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-   -   Human food for cats (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=84337)

gibor July 24th, 2013 12:25 PM

Human food for cats
 
I did some research ever the web to figure out what kind of human food kittens can consume... and I found completely opposite recommendations.
So far we gave to out kitten a little bit cream and sour cream and tuna cans. She was happy to eat.
Was wondering if you give to your cats human food?
P.S. Genarally, don't you think that cat food producers just doing "propaganda" to convince people to buy only their food?
I remember that when I lived in Russia (USSR), cats ate ONLY human food, even more than that, they ate just caught still alive fish and were completely fine. We just dind't have any cat food at all (even with human food there were a lot of problems :))

Barkingdog July 24th, 2013 01:11 PM

I had a client that was blind and she had two cats and one was very FAT.
I found out why when I was making my client's lunch, Fatty the cat jumped onto a chair and when my client sat down to eat the cat got on the table and started to sneak food off the plate! He was using his claws as a fork and picking up the food. I mean the cat was really fat, he almost took up the whole chair when he sat in it.

gibor July 24th, 2013 02:17 PM

LOL...I'd like to see this cat pic :)

Barkingdog July 24th, 2013 06:06 PM

[QUOTE=gibor;1059923]LOL...I'd like to see this cat pic :)[/QUOTE]

That cat is no longer alive. But it was so funny seeing him sneaking of the plate. He was very good at it.

Koteburo July 24th, 2013 07:31 PM

Although tuna is nutritious just keep in mind it can't be a complete substitute for cat food since they have other requirements such as taurine that among other things it will help the kitten to develop his/her eyes.
I would stay away from cow milk (could cause diarrhea), give some tuna, chicken, for vegetables pumpkin or sweet potato or some good quality kitten food - grain free.
There are some raw feeding options in which case I would avoid poultry because sometimes when uncooked it could be contaminated with salmonella.
Raw feeding requires the addition of some vitamins and taurine though.
A while ago I found this video on a recipe for raw food:

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Bvd3qf2q0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Bvd3qf2q0[/URL]

Jull July 24th, 2013 08:09 PM

Sometimes you have to be careful with fish products too because of their high mercury content, not sure with tuna but my guess is yes (?).

if you give your kitten milk make it raw milk from grass feed cow or goat, here in Sk I can buy goat milk but not cow (it is still illegal here unfortunately) but not any of the store milk, it is bad enough we drink it lol.

salmonella contamination can be found on other meats besides poultry, I even remember of an article I read sometime ago of salmonella found on vegetables. Now, salmonella is more harmful to us than cats and dogs, on a healthy animal the acid in their stomach makes them resistant to pathogens. of course you also want e sure safety meat handling always.

Barkingdog July 24th, 2013 08:22 PM

[QUOTE=Jull;1059931]Sometimes you have to be careful with fish products too because of their high mercury content, not sure with tuna but my guess is yes (?).

if you give your kitten milk make it raw milk from grass feed cow or goat, here in Sk I can buy goat milk but not cow (it is still illegal here unfortunately) but not any of the store milk, it is bad enough we drink it lol.

salmonella contamination can be found on other meats besides poultry, I even remember of an article I read sometime ago of salmonella found on vegetables. Now, salmonella is more harmful to us than cats and dogs, on a healthy animal the acid in their stomach makes them resistant to pathogens. of course you also want e sure safety meat handling always.[/QUOTE]


[url]http://fishcooking.about.com/od/howtochoosefreshfish/bb/mercury_fish.htm[/url]


this is a list of fish that mercury . Cow milk is meant for calf and really should not be fed to other animals.

Jull July 24th, 2013 08:37 PM

[QUOTE=Barkingdog;1059932][url]http://fishcooking.about.com/od/howtochoosefreshfish/bb/mercury_fish.htm[/url]
this is a list of fish that mercury . Cow milk is meant for calf and really should not be fed to other animals.[/QUOTE]

Raw cow milk is really good and much better than processed milk, back home I was able to drink it at my aunts farm. Here I cant get it no more, unless I had my own cows, however for my dogs I can buy goat milk.

