Cats may live in our houses, but they certainly cannot eat human food. It’s sadly true. No matter how cute your cat is, most human food should be avoided. Even if they look harmless. Veterinarian Amir Anwary shares some lesser-known foods that can be poisonous to cats. And all cat owners should heed his warning.
While many of the foods on Anwary’s list are foods for humans, for cats it’s a completely different story.
Cats have different stomachs than ours. They are obligate carnivores, meaning they are animals whose diet consists of 70 percent meat. Humans are omnivores, meaning we eat a mixture of plant-based foods and meat. Therefore cats don’t really get the same nutrients that we get from human food. And in some rare cases, human food can actually make pets sick.
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As Anwary shared online, most of these foods are commonly found in American homes. But for your pets’ sake, make sure you don’t feed them grapes, garlic, onions, caffeine, or chocolate, she warns.
Other Foods Poisonous to Pets
Those foods are just the tip of the iceberg. There are other foods that are major no-nos for animals. If you’re obsessed with your avocado toast in the morning, make sure you keep it away from your pets. Avocados are also poisonous to birds, rabbits, donkeys, horses.
Citrus should also be avoided. Everything from the stems to the skin contains citric acid, which are essential oils that can cause irritation and even depression in the central nervous system if an animal eats them in large amounts.
Raw or undercooked meat, eggs, and bones, maybe like like something you could feed an animal. After all, we did say that animals like cats are mostly carnivores and you can imagine that some of these animals lived in the wild in the past. However, pets are a whole other story. All of these foods can contain Salmonella and E. coli, which can lead to many problems. And while it may seem okay to give your puppy extra chicken bones to munch on, you should avoid them. You don’t want to choke them or get the bone down their throat.
Salty snacks can fix a craving in humans, but for most animals it’s a straight no-go. Large amounts of salt can lead to dehydration and excessive thirst and urination. Worse, it can lead to sodium ion poisoning in some pets. So while you want to sit on the couch and eat popcorn, you should avoid feeding it to Rover.
In the end, you should probably stick to pet food and vet-approved pets. Your animal’s stomach will thank you later for this.
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