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Yesterday a good friend of mine posted on her Facebook that she caught her two cats eating coleslaw. It’s not the first time her cats have gone after people food; one ate a strawberry last week, and when they were kittens she had to lock them in a room when I’d have lunch at her house. Otherwise they’d jump up on the table, put their paws in our water glasses, and otherwise view our plates as their personal buffet.
When I think about it, I can recall many incidents of cats I knew eating people food. My old roommate’s cat announced her love of it when she went after a piece of rotisserie chicken Jon and I were cutting up. She was also known to try to snatch bites of chocolate chip cookies and egg foo young. I once caught my childhood cat licking inside my nearly empty bowl of berry ice cream (it might even have been frozen yogurt).
Search the web and you’ll find hundreds of pictures of cats eating food we think they shouldn’t: fruit, ice cream, meat, bread products, vegetables, and yes, even cheeseburgers. We have to change our ideas about what cats eat. Although we can’t assume, like we do with dogs, that automatically every cat we have is going to want to eat people food, we also can’t assume that they won’t want it, either.
Cats will be more amenable to eating people food if they are exposed to it from infancy. My friend’s had her coleslaw thieves since one of them was small enough to need feeding from an eyedropper. They’ve always been exposed to people food, so that’s why they go after it. But any cat can develop the predilection, and once we accept that we need to be aware of what foods they can’t have.
For the most part you should follow the rules you would with dogs: if your cat wants people food, it’s O.K. to let them have it on occasion. If you want to give them a fancy people food diet (like my friend cooking an organic stew for her dog), make sure you ask your veterinarian and research one that will provide all of the necessary nutrients for cats. That’s why, even though your cats might love tuna and you want to give it to them sometimes, it shouldn’t become their main food, as it doesn’t have all the vitamins your cat needs.
Don’t let your cat have too much people food; it should only get it as a small treat. These foods, from WebMD, are bad for cats and should be avoided (the list might be familiar, as many of these foods are bad for dogs as well): onion, garlic, chives, alcohol, grapes/raisins, caffeine, chocolate, candy/gum, fat, cooked bones, raw eggs (though cooked eggs are a good treat), raw meat/fish, and yeast dough. If your cat gets an occasional bite of your dog’s food that’s O.K., but just like with tuna it shouldn’t become their primary staple.
Cats are mischievous creatures, and it’s often harder to keep them away from things they want than it is for dogs. If your cat likes to get into people food, that could be O.K. Just make sure it’s none of the bad foods, keep it in moderation, and check with your vet if you have any concerns.
Related Articles:
Making Your Own Catfood: Should You or Shouldn’t You?
Pets Leaving Food: Should You Worry?
When Your Cat Eats Furniture Foam
Feeding Time in A Multiple Cat Household
*(This image by Hotash is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
