What to feed a cat?

Question

My two aunt are having a disagreement. Please help me to decide who is right! My one aunt (Gail) says that you should never ever feed a cat table scraps. My other aunt (Christy) says that while yes it is best for them to eat mainly cats foods, they like human need a variety of foods too. (such as milk, tuna, and veggies) Not every day maybe, but once in a while yes.My grandmother says just to feed them mouse guts. You know the ones you can buy at the pet store. So my question is, who do you think is right? My first aunt (Gail),my second aunt (Christy)Or my grandmother?

Answer 1

I think that your aunt is right. Dont feed your cat whatever's left on the table just because she wants it. I would be safe and just go with milk and cat food. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Feed your cat Pro Plan. It is the highest protein cat food on the market. Canned food is best because dry has too many carbs for an older cat. You can get away with putting dry down when you are not home but you cat will get diabetes if you feed her nothing but dry. My cat has diabetes and the vet told me not to feed her dry anymore. Pro Plan is a Purina product.

Answer 3

My cat has dry cat food out all the time so he can eat whenever he feels hungry. But you should only do this if he doesn't have problems with eating/over-eating. If he is overweight and/or he overeats, like my aunt's cat, you should give him a meal time, or maybe two. My cat feeds her cat twice a day. Once at breakfast and once at supper.

I also give my cat treats. He gets the canned wet food once a day at supper. I usually give him a tablespoon or about a 1/6 of a can. They also have treats for cats the pet stores or grocery stores, like cat milk and cat grass.

I also give him canned tuna, but only the stuff in water. And some tablescraps, but really only meat. But you have to be careful what kind of scraps you give him. Onions and onion powder/salts are bad for cats. It can give them diaharrea. My cat likes ham and chicken, and that's about it. He also likes carrots for some reason. He chews on them a bit and licks them to death. I'm not sure why.

Here is a list of plants that are poisonious to cats. Just be careful that they don't eat anything on this list and if they do take them to the vet immediately.
http://www.best-cat-art.com/plants-that-could-poison-your-cat.html

Answer 4

"for complete answer, read to the end. I have been surprised by the answer I came up with. You may be also)

Myself, I feed my cats combination of dry and canned meats because it gives them a variety of food that they can supplement with grass's. They do eat grass.
I think it is a bad idea to feed a cat human food because doing so makes the cat vulnerable to tasting human food when you are not looking. I like cats, but I don't like eating out of the same bowl.
Good question, thanks.

I did a search, and according to what I am reading, cats do not need carbohydrates. So meat is what they need. The water content is important.
So called "dry food" dehydrates the cat. So I am going to start feeding my cat almost exclusively canned food with good water content. They also like the dry food, so I will continue giving them a small amount with each meal.

Great Question. I learned a lot by the question. Thanks.

Answer 5

I had cats for many many years. Cat food is what we fed them but everyonce and a while we would drain the tuna juice into there cat food to add flavor and everyone once and a while we would also give them a few table scrapes. Its alright to feed them human food, but i believe it should only be once or twice a month tops. Human food isn't really good for them on a daily basis, it dosn't help keep them healthy. Also a make sure to keep them active so they don't gain any weight if you do choose to feed them table food.

Answer 6

Neither! You should feed your cat a quality pet food. My vet informed me that all store bought pet food is junk to a cat except Cat Chow. You should feed your cat canned cat food as well. A cat's origin is the desert. Therefore, they don't drink as much as they should because they depended on the liquids from the small animals they hunted. My 16 year old cat had chronic urinary tract infections in her youth (from not drinking enough water) so I started feeding her canned food and she hasn't had that problem in years.

Answer 7

Never give a cat milk. It is a mistake that many people make. It causes problems to their digestive system. Cats need cat food, either wet or dry or a combination. Gail is right. Christy and your grandmother are very wrong. Check with a vet for the facts.

Answer 8

Ew mouse guts? I wouldn't feed my cat that, although if it were a wild cat it would eat alot of that kind of food. It's not healthy with all the disease prevalent nowadays.

Commercial cat foods contain alot of byproducts that cats don't need or want and they can be harmful to them. Cats ideally should have meat, vegetation and water. Real milk is not healthy for cats because it is not digestible in their systems. It's different from when kittens nurse on mommy, mommy manufactures the milk and our milk (cow) is not the same. They do make commerical cat milks like Whiska's that you could give as a special treat that wouldn't hurt.

Ideally homemade foods are best, meat ground up with water, etc but we don't really have the ambition to do that so you want to get a commercial food that is healthy. There are alot of natural cat foods out there in the GNC type of stores that have fruits and veggies in them. Occasional veggies is ok but not a steady diet of it. Cats are carnivores, but your not going to feed your cat live prey.

I would suggest the higher grade foods, not the crummy tasting expensive stuff they won't eat, but the Fancy Feast dry, One, Whiska's, Friskies. If you prefer can, Friskies or Meow Mix select canned/cupped foods are the way to go. Fancy Feast canned contains alot of protein, not a good thing for cats kidneys.

I feed my cats only the above. They don't get table scraps either and get only real tuna in water once in a while for a treat. You don't want to feed them lunch meats they contain preservatatives, alot of meats do but if you cook your own chicken, beef, turkey those would be ok to give small treats. I don't give table scraps because we have bacteria in our mouths and it gets on the fork, to the plate, and could pass on to our pets.

Answer 9

I think your first aunt is correct.... I never feed my Kitty's table food.. I too was told that it is not good for them, and I believe it. My cats are much healthier than my childhood pets.. I also for the most part only feed them dry cat food. And lots of fresh water... Ask a vet and they will agree, it is best to feed them only cat food. "Edit" My child hood cats ate what ever my mom gave them..... She too thought it was OK to feed them left overs and milk... NOT GOOD...."

Answer 10

Cats need a dry brown hard cat food. It has everything that they need. It is nutritionally balance(that is why it is called CAT FOOD). Milk can cause diarrhea in cats as they are mostly lactose intolerant. A few scraps is ok but no FAT, this can cause vomiting or diarrhea. Veggies are ok as long as they do not cause diarrhea. Mouse guts you buy at the store???Never heard of that but I would stay away from that as well.