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?

  • zigmus64@lemmy.world
    724·
    10 months ago

    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!

      • zigmus64@lemmy.world
        3·
        10 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@lemmy.world
      6·
      10 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.

    • Pipoca@lemmy.world
      3·
      10 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@lemmy.world
      2·
      10 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

  • Nakedmole@lemmy.world
    412·
    10 months ago

    That list gets a few details right but is also full of nonsense. Grain is not appropriate food for cats. Fruit and anything else that contains sugar is also not appropriate. High quality cat food with at least 90 percent meat and no grain, no sugar is best. I sometimes serve fresh meat and fish too, like chicken hearts or cod. Just make sure there are no bones or bone fragments in the meat or fish and also that it has been frozen to make sure there is no risk of any infection.

    Edit: removed a few details which I am not sure about

    • angrystego@lemmy.world
      4·
      10 months ago

      I don’t think the picture is about proper cat nutrition. I think it’s about giving the cat a treat/letting it taste something you’re eating. You’re right that you should definitely feed your cat meat or proper meat-based cat food.

  • M500@lemmy.mlEnglish
    447·
    10 months ago

    Yeah don’t give them raw chicken because cats that kill chickens in the wild will always cook them first.

    • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
      291·
      10 months ago

      It’s bc of how our meat is processed/what bacteria may be one it. Cats are not immune to salmonella nor most other foodborne pathogens.

      • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
        192·
        10 months ago

        Yeah, but that’s not a chicken-specific thing. The actual infographic is utter horseshit, of course. Especially with recommending so many greens, as if cats can do more with that than pass them unprocessed and then demand more food as they expelled non-trivial amounts of energy on it.

    • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
      101·
      10 months ago

      Animals in the wild die of food poisoning all the time; that doesn’t mean that we should have our pets doing the same. It’s a bit like playing Russian roulette, the risk is better than outright starving, but it isn’t riskless.

      Also, I’m not sure but I think that battery farming increases the proliferation of salmonella.

        • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
          2·
          10 months ago

          My cat is bipolar, OK? Her vet prescribed lithium and she’s getting it! Otherwise she becomes like the feline equivalent of that squirrel from Over The Edge.

    • scarabic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      Fresh kill is a far cry from raw meat days after butchering which is only deemed safe on the condition that it gets cooked.

  • rowinxavier@lemmy.world
    29·
    10 months ago

    Lol, my cat eats a diet of chicken, prawns, some beef, and organs like liver, heart, kidney, and brain. He is extremely healthy and does not look his age (13). He started on kibble but we transitioned him to meat because of hairball and general health issues. His teeth are clean and strong, his coat is shiny, and his eyes are clear.

    Honestly, cats are predators. They eat meat. Feed a cat mice and you are close to what mine eats. It would be really strange if they were ok eating rice, corn, and brocoli.

    • Siegfried@lemmy.world
      7·
      10 months ago

      My cat never liked meat, fish or chicken. she would eat vegetables and kibble… sometimes watermelon or another juicy fruit.

      I really dont know if this was a sign or not, but eventually we discovered she had a renal condition.

    • Nakedmole@lemmy.world
      1·
      10 months ago

      I was under the impression that barfing requires adding taurine and minerals, or are those already part of certain organs you feed?

  • tsonfeir@lemm.ee
    28·
    10 months ago

    Xylitol, a sugar substitute found in some sugar-free products, including certain brands of peanut butter, is highly toxic to cats (and dogs).

  • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
    16·
    10 months ago

    A few other posts have pointed out cats are obligate carnivores so they need to consume meat to survive, as well as the general lactose intolerance.

    One addendum to this is cat saliva lacks enzymes that break down carbohydrates. Cats consuming carbs consistently without proper teeth cleaning tend to have dental issues. Often regular eating and chewing scrapes carb build up, but it is something to keep an eye out for.

    • Goldmage263@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      10 months ago

      Thanks, this is what I came to the comments for, as my cat tries to steal any lemon pastry while I am eating it. Usually a little cat treat snack keeps her away.

  • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
    14·
    10 months ago

    Just listen to a vet instead. Cats can eat a lot of things, but they can process only very little. They’re carnivores through and through, and evolved to deal with a diet consisting entirely of small animals they’ve hunted down, but also all of them (not just the selectively removed meat parts we as humans consume).

  • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
    10·
    10 months ago

    Grapes are toxic to cats (and dogs). Onions and garlic are both toxic, and will absolutely kill your cats. Ice cream usually has small amounts of antifreeze in it; it’s safe enough for humans, but not safe for cats. Raw chicken with bones can be given to cats if it is finely ground so that there aren’t any bone shards or fragments. You can get frozen turkey and chicken chicks from raw food suppliers, and those are safe enough for cats to eat because the bones are mostly too small to harm them. (Raw food is not suggested for most cats; it’s hard to get it balanced so that they aren’t malnourished in some way. A very, very few cats will do better on a raw food diet if they have something like IBS.) Lots of common house plants can be deadly to cats too. One I know off the top of my head is everything in the lily family.

    • SendMePhotos@lemmy.world
      2·
      10 months ago

      ice cream usually has small amounts of antifreeze in it

      Weird. I read a bit about it and it seems true. It’s not technically antifreeze but also is technically antifreeze. When I think of antifreeze I think of the orange or green liquid in cars. This liquid is clear and also in many vaporizors (ecigs and carts).

      • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
        2·
        10 months ago

        It’s because otherwise your ice cream will freeze as hard as a rock. If you make your own, you probably won’t use any.

        You could probably make your own ice cream that was perfectly safe for cats and dogs. I think that goat milk is better for cats? You certainly couldn’t use any artificial sweeteners though; real cane sugar or honey only.

  • Lvxferre@mander.xyz
    9·
    10 months ago

    I’m not too informed on that, but that table looks sensible as long as you keep in mind that their diet is mostly meat-based, so watch out for amounts. And it fits well what I’ve read across the internet.

    The main problem regarding dairy is the lactose; it isn’t poisonous but they don’t digest it well. So dairy in small amounts as a treat is probably fine, just don’t overdo it. Soured milk is probably better than plain milk, as the souring likely consumes some of the lactose. Or yoghurt, one of my cats is crazy for that.

    Past that, as a general rule:

    • OK: gourds (pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon)
    • OK: apple, banana
    • never OK: alium (onion, leek, garlic) is outright poisonous
    • treat it as “not OK” by default: other botanical fruits, unless you know that it’s OK
    • OK, but don’t overdo it: non-meat animal protein (cheese, eggs)
    • probably OK in small bits, don’t overdo it: if it has too much sugar, salt, or fat (ice cream, peanut butter)
    • not OK: if it could give you food poisoning (raw chicken)
    • not OK: if it could mechanically harm you once chewed (chicken bones)