Treats - can we feed human food?

Hi! My kitten is 7 months old, and generally all he gets is wet and dry kitten food. He is quite a moocher though, and sits at us when we eat. We don't encourage this! Is there anything we eat that is suitable for him?

Hello, well he might still be a bit young yet and his stomach is still getting accustomed to his food

Many cats like all sorts of treats ranging from cheese, crisps, toast to ice-cream & tuna - its just best to keep these at a minimum and only once in a while.

My kits like olives of all things but I only give them small pieces from a whole olive and maybe once in a while

As long as human food is a minute portion of his diet, there really isn't anything wrong with natural sorts of foods (as opposed to fried, spicy, salted, sugary foods) like bread, cheese, meat... some cats like a few vegetables, mine loves spinach! But give them just a teensy piece, like the size of a pencil eraser.

But beware, you'll basically be teaching him to beg. I don't mind it, but make sure you know what you're getting into. Cats can be tenacious!

ps. and make sure there isn't anything bad for him in there. Especially chocolate.

I'm sure most of us here relent and share a tiny bite. Probably more than we're willing to admit to at that.
As long as it isn't greasy, doesn't have questionable seasoning, and isn't possibly toxic (onion, garlic, avocado, chocolate), I will sometimes give my cats a bite. But not at the table, I'll save a bite for each and give it to them after I'm done eating.

Of course they also play scavenger cats and will wait under the table for dropped food or in the kitchen when I'm cooking. The problems with a scavenger cat, I once dropped a piece of brownie and Sho swooped in to eat it. I practically tackled him and pried the brownie out of his mouth.

We generally share whatever meat we are having. In fact I am required, when setting the table for dinner, to ensure there is a small plate for the kitties. Hubby cuts up some meat fairly fine and puts it down beside him for Mika and Bijou.

Many years ago I had a Siamese cat who loved curry - the hotter the better. She was so keen on it whenever we made curry we had to put her in the other room as she would try and jump on the plate. She did succeed one time, it went all over the floor and there was May Li quite happily tucking in, enjoying every mouthful of my dinner. She also liked ham with English mustard on it (quite hot) and would appear from nowhere and knock the sandwich out of your hand to get at the mustard-covered ham. I have cats that love cheese. They all mooch at mealtimes or when we're cooking but they don't get too many treats. With 10 cats there'd be nothing left for us!

Originally Posted by Yosemite

We generally share whatever meat we are having.

In fact I am required, when setting the table for dinner, to ensure there is a small plate for the kitties. Hubby cuts up some meat fairly fine and puts it down beside him for Mika and Bijou.

Click to expand...

that used to be my house now it is a no no due to allergies

Originally Posted by Python

Many years ago I had a Siamese cat who loved curry - the hotter the better. She was so keen on it whenever we made curry we had to put her in the other room as she would try and jump on the plate. She did succeed one time, it went all over the floor and there was May Li quite happily tucking in, enjoying every mouthful of my dinner. She also liked ham with English mustard on it (quite hot) and would appear from nowhere and knock the sandwich out of your hand to get at the mustard-covered ham. I have cats that love cheese. They all mooch at mealtimes or when we're cooking but they don't get too many treats. With 10 cats there'd be nothing left for us!

Click to expand...

just a note ... if you cats like hot stuff they should be feed hot meat s like lamb ..

Originally Posted by Python

Many years ago I had a Siamese cat who loved curry - the hotter the better. She was so keen on it whenever we made curry we had to put her in the other room as she would try and jump on the plate. She did succeed one time, it went all over the floor and there was May Li quite happily tucking in, enjoying every mouthful of my dinner. She also liked ham with English mustard on it (quite hot) and would appear from nowhere and knock the sandwich out of your hand to get at the mustard-covered ham. I have cats that love cheese. They all mooch at mealtimes or when we're cooking but they don't get too many treats. With 10 cats there'd be nothing left for us!

Click to expand...

OMG - this is the first time I have heard of another cat liking hot curry. I had my soul-mate cat (Susie my Siamese) some years ago and she also loved curry - the hotter the better. When I was pregnant spicey food was wonderful for me but if I ate bland food I got heartburn - go figure. Anyway one night when our daughter was about 8-9 months old, I made chicken curry for dinner. I got sort of carried away and made it so spicey my hubby could not eat it. Our daughter (who at that time was not old enough to walk yet) was in her little walker. I gave her a little drumstick which she loved and ate with gusto and my Siamese was going crazy. I gave the cat some and she devoured it and came back for more.

The dog and both cats get people food with their suppers. Usually any meat we are eating - chicken, beef, fish (about 2-3 bites). They love cheese - Charlie will eat anything like Keno does. Ling's more picky. So Charlie will run over and take her treat if she's too slow

I just make sure its not really spicy, hot, or has onions in it.

Our beloved Sambo loved fried fish, and he got his plate when we got ours.

I would break up the fish in little pieces and I would put french fries with it. He would eat all the fish and leave the fries.

I have heard some pretty outrageous things people feed to cats, and dogs. There was a dog that hung around the dining hall at my school, and students fed the dog pizza. The dog got horribly overweight, but survived on whatever students gave it.

I've had cats eat all sorts of not so good things--ice cream, cake, chips, cheese. Cats really shouldn't eat those things too much, though they may act interested.

I remember reading a story on here about someone whose cats ate an entire pizza, and were then sick.

Reeses begs anyway but only when we're preparing something. She doesn't shut up. Meow! Meow! meow...MEOW! and I think since we've had her, we've given her human food twice. Ham, which she threw up, and turkey.

Thanks for all the replies guys. Gave Gillan some grated cheese last night and he gobbled it up!

He also got a little bit of chicken a couple of days ago and love it!

Originally Posted by bemyonlyone

I've had cats eat all sorts of not so good things--ice cream, cake, chips, cheese. Cats really shouldn't eat those things too much, though they may act interested.

Click to expand...

I read this thread to mean giving them a little bit occasionally, not as a steady diet.

Originally Posted by sazza

Thanks for all the replies guys. Gave Gillan some grated cheese last night and he gobbled it up!

He also got a little bit of chicken a couple of days ago and love it!

Click to expand...

Mika is a little pig for anything with cheese! Even though she has no real voice, she certainly lets you know she wants some.

I give mine chicken once in awhile. But not while I'm eating. I don't want them to sit and bug me while I'm eating. I did that in the past and it took forever to get the kitty off my back!

my cats positively LOVE it when we make a roast chicken. i've discovered making a whole chicken in a crock pot, so we have that every few weeks. kitty loves freshly roasted chicken. they also like the rare occasion that we make shrimp at home.

When we cook roast chicken in the oven, we don't really need to use the timer because just before cooking time ends, our cats suddenly appear and sit in a semi-circle round the cooker staring at the oven. They seem to know when it's cooked.

Originally Posted by Python

When we cook roast chicken in the oven, we don't really need to use the timer because just before cooking time ends, our cats suddenly appear and sit in a semi-circle round the cooker staring at the oven. They seem to know when it's cooked.

Click to expand...

This conjures up quite a mental image. I'd love to see that in a painting.

When I was a girl we had a cat that loved avocados and cantelope.

My cat loves crackers. If we leave a box out on the table, he'll use his paws to scoot it to the side of the table and then off onto the floor where he works on getting them out. One day we found him eating the last crumb of a vanilla wafer he'd knocked off.

Unfortunately he uses the same technique for glasses of water that he discovers left out on the table too