OK so what foods are toxic to cats?

vinceneilsgirl · Apr 30, 2004

I know onions, chocolate, and tomatos...but is there anything else? Also, I'm unsure about chocolate because Haley fed Angel a chocolate cookie the other day when my back was turned and Angel was fine. Maybe they mean a lot of chocolate?

Also, any suggestions on how to make Angel stop throwing up her cat food? I know this stems from the fact that before she lived with us she never ate cat food. This is why we supplement with table scraps. The other cats have no problems digesting both their cat food and their table scraps.

luvmycats · Apr 30, 2004

What type of cat food are you feeding her? It is possible that she is allergic to something in the food, which is caausing her to throw up. One very common allergen for cats is corn in food. Maybe you could try a food that does not contain corn, such as Chicken Soup For the Cat Lover, Wellness, or Evolve. As far as foods that are not good for cats, dairy products in general are not great for cats (they can be lactose intolerant), large amounts of garlic are not healthy either. I can't think of any others (apart from the ones you mentioned) right now.

hissy · Apr 30, 2004

Depending on what type of food is fed, will depend on the toxicity level. Sometimes the toxin takes awhile to play into the cat's system. You best just play it safe and not give your cat anything other than standard fare- unseasoned cooked meats, boiled hamburger and rice, boiled chicken.

Try elevating the food bowl, some cats are just prone to regurgitation. Siamese are known for this. But again, don't feed something to your cat just because you think it is okay for her to have, because often times it isn't.

vinceneilsgirl · Apr 30, 2004

Well, being that my fiance and I are vegan...the cats don't get any diary products or other animal-product "human" foods because we don't allow that in our home. Some of the foods they get along with their cat food include pasta, bread, beans, fruit, canned veggies, vegan cookies, and things like soy burgers and soy chicken patties. That's not really a comprehensive list but you get the idea.

Angel eats Special Kitty, but we have tried EVERY brand and she still throws it up. The vet says its because she never ate cat food for the first 6 years of her life and now she can't handle it. The vet says there's nothing that can be done but I refuse to accept that.

crazy-cat-lover · Apr 30, 2004

Rhubarb leaves are also another deadly food to cats. I think chocolate is most deadly when they eat pure cocoa, I'm not quite sure though. My RB cat, Twinkles, used to eat a chocolate bar everyday for a couple of years. My mom would buy a Crunch bar and leave it on the coffee table, when she came back into the room, it would be eaten! She suspected my dad for eating them, but later she found out it was Twinkles. My mom never left a chocolate bar out after that!

Twinkles lived a long, healthy life.

cilla · Apr 30, 2004

A lot of cats are intolerant of milk, and I have never given any of my cats milk, just water to drink.

greycat2 · Apr 30, 2004

Here's some more foods:

Alcoholic beverages
Apple seeds
Apricot pits
Avocadosâ€”toxic to birds, mice, rabbits, horses, cattle, and dairy goats
Cherry pits
Chocolate (baker's, semi-sweet, milk, dark)â€”poisonous to dogs, cats, and ferrets
Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars
Coffee (grounds, beans, chocolate covered espresso beans)
Hops (used in home beer brewing)
Macadamia nuts
Moldy foods
Mushroom plants
Mustard seeds
Onions and onion powder
Peach pits
Potato leaves and stems (green parts)
Rhubarb leaves
Salt
Tea (caffeine)
Tomato leaves and stems (green parts)
Walnuts
Yeast dough

hissy · Apr 30, 2004

vinceneilgirl- have you thought about treating your cat with alternaive measuers for her vomiting and food intolerance? I would start with some acidopholous capsules, and just rub a bit of the powder on her gums prior to her eating, about 20 minutes before you set the food down. Simply pour a capsule out on a saucer, wet your finger, dunk the fingetr into the powder and rub the gums. It just might help her upset.

iluvcandy · May 1, 2004

vinceneilsgirl - Does your cat regurgitate only cat food every time she eats it? And eats really fast? Maybe you can try feeding her alittle of it at one time, and see if that helps, maybe get her stomach used to it? If the elevated food bowls don't help, what can you do then? Im just wondering if the vet told you how else she can get the nutrients, vitamins, etc, that she needs if she keeps regurgitating her cat food every time. And I don't blame you for not accepting that nothing can be done, I would try to find a way too.

Jill and Candy

vinceneilsgirl · May 1, 2004

Originally Posted by iluvcandy

vinceneilsgirl - Does your cat regurgitate only cat food every time she eats it? And eats really fast? Maybe you can try feeding her alittle of it at one time, and see if that helps, maybe get her stomach used to it? If the elevated food bowls don't help, what can you do then? Im just wondering if the vet told you how else she can get the nutrients, vitamins, etc, that she needs if she keeps regurgitating her cat food every time. And I don't blame you for not accepting that nothing can be done, I would try to find a way too.

Jill and Candy

Yes, Angel only regurgitates her cat food. She eats it fast, drinks all of her water, and 10 minutes later throws up water and undigested food. This never happens when she eats table scraps.

As for the vet...well, she said that "nothing can be done" and to "accept it or have Angel put to sleep". Ooooh, oooh she makes me so angry!

iluvcandy · May 2, 2004

I think you should elevate her bowls, feed her a small amount of cat food and water, and see if she can handle it and doesn't regurgitate it. Then a short time later do it again and again. And feed her away from the other cats, maybe she feels she has to compete for food with them and would eat alittle slower by herself. Maybe she keeps eating fast because she really likes the cat food and is really hungry for meat.

I read alittle on food intolerance. Sometimes the more you read the more confused you get. It seems that Angel is regurgitating, not vomiting, and doesn't have diarrhea. It could be simply that she is eating too fast. On the other hand, your vet could be correct, I didn't go to vet school.

I just don't feel comfortable with your vets' sweeping statement that it's food intolerance, nothing can be done and accept it or have Angel put to sleep.

Is it really possible (for a cat) that they can be food intolerant just because they never had a certain food before? I've never eaten squid my whole life, does that mean if I eat it now it will make me sick? (granted, cats are different). I know I would regurgitate the squid because just THINKING about it makes me sick.

Jill and Candy

sol · May 5, 2004

Originally Posted by vinceneilsgirl

Well, being that my fiance and I are vegan...the cats don't get any diary products or other animal-product "human" foods because we don't allow that in our home. Some of the foods they get along with their cat food include pasta, bread, beans, fruit, canned veggies, vegan cookies, and things like soy burgers and soy chicken patties. That's not really a comprehensive list but you get the idea.

Angel eats Special Kitty, but we have tried EVERY brand and she still throws it up. The vet says its because she never ate cat food for the first 6 years of her life and now she can't handle it. The vet says there's nothing that can be done but I refuse to accept that.

You know what. I'm gonna be mean. Maybe your cat has got a digestive problem because you don't feed her food suitable for cats. Cats are carnivores, no matter how vegan you are. I'm a vegetarian but I still accept that cats are carnivores and NEED TO EAT MEAT. Cats can't assimilate vegetable fats or vegetable proteins in a good way since their digestive system isn't built to digest a lot of vegetables.

The perfect way to destroy an individuals body is to give it food that's not suitable for her/him.

Cats aren't moral animals and they can't help that they are built to eat meat. If you can't accept that, maybe you shouldn't have a pure carnivore in your home.

donnageorge · May 5, 2004

Originally Posted by Sol

You know what. I'm gonna be mean. Maybe your cat has got a digestive problem because you don't feed her food suitable for cats. Cats are carnivores, no matter how vegan you are. I'm a vegetarian but I still accept ....

From our reading, vinceneilsgirl feeds none her cats vegan/vegetarian-only diets. She did say that she feeds them "cat food", and we saw from a previous thread that she stated that even though she was vegan, she did feed her cats meat-based dry or canned food.

stephenq · May 5, 2004

Cat's are carnivores and if they are not getting meat by some method, whether its table scraps or otