12 Foods You Should Never Feed Your Cat

It is time to start thinking more about what your cat is eating.

Does your cat ever have dietary issues or get sick often?

Have you ever thought that maybe it was something they ate?

Cat nutrition should be on your radar because in a lot of cases your cat is getting the wrong nutrition, which is causing him or her to feel ill. After all, your furry friend will be with you for 15-20 amazing years, shouldn’t you be watching out for his or her health?

Just like with humans, if you want a healthy cat, you need to start with ensuring a healthy diet. If you’re not watching your cat’s nutrition, you could be feeding him or her the wrong foods entirely.

That brings us to the topic of this post.

In most cases, cats get ill because of what they eat or what we feed them, so today we will look at 12 foods that you should never feed your cat to prevent any illness.

12 Foods You Should Not Feed Your Cat

Onions

One thing you must never do is allow your cat to consume onions because cats can’t process them.

Never let your cat anywhere near food that contains onions because they contain di-sulfides and sulfoxides, which can cause serious issues with your cat. Onions can cause anemia by damaging the red blood cells in your cat’s blood. So the next time you try feeding your cat deep fat fried onion rings, just remember they are very susceptible to onions.

Garlic

Just like with onions, cats can’t process garlic very well.

It is important to keep your cat clear of consuming anything that contains garlic as the ingredients. Garlic itself leads to digestive upset which could lead to much worse things that you would end up cleaning up.

A small dose of garlic will not hurt every once in a while but it is best to just avoid it altogether, for your cat’s sake.

Eggs

I know cats love them but by feeding them raw eggs we open them up to a variety of health issues.

First, eggs can contain e-coli, salmonella, or other bacteria that will compromise your cat’s immune system
and make them very ill. It is best to avoid this. Second, egg whites contain avidin protein that stops your cat from absorbing vitamin B, which will cause even more issues with their skin and furry coat.

Grapes

Yes, even grapes are a bad food to be having your cat try.

It is both red and white grapes that can cause a problem with your cat’s health. They contain toxins that will affect your cat, and if your cat consumes the grapes, the toxin will cause serious damage to their kidneys. To avoid taking your cat to the veterinarian, it will be crucial to never have your cat eat grapes.

Milk

Milk is bad for a cat? But, we feed cats milk all the time. Yes, and that is the problem.

Cats aren’t meant to drink any milk other than their mother’s milk as kittens. Why is this?

Cats’ digestive systems can’t process any kind of dairy, and that includes milk. ​The ASPCA​ says, “Cats do not possess significant amounts of lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk. Feeding milk and milk-based products to cats can actually cause them to vomit or have diarrhea”.

You don’t want that for your cat, do you? If you look back to all the times you have given your cat milk, I guarantee you will remember how the litter box looked after cleaning it up. Play it safe and think of your cats’ digestive system before feeding him or her milk.

Fat Trimmings and Bones

It may be hard to believe but it is actually hurting your cat’s health by feeding it fat trimmings and bones.

Any kind of scraps that include fat of the meat and the bones can be very dangerous for your cat. The reason these can be dangerous for your cat is that the fat and bones could cause intestinal upset and diarrhea. Too much fat can cause a lot of damage and can cause pancreatitis in your cat. Not only that, but the bones can splinter and cause obstruction or lacerations in your cat’s digestive system!

Mushrooms

Even the edible mushrooms are bad mushrooms to your cat.

It shouldn’t be hard but you should always keep your cat clear of ingredients which include mushrooms. Mushrooms can be toxic to your cat because they contain toxins that can cause catastrophic reactions to your cat. The high point to that is that it can lead to shock and the death of your cat!

Dough

Cookie dough, bread dough, any kind of rising dough is a big no-no when it comes to your cat’s health.

If a cat consumes dough, the dough will expand in their stomachs and produce gases that will cause pain in the cat’s digestive system. This will cause the stomach or intestines to rupture.

It is very important that if your cat does consume a decent amount of rising dough that you seek medical help.

Salt

Salt is probably one thing you never would have thought about affecting your cat. It doesn’t take a whole lot, but it will affect your feline friend.

This could be anything from salted fish or salted pork that you may give to your cat. What the salt does to your cat it, it will throw off the electrolyte balance in your cat’s system. Cats can’t handle salt like humans, your cat will have difficulties functioning due to being dehydrated from consuming the salt.

Garbage

Garbage doesn’t seem like a likely food your cat would eat but it happens time and time again when your gone, your cat will find its way into the trash can.

Garbage, like discarded food scraps, are full of toxins that can cause diarrhea and vomiting in your cat. By consuming too much garbage, your cat will also experience issues with the functioning of its organs as well.

Caffeine

Caffeine doesn’t provide the same benefit to cats as it does to humans. Instead of giving a cat an extra reserve of energy, it will actually poison your cat.

If your cat consumes any kind of caffeine, it runs the risk of causing heart palpitations, fitz, muscle tremors, and rapid breathing. You will find caffeine in cola, chocolate and all forms of stimulant drinks.

Keep your cat away from any ingredients that have caffeine in them to prevent any potential side effects.

Chocolate

This is the bread and butter, well for humans. For cats, if you give chocolate to your cat you are basically saying goodbye and poisoning it.

Chocolate is really bad for cats because it has caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine in it. What will happen if chocolate is consumed by a cat? The ingredients in chocolate will cause massive diarrhea, vomiting, and can poison your cat’s nervous system. So it is very important to prevent your cat from coming in contact will any form of chocolate.

Final Thoughts on Bad Food for Cats

Now you have had a look at 12 foods that you should never feed your cat to prevent any illness.

Your furry friend will be with you for 15-20 amazing years, shouldn’t you be watching out for his or her health?

Start paying attention to what you are feeding your cat, in the food bowl or from the kitchen table, one wrong food could lead to disaster for you and your cat.

Just remember, if your cat does start showing symptoms and you’ve narrowed it down to one of these foods, be sure to seek advice from your veterinarian on the proper steps to take.