Five Foods You Should Never Feed Your Cat

I am the proud owner of two mischievous house cats. A better statement of that fact may be that my house cats are the proud owners of me. Like many cat owners, I sometimes indulge my cats with the occasional cat treat. On the rarest of occasions I might even spoil them with a taste of table food in their diet.

In small amounts table food is not usually harmful. However, there are some foods meant for human consumption that are harmful to cats and a few that are even deadly. Some of these taboo foods might be a bit surprising.

Tuna Fish
Tuna Fish is a favorite among many cats but lacks the vitamins and nutrients to keep our cat friends happy and provide a healthy diet. The Tuna Fish meant for human consumption lacks Vitamin E making this an unhealthy and sometimes dangerous food choice. Vitamin E deficiency can cause serious health conditions such as Yellow Fat Disease.

Even if dietary supplements are given to counteract the negative nutritional value, Tuna Fish is still a poor choice because of the Mercury that it contains. Tuna is also believed to cause allergic conditions and reactions in cats. If your cat is a Tuna lover it is best to buy a fortified canned cat food in Tuna flavor to make sure they are meeting their vitamins and mineral requirements.

Cows milk and dairy products
Most everyone would agree that cats love drinking a bit of milk. While this is true, it does not mean that milk is healthy for them. Many cats are lactose intolerant because they lack the enzyme lactase. Without this enzyme, their bodies have a difficult time breaking down and digesting milk and dairy food products. This upset to the system can cause diarrhea and skin irritation. If your cat loves milk do not despair, there are several companies such as Whiskas that sell lactose free milk products that are designed with a cats digestive system in mind.