this post was submitted on 04 Mar 2024
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Found this one online while browsing for what cats shouldn't eat. However I feel like this area is quite controversial and opinionated. Also feels like half the websites are written by AI and riddled with ads. So if anyone has a good source as to what cats should avoid then let me know.

Anyways, I found this nice illustration, but wanted to hear with you peeps whether you have any experience regarding these food items.

Also what's your take on milk/sour milk for cats? My previous cat loved it so much, and she aged until she was 17 years old, and never seemed to have a problem with it. Also asked the vet at the time and she said it was OK. However every other website I visit tell to never give milk(dairy) to cats. So which is it? Does it just depend on the cat?

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[–] zigmus64 99 points 8 months ago (8 children)

Yeah… don’t pay any attention to this kind of nonsense. Cats are obligated to carnivores. They don’t have the machinery to process a lot of non-meat foods. If they occasionally get into some things, it shouldn’t cause a problem.

Ultimately, just listen to your vet.

So far as the milk and cats thing… I think the issue is that they love it, they’ll almost always go for it, but many if not most are lactose intolerant… so too much will cause issues. If you had a cat who could process it, then great!

[–] agent_flounder 34 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Just for clarity, not trying to be a pedant:

Cats are obligate carnivores

Cats must eat meat to live. Like you said they can't really process other stuff.

[–] zigmus64 9 points 8 months ago

Damnit… that’s what I get for trying to sound smart, lol.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I love what spellcheck did to 'obligate carnivores' here. 🤣

[–] zigmus64 3 points 8 months ago

Ugh… I really try to keep shit like that from happening. Autocorrect bonked on “carnivore” too, and that’s what grabbed my attention.

[–] Rooki 11 points 8 months ago

My cat is in LOVE with ice cream from a specific ice maker ( with high percentage of milk of course ). We only give her like a finger tip of it and she doesnt have any problems ( the cat is 17, soon 18 ). We know its not so good to give her ice cream, but she annoys us until we give her a little bit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Seconding the lactose intolerance, I've also heard that most cats can't tolerate it well. My baby girl (11) loves to beg for yogurt but she gets a dime-sized dollop at most, otherwise I'm cleaning up kitty barf within the hour.

It's also true that kitties (and dogs) shouldn't eat onions or garlic as alliums are toxic to them, in a single large enough quantity or over time. And we don't want to feed any animals cooked chicken bones as they are way too brittle and can break into dangerous shards.

That said, a cat wrote this infographic and put turkey and shrimp in the top section 😅

[–] agent_flounder 20 points 8 months ago

That said, a cat wrote this infographic and put turkey and shrimp in the top section 😅

🤣

[–] [email protected] 5 points 8 months ago

We gave our elderly cat ‘cat milk’ from the pet food isle as a treat and she loved it. I suppose it’s lactose free or something and it was a great way to get her to take her meds.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Yet my cat loves pumpkin and olives. Omg, will she go crazy for some pumpkin and olives.

[–] Pipoca 3 points 8 months ago

I mean, this is mostly about treats, so...

Cats being obligate carnivores means most of their calories must come from meat because they e.g. can't synthesize taurine like a human or dog can. But eating a bit of cat grass isn't gonna kill them.

[–] MissJinx 2 points 8 months ago

I was going to say that my cat must be broken, none of them eat anything that it's not cat food/treat or meat. One of them likes lemom pie ans coke, but she's an orange, she's weird