The Eight Foods you Should Never Feed Your Cat

There are some things that we know are bad for our cats to eat, but there are some things that can be very dangerous for them to eat that you may not think about. There are a lot of foods that can be bad for your cat that can range from giving them an upset stomach to causing severe illness. If you want to keep your cat safe there are some foods that you need to avoid letting them have. The eight foods that your cat should never eat include:

1. Baby food – although very safe for babies, it can be very bad for cats. It may contain onion powder, which is very dangerous for cats and could lead to anemia. It also does not provide your cat with the nutrition that it needs.

2. Chocolate – most people know that we can not give our dogs chocolate, but we may not be aware that cats should also never eat chocolate. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is a chemical that humans can eat, but dogs and cats can not metabolize it as fast and even small amounts can lead to theobromine poisoning in cats and dogs which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, excitability, panting, abnormal heart rate, seizures and tremors.

3. Coffee and tea – caffeine can be toxic to cats and to dogs. There is no antidote available. It can only take a little bit of coffee or tea to cause serious harm to your cat or dog. It can cause vomiting, diarrhea, panting, restlessness, tremors, increased body temperature and seizures.

4. Grapes and raisins – although experts are not certain what it is in grapes and raisins that is toxic to cats and dogs, it is possible for them to develop kidney failure.

5. Onions and garlic – raw onions, powdered onions and uncooked onions are very harmful to cats because they can cause damage to the red blood cells, which could lead to anemia. Anemia can make your cat feel pale and lethargic.

6. Spinach – although it is not certain that spinach can do damage to cats, it does contain calcium oxalates which is a component in kidney stones. If your cat ate a large amount of spinach, it could lead to crystals in the urine.

7. Unripe tomatoes – these can be toxic to your cat because they are part of the nightshade plant family, which contains a poisonous alkaloid called solanine.

8. Yeast dough – raw dough or uncooked dough should never be given to your cat. If your cat eats the raw dough, it may rise in the stomach and that can lead to painful bloating, gas and the possibility of rupturing the stomach or the intestines.