-time parent or a seasoned cat owner, we have all made mistakes when it comes to caring for our pets. There are some mistakes that you would never want to make, so before you readily share your dinner with your cat, it’s important to know what they can’t eat, and why. Here are 5 foods you should keep far away from your kitty.

1. Caffeine

Products that contain caffeine are like colas, coffee, tea, Redbull and even chocolate! As caffeine contains methylxanthines, in large enough quantities, the effects could be dire as it could cause diarrhea and vomiting, bleeding, seizures, palpitations and even death.

2. Chocolate

This one should be a no-brainer; even non-owners should be familiar. But why exactly are chocolates harmful to cats? Chocolate also contains methylxanthines and this chemical (which is found in dark, milk and white chocolate) causes a plethora of health problems for dogs, including vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration, muscle tremors and even seizures. As a general rule of thumb, the darker the chocolate, the more deadly.

3. Avocados

Avocados may be healthy for humans, but they contain a substance known as persin which, when consumed in large quantities, may poison your kitty. You should also keep your cat away from avocado plants as the persin can also be found in the leaves, seed and bark of the plant.

4. Milk

Cats have something akin to lactose intolerance, so any food with high lactose content such as milk are a no-no. This is because they lack the lactase enzyme that breaks down lactose. Interestingly, cheese and yoghurt are digestible by dogs as they in fact contain very little quantities of lactose. You may refer to the table below from dogfoodadvisor.com for a proper comparison.

If you would like to play it safe, there are pet-safe milk brands such as Cosi Lactose-Free Pet’s Milk and goat milk which make a great calcium supplement to your pet’s diet.

5. Onions & Garlic

This one might surprise you, especially since you might not consciously think of feeding your cat these vegetables. With garlic being the stronger of the two, these deadly foods can destroy your pet’s red blood cells and cause anemia if ingested in large quantities. Most basic symptoms include weakness, vomiting, loss of appetite and breathlessness. In the worst case scenario, your cat might require a blood transfusion, so be careful when serving your cat home-cooked meals.