will cats eat uncooked corn?

I take care of feral cats and I bought corn for raccoons/possum who may be eating the cat food. It is being eaten - but could it be the cats doing so too?

Could they get sick from it?? Should I remove it??

Also my bf has offered to give me left overs from the fish he catches to the ferals. Is this a good idea? I would just throw the leftovers out at their feeding station.

THANKS

I don't have an answer for you on this but I can relate. I woke up one morning to find a stray cat/feral? In my backyard eating squirrel food.

What I saw broke my heart into tiny pieces! I went to work (shelter ) got food of the free table and have been feeding outdoor kitties since! No pet starves in my yard! lol

yeah at first i felt annoyed that these wild animals would eat the cat's food. But they need to eat too and they dont know the food isnt there for them.
Thats why i bought the corn on someone's recommendation. I just never thought to ask if the CATS will eat the corn. Im now buying 40 lbs of cat food a week - what i leave out is gone every morning. I just hope that all the cats are eating but not the corn in desperation.

So you work at a shelter? Do you take the ferals to get fixed? There are about 30 that I feed and have neutered. It can be tough but it makes me happy to help them.

So you work at a shelter? Do you take the ferals to get fixed?

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Yeah...I actually don't have many if not but just one stray cat. To be honest I don't know if it's a stray. I have 3 cats that "hang" in my yard. Two I know belong to my neighbors. I did trap my neighbors cat and take him in to get neutered. I don't mind your cat coming on my property (garage) but if he does, he has to be neutered. I am sure I did my neighbor a favor. I just don't want spraying going on in my yard.

However, these three cats all I think are boys are Forest's friends. He is my only indoor outdoor cat I have they all seem to have a "club" thing goin.

I really don't think a cat eating corn is good for them. That seems like something they can't digest and would be a sign of starvation to me.

Which is why I started taking home the free donated food that people give to our shelter.

NOT! the donated food that goes to feed the cats we have at the shelter, but we are very picky on what we feed them so if someone donates Meow Mix, it's going on the giving table. Nothing but the best for the shetler animals! lol...

Please call the vet on this one... I know that uncooked rice can spell disaster for a cat

Corn doesn't have much nutritional value and the hulls are hard to digest, but personally I don't think it would kill them to nibble.

I know my cat wouldn't touch it. It's not meat or cheese.

Thanks.

How about the fresh fish... with bones and everything just thrown out there for them?

Originally Posted by m935

Thanks.

How about the fresh fish... with bones and everything just thrown out there for them?

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Fish RAW is a NO NO for most as fish can carry parasites

cooked and grd is fine as cooked bones pose a hazard

Generally freezing fish at low temps will kill all or most of the parasites. Not saying feral kitties are any different than indoor kitties. But ferals have access to something indoor kitties don't. Prey. Prey can contain parasites.

IMO it would be ok to feed fresh fish to feral kitties. Though frozen might be a little better.

Originally Posted by chris10

Generally freezing fish at low temps will kill all or most of the parasites. Not saying feral kitties are any different than indoor kitties. But ferals have access to something indoor kitties don't. Prey. Prey can contain parasites.

IMO it would be ok to feed fresh fish to feral kitties. Though frozen might be a little better.

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http://books.google.com/books?id=mvp...sult#PPA143,M1

lovely article with parasites in fish by country