What if my cat eats a bad-for-cats food?

So, I know things like tomatoes, garlic, onion, chocolate...maybe some other things...are deadly to cats. How much do they have to eat for there to be a problem? Like, my kitten is a beggar (though, he's learning slooooowly....) and sometimes will grab some food and run off with it. Is it a problem if he *accidentally* gets a small piece of onion (if we're chopping them and looking the other way). Or if he licks some garlic sauce from my plate when I'm not looking...? Or if he takes a bite of something w/ onions in it..? I know this sounds terribly paranoid, but I just want to be extra careful with my little buddy.

I'm under the impression they'd have to eat ie. onion regularly for it to be dangerous. I wouldn't worry.

that's how I understand it too. Try not to let him do it, but I know that it does occasionally happen, 2 of my 3 are extremely greedy and will snatch food. I would only panic if one of them got a chunk of chocolate - out of all of those you mentioned, that would be the most toxic as a one off thing.

It would need quite a lot of most of those foods to make a healthy cat sick, and I have known cats who would lap up tomato sauce with onion and garlic in it with no ill effects.

Here's a good list of what they shouldn't have and why:

http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=1029

From what I understand, grapes and raisins are big ones, only a few can cause major problems, as well as macadamia nuts and anything containing caffeine, like chocolate, coffee, tea, etc. Those are the big "no, never" ones that you should absolutely make sure they never get any of, as just a little bit can cause major major damage in a short period of time.

Wanted to add, mushrooms are another one of the "biggies"

Originally Posted by jennyranson

It would need quite a lot of most of those foods to make a healthy cat sick, and I have known cats who would lap up tomato sauce with onion and garlic in it with no ill effects.

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I'd have to agree with Jenny. My Siamese cat Susie was nuts about curried chicken and would have a healthy portion whenever I cooked that. Also, she and our cats Ebony and Simba loved my spaghetti and meatball sauce and I would give them each a small serving complete with spaghetti noodles. It never seemed to hurt any of them and since they weren't getting it frequently it didn't seem to be a problem.

Having said all that, if you can keep your pets from even getting or liking human food that would be better for them, but that's not always possible. Everything in moderation as they say.

Not sure how much would be harmful. BTW tomatos are fine! My guys eat tomato sauce on things all the time and sometimes drink V8 juice. The other things you listed are harmful.

I suppose a small piece of stolen onion would not hurt, but just be more careful and maybe keep the cat confined while you eat or prepare dinner

Yep I forgot to mention that most tomatoes aren't harmful, but they're toxic if they're green - I'm sure there are brands of cat food that contain a bit of tomato.

I think everything in moderation and if you can avoide the temptation to give them somthing that might be harmfull to them all the better. But if by accident they eat a bit of somthing they shouldn't it should not be a medical emergency just make sure they don;t experiance any vomiting or trouble breathing.

My Dog Kyra ate half a chocolate cake and lived to bark another day... I just wouldn't recomend cooling cake on my counter ever again.

Pets are quite flexable, but do keep an eye on them.

This is good to know. I've been paranoid since we got Moses, he's such a sneaky little guy and has to have his face in everything. We hardly ever give him table food, but I keep a list taped to the inside of my cupboard with a "not for Moses" list of harmful foods for quick reference.

Originally Posted by Ashley45

This is good to know. I've been paranoid since we got Moses, he's such a sneaky little guy and has to have his face in everything. We hardly ever give him table food, but I keep a list taped to the inside of my cupboard with a "not for Moses" list of harmful foods for quick reference.

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I love the list idea. If that's Moses in your siggie, what a sweetie. I LOVE the name.

Originally Posted by jennyranson

It would need quite a lot of most of those foods to make a healthy cat sick, and I have known cats who would lap up tomato sauce with onion and garlic in it with no ill effects.

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Yes, another vote for this assessment. Before I knew better, my Old Lady Shasta demanded and got chocolate ice cream whenever I had it -- which was often. She also was addicted to chili -- with lots of tomato, onion and garlic, and probably several other nonos -- and had her own dish of it every time we had it. While fairly frequent, neither of these was an everyday occurrence. She was 21 when she died of old age, having been perfectly healthy all her life.

I have to agree with what a lot of the people are saying here--it takes a lot of the substance to hurt the kitty. I was afraid too, as my kitty ate a moth that had fallen into a glass of Pepsi, but she was unaffected. Still, I hope that never happens again.

Charlie likes some of my flavored teas and they all have caffine in them But its not like he's drinking a cup of tea either.

If that's Moses in your siggie, what a sweetie. I LOVE the name.

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Thanks! Yep, that's him.