Cat dietary taboos

Chocolate, grapes/raisins, and xylitol-containing foods are three types of deadly foods that cats cannot touch. Alliums, alcohol, and raw meat and eggs are high-risk controversial items, while milk, cat strips, and cooked poultry/fish bones are daily minefields that 90% of people have stepped on. This is the real experience I have gained from raising 6 cats for 5 years and following the three doctors at the pet hospital I frequently visit. There are not so many fancy theories, but the truth from the pitfalls and cases I have seen.

Last fall, the neighbor's blue cat downstairs took advantage of the owner not paying attention while unpacking the package and ate half a piece of 70% black chocolate that fell on the ground. The total amount was less than 30g. He started drooling and trembling in half an hour. He was sent to the hospital for three days of induced vomiting and infusion, and it took more than 3,000 yuan to rescue him. Don’t believe the lucky words “My cat is fine after eating a little chocolate.” The metabolic efficiency of theobromine for cats is only one-tenth that of humans. A 10-pound cat will be fatal if it ingests 100mg of theobromine. The content of theobromine in an ordinary 100g piece of black chocolate can reach more than 300mg. If you really wait for a reaction before sending it to the doctor, it will most likely be too late.

The toxicity of grapes and raisins has yet to be determined. The specific causative components have not yet been determined. However, whether it is the animal poison database of the US ASPCA or the clinical cases of domestic farmers and farmers, there are records of acute renal failure in cats after eating 3 or 4 grapes. Individual differences are huge. Even if your friend’s cat eats a bunch and is fine, it does not mean that your cat will not get into trouble if he eats half a grape. There is no need to gamble on this probability. It is safest not to touch it.

There is also Xylitol, which many people ignore. It is added to sugar-free chewing gum, sugar-free yogurt, and some baked goods. After cats ingest it, it will quickly stimulate a large amount of insulin secretion, and hypoglycemia will occur as soon as half an hour. A larger dose will directly cause irreversible liver damage. The last time I took my cat to the hospital for vaccination, I met a little girl who fed the cat a mouthful of her own sugar-free yogurt. The cat vomited all afternoon and came to the doctor.

After talking about the fatal taboos that are firmly established, let’s talk about the controversial foods that have been quarreling in the pet care circle for several years. In fact, there is no absolute “can’t eat” or “can’t eat”. It all depends on whether you can operate it.

For example, raw meat and eggs are the subject of a quarrel between the raw meat and meat parties and the cooked ones: If you can ensure that all meats are frozen at -18°C for more than 72 hours to kill Toxoplasma gondii, Trichinella spiralis and other parasites, the source of the ingredients can be traced, and the cat is given a full set of internal anesthesia every 3 months, then raw meat and bones is indeed a highly digestible feeding method.； But if you just buy a piece of unquarantined pork from the wet market or a piece of chilled salmon from the supermarket and feed it directly to the cat, then it’s okay. The risk of salmonella and Toxoplasma infection is ridiculously high. Not only will the cat get sick, but people will also be at risk of infection if they come into contact with feces. The same goes for raw eggs. Avidin will destroy vitamin B7 in cats. Feeding raw egg whites for a long time can easily cause dermatitis and hair loss. If the eggs meet the raw food standards, it is okay to give half an egg yolk as a snack occasionally, but just throw away the egg whites.

There are also allium plants such as onions, ginger, garlic, and leeks. The disulfides in them will destroy the red blood cells of cats, and long-term intake will cause hemolytic anemia. This is the consensus of the academic community, but there is no need to panic. If the cat accidentally licks a noodle with chopped green onion, and the intake is less than 5g per kilogram of body weight, there will be no acute poisoning reaction. Just don’t feed the cat human food with these condiments for a long time. Oh, and there is alcohol. I saw a video of someone feeding beer to a cat to play with it, and a lot of people in the comment area called it cute. It was so hard that the cat's liver can't metabolize ethanol. Even a lick of 5% beer may cause vomiting, ataxia, and even coma and death if the dose is higher. Don't learn this kind of operation that takes a cat's life and blood flow.

Compared with these taboos that everyone has heard of for a long time, there are many common foods that most people avoid.

Take milk, for example. Many people watched cartoons about cats loving to drink milk when they were young, so they habitually pour a bowl for their own cats. Little do they know that 80% of adult cats are lactose intolerant. Drinking it will cause soft and loose stools, and in severe cases, it can cause enteritis. Of course, it’s not completely impossible to feed. If your cat doesn’t react at all after drinking 10ml, then it’s okay to feed it a couple of mouthfuls occasionally as a reward, just don’t give it as water. If you really want to feed, buy zero-lactose Shuhua milk or goat milk powder specially designed for pets.

There are also the "poisonous cat strips" that have been scolded for many years. To be honest, they are really unjust. As long as regular brand cat strips do not add preservatives and attractants in violation of regulations, and occasionally feed one to enhance feelings and use it as an inducer when giving medicine, they are simply magical tools. But if you feed the cat three or four pieces a day and give the cat strips as food, the cat will definitely be picky and refuse to eat cat food. Over time, the cat will become malnourished and thin like a monkey. This pot should not be carried by the cat. It is purely due to the wrong way of feeding.

The most easily overlooked items are cooked poultry bones and fish bones. Many old people always say that "cats are born to eat fish bones." Today's domestic cats have long been unable to do that. After the bones are cooked, they become very brittle, and they are full of sharp stubble after being chewed. My oldest orange cat ate my leftover sauced duck bones two years ago. The sharp stubble got stuck in the esophagus. It cost more than 4,000 yuan to have surgery to remove it. The doctor said that if the delivery was delayed for another half day, the bone would pierce the esophagus and cause a mediastinal infection, and there would be no way to save it. If you really want to help your cat chew bones to grind their teeth, buy raw big stick bones. Don’t even cook them. Just let them chew and play with them. Throw them away when the meat is gone. Don’t let them chew them into pieces and swallow them.

In fact, when I feed cats now, I’m not sure whether I can feed them. I either look through the ASPCA’s list of toxic foods or directly take a photo and send it to the doctor at the pet hospital I frequent. I never dare to feed cats based on feeling. The biggest feeling after raising cats for so many years is that don’t always think about giving your cat something “new”. Its intestines and stomach are much more delicate than you think. The simpler the diet and the more it meets its original needs, the less likely it is to cause problems. Oh, by the way, if a cat accidentally eats suspiciously toxic food, feed soapy water to induce vomiting as soon as possible, and then send a sample of the accidentally eaten food to the hospital immediately. Don’t waste time by searching online for a long time. After all, a cat’s small body really can’t afford it.