[url]http://www.raw-milk-facts.com[/url]

gibor July 25th, 2013 09:49 AM

[QUOTE=Jull;1059934]Raw cow milk is really good and much better than processed milk, back home I was able to drink it at my aunts farm. [/QUOTE]
Agree! Back home we were buying raw cow milk when I lived at cottege and when it was still warm (all my childhood) I was drinking 1-1.5 litres almost every summer day and it was excellent, and it took me sometime to use to drink processed milk when I was coming back to city.
Unfortunatelly also in Ontario I cannot buy raw milk.

My mom was giving to the kitten processed milk/cream to our kitten, so far no diarrhea. maybe those "street born" kittens are more resistant that pure-breeded ?! :)

Jull July 25th, 2013 10:02 AM

[QUOTE=gibor;1059951]Agree! Back home we were buying raw cow milk when I lived at cottege and when it was still warm (all my childhood) I was drinking 1-1.5 litres almost every summer day and it was excellent, and it took me sometime to use to drink processed milk when I was coming back to city.
Unfortunatelly also in Ontario I cannot buy raw milk.

My mom was giving to the kitten processed milk/cream to our kitten, so far no diarrhea. maybe those "street born" kittens are more resistant that pure-breeded ?! :)[/QUOTE]


Well just because there is no diarrhea it doesn't mean it wont affect the kitten's digestive system. Since "real" milk is not an option, maybe you can check some of your local pet stores for other options. I know at my local store I can get [B]"Pro Bloom"[/B] from the honest kitchen, which is Dehydrated goat's milk, my dogs tried it a couple times and they loved it!

I am a total Raw Milk supporter :D hopefully someday we are able to get it again here in Canada.

Koteburo July 25th, 2013 08:08 PM

[QUOTE=Jull;1059931]
salmonella contamination can be found on other meats besides poultry, I even remember of an article I read sometime ago of salmonella found on vegetables. Now, salmonella is more harmful to us than cats and dogs, on a healthy animal the acid in their stomach makes them resistant to pathogens. of course you also want e sure safety meat handling always.[/QUOTE]

Of course there can be salmonella in other products even vegetables but it's far more common in raw poultry. Also in some parts strawberries that are watered with treated waters it stays in the seeds but not what came to mind to give to a cat :p

Jim Hall July 31st, 2013 05:52 PM

Tuna is good But watch out for salt content in human foods

any cooked meats should be made seperately with no seasoning

as for salmonella i feed my kits some raw but only from a hallal or kosher butcher so i know it been handled properly

a for milk. the higher the fat content the lower the lactate level I believe

RUSTYcat August 8th, 2013 02:36 PM

[QUOTE=wesley01;1060461][B][I]From my point of view[/I][/B] give fish to cat like tuna and salmon because cat like fish very much[/QUOTE]

Hi wesley01 - welcome to the forum!

Well, everyone is going to have their own "point of view".......

Those "points of view" - for the ordinary, average 'person on the street' - often come from the influences of advertising. There are many dangers in believing everything that manufacturers and retailers put out there.

That said, I have a problem with your argument: "give fish because they like it".

Well, what if someone's kids like fatty fast foods? Should they 'cave' to the kids' likes?

As guardians of our cats, we have an obligation to make informed decisions about what we choose to feed them......you can make an informed decision after you first get yourself educated about what's good and what's not good in feline nutrition........and, fish is not one of the goodies.

Here's an example of learning about feline nutrition - [B][I]specifically about fish[/I][/B]:

[quote]Then What Kind of Fish Can I Feed My Cat? Aren't Cats Designed to Eat Fish?
It's true cats seem to love seafood meals, but it's weird because kitties didn't evolve to eat fish.

Your favorite feline's ancestors came from the deserts of Africa. They didn't hunt giant tuna – or anything else -- in the sea. Your kitty's natural prey are small furry land dwellers like mice.

Because cats seem to love fish and the people they own love feeding it to them even though it's not their natural prey, it could be why kitties fed a lot of canned tuna run an increased risk of acquiring squamous cell carcinoma.

But even though the natural diet of cats isn't seafood, they absolutely can get addicted to fish.

And in fact, kitties tend to become addicted to any protein they consume exclusively. Pet food companies are acutely aware of this phenomenon, which is why most cat food formulas are either fish or chicken based. These are the proteins cats most often form addictions to.

And fish, as it turns out, is one of the most highly allergenic foods for felines. Allergies cause systemic inflammation. Cats that eat allergenic foods over and over can end up with lung inflammation that can also lead to asthma. And of course asthma is one of the more commonly diagnosed inflammatory conditions in cats.

There also appears to be a link between mercury and asthma, and ethoxyquin and asthma, so it's easy to start to see the bigger picture with regard to diet-related inflammatory conditions.

Fish fed in high amounts can also lead to thiamine deficiency, which can cause loss of appetite, seizures, and even death.

Long-term ingestion of fish in cat food can also deplete vitamin E resources. Vitamin E deficiency can also cause a really painful condition called steatitis, which is yellow fat disease. If left untreated, steatitis can also be life-threatening.

Seafood is a very rich source of iodine, but cats aren't designed to process a lot of iodine. Many animal nutritionists, including me, believe there's a link between cats consuming too many iodine-rich foods and hyperthyroidism.

There's also been a link established between pop-top cans or canned cat food and hyperthyroidism.

Pet food companies are now introducing 'low-iodine' formulas for hyperthyroid cats. How about we just avoid feeding cats fish-based food instead? Avoiding foods high in iodine seems like a good way to prevent hyperthyroidism in kitties.

Last but not least, the magnesium content in fish has been linked to urinary tract diseases in cats. A diet overloaded with the mineral magnesium can predispose your kitty to magnesium ammonium phosphate crystals, also known as MAP crystals or struvite crystals. Crystals are a big problem for many, many cats.

[url]http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/01/03/fish-as-a-protein-source.aspx[/url][/quote]

Now, [B]if you'd rather watch[/B] than read, here you are [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1HqviFeWWo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1HqviFeWWo[/URL]

I'm sharing this because I hope that next time you have a chance to offer a point of view about this, it'll be a more informed one!

Koteburo August 9th, 2013 11:12 AM

Well you can't blame people for thinking that cats love fish it's a popular belief and a lot of them actually do love fish. The scent drives them crazy and to some not so much.
It's quite common to think that way and people mean good. When they give their cats fish they do it wif wove :lovestruck: as in spoiling them. With time we all start learning more and more things about nutrition and many other subjects.
It's all true about the metals and the unrinary problems though.
As a curious story there's a small island in Mexico where a long time ago someone brought cats. As the decades went by colonies of wild (feral) cats developed in there and they fish! The literally fish. It's amazing, they catch and eat fish. They have healthy coats, lots of proteins. That of course doesn't discard other possible issues.
And well... That however is a very specific case because as in the post quoted above cats started out hunting mice and small pray. These guys in the island just adapted to what was most plentiful and available in their habitat.

Koteburo August 9th, 2013 11:15 AM

[QUOTE=Jim Hall;1060189]Tuna is good But watch out for salt content in human foods

any cooked meats should be made seperately with no seasoning

as for salmonella i feed my kits some raw but only from a hallal or kosher butcher so i know it been handled properly

a for milk. the higher the fat content the lower the lactate level I believe[/QUOTE] :thumbs up

That's a good idea. I'm thinking about switching to raw but I was wondering what'd be a good option to prevent contamination in the meat as much as possible.

Jull August 9th, 2013 11:39 AM

[QUOTE=Koteburo;1060484]:thumbs up

That's a good idea. I'm thinking about switching to raw but I was wondering what'd be a good option to prevent contamination in the meat as much as possible.[/QUOTE]


You can also buy from a local farmer, I buy from a local organic farm and butchery here in my city, not only the way the animals are raised and fed is great and beneficial, but I know everything is properly handled, their animal sacrifice too is humanly done, as in a hallal or kosher (minus the rabbi of course).

Koteburo August 12th, 2013 08:12 PM

[QUOTE=Jull;1060485]You can also buy from a local farmer, I buy from a local organic farm and butchery here in my city, not only the way the animals are raised and fed is great and beneficial, but I know everything is properly handled, their animal sacrifice too is humanly done, as in a hallal or kosher (minus the rabbi of course).[/QUOTE]
For now I'm trying Nature's variety Instinct raw but as you said is very important (to me) that the meat cosme from animals that haven't been mistreated and had a life of terrible suffering :( Some reputable local farmer should do after some research :)
Thanks for the great advice. :)


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