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 Pet Central
Q&A
Q: I read with great
interest your statement that onions are toxic to cats. Now, we’re genuinely
concerned about other fruits and vegetables I’m feeding our cats. Although
our furry friends get their favorite wet and dry food daily, they are
gourmet cats. They especially love cheese enchiladas and guacamole, and
also Alfredo and marinara sauces. Are we harming our cats? -- A. W. Q.,
Tucson, Ariz.
A: It’s a good thing
you don’t have a bird; guacamole — even a small amount — can kill a bird.
By the way, rhubarb and greasy foods can also make a bird sick.
As for dogs and cats,
we returned to the same source who warned about onions, Dr. Kathryn Michel
(cq), a veterinary nutritionist from the University of Pennsylvania School
of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia.
She cautions all
those well meaning little old ladies who leave out saucers of milk for
cats. Many cats — and dogs too — are lactose intolerant. Cheeses and/or
Alfredo sauces (which contains cream) can cause stomach upset. Much depends
on the amount ingested, the size of the dog or cat and the individual’s
own level of intolerance.
Spicy foods may cause
stomach upset in dogs and cats, so you may want to tone down a mean marinara
sauce.
What’s more, Theobromine,
a chemical in chocolate, is toxic to pets. A pet is most likely to suffer
an extreme reaction from baking chocolate since it contains about 10 times
as much of the chemical as milk chocolate. Despite what many people think,
Michel points out cod liver oil and cooked liver may be dangerous to cats
and dogs. An occasional supplement is unlikely to create a problem and
may, in fact, be a good thing. However, a steady diet of liver may force
an overload of vitamins A and D, creating toxic levels. Eventually, skeletal
abnormalities may occur.
While there’s nothing
inherently wrong with feeding some chicken or turkey meat to a dog or
cat, the bones can easily become lodged in a pet’s throat, or gastrointestinal
tract. Larger pork or lamb chops or steak bones are of equal concern.
Don’t believe that dogs are meant to nosh on these cooked bones — they’re
not.
Michel and other
veterinary nutritionists caution to keep table food supplements to under
10 percent of any dog or cat’s diet.
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