# Human food that is bad for cats ?



## Lithium (Jun 16, 2003)

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone could post the food that cats should not eat and that would be poisonous for them.

My cat LOVES blue cheese, fresh vegetables(beans, lettuce, cucumber skin, spinache etc.) as well as strawberry yogurt .

So i was thinking if any of those could be harmful for my kitty !

cheers.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

The blue cheese is a little iffy.


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## gizmocat (May 22, 2006)

*cheese*

MY vet told me that cheese is not good for cats. The yogurt, on the other hand, is. The other stuff should not hurt him.


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## sefaleth (Mar 8, 2006)

I'd always heard that cottage cheese was good for them. Why is cheese bad for cats?

I'd be careful about flavored yogurt, which tends to have a lot of sugar in it and can contribute to diabetes. 

I know lily plants are poisonous, but that's not a food.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Cats are lactose-intolerant.


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## sefaleth (Mar 8, 2006)

Many cheeses are acceptable for lactose intolerant people as the cheese-making process removes a lot of lactose. 

I'd assume that the same would apply to cats. I've seen cheese snacks made for cats before. As long as the nutritional information on the cheese shows that there are no sugars in the cheese, then there should be no milk sugars - lactose - in it either.


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## gizmocat (May 22, 2006)

*chocolate*

Never let a cat or dog near chocolate. It's highly toxic to them.


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## queen of the nile (Aug 16, 2003)

Different cheeses are created by fermentation with different species of bacteria (or fungus). The type of bacteria used will determine whether or not the cheese is lactose free. The cheese goes through a primary fermentation, and most cheeses are then inoculated with a new bacterium/fungus to go through a secondary fermentation.

Cream cheeses and cottage cheeses only go through the primary fermentation. They contain lactose.

Blue cheese is inoculated with a fungus that digests the fats in the cheese (Penicilium roquefortii). It contains lactose.

Brie and camembert are inoculated with fungus that digests the proteins, making the cheese very soft. They also contain lactose.

Swiss cheese is inoculated with one of three species of bacteria (Propionibacter shermani is the most common). These bacteria digest the sugars in cheese, thereby making it lactose free. Yogurt also contains very little lactose.

As a lactose intolerant person, I can only safely eat Swiss cheese and yogurt. If you plan on feeding any dairy at all to your cat, I would recommend only plain yogurt in small amounts as an occasional treat.


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## moggiegirl (May 15, 2005)

Keep in mind that onions and garlic are toxic so avoid baby food with onion powder and gravies that contain onion powder.


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## gizmocat (May 22, 2006)

Garlic is included in several commercial cat foods. It obviously is not toxic in small doses, though Gizmo won't eat it.


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## jennifer2 (Mar 5, 2005)

Here's a good link I keep around since my dogs feel that "if I can get it down my throat, it's edible :roll: .
It's from a dog site, but many also apply to cats.\

http://www.ahts.net/PoisonFoods.htm


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

Don't give them processed meats like ham, beef jerky, pepperoni or lunch meat to name a few. They usually have a lot of salt and chemical preservatives. I'd even extend that to meat you've cooked yourself if you've added a lot of spices to it. Some spices people can eat can cause digestive upset to pets.


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## gizmocat (May 22, 2006)

*grapes*

Jennifer2, that website lists grapes as a poison. My dog ate and loved grapes for her entire life. True, she only got one or two at a time, but she'd play soccer with them, then eat them. She certainly wasn't poisoned.

I will not, however, give grapes to a cat.


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## sefaleth (Mar 8, 2006)

Gizmocat:

The ASPCA has written several articles on grape poisoning in dogs. Maybe it's not something that affects every dog, but it is true. Here is one of the articles on grapes and dogs -

http://www.aspca.org/site/News2?id=1664 ... _ctrl=1101

(Sorry for the hijack)


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## gizmocat (May 22, 2006)

My dog got one, maybe two grapes at a time. She died at 13 1/2 years of age, not from grape poisoning.

These other poor dogs obviously took a far larger portion.


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## sefaleth (Mar 8, 2006)

I'm not making any judgements here, but I thought it would clear the grape-thing up. If you think grapes are safe, I'm not telling you you can't feed them grapes.


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## gizmocat (May 22, 2006)

*grapes*

I certainly wouldn't feed them a whole bunch of grapes, but one grape gave the dog a great deal of pleasure and did not make her sick.

I'd like to point out that there are other things that can kil an animal. What about makeup? My sister bought a house on the cheap because the previous owner's dog had eaten a tube of lipstick and a bar of chocolate and died after being violently sick in every room. They never could get the lipstick stains out of the carpet so they sold the house instead.

I make sure that all my makeup is well away from a curious cat and all tubes and lids on tight.


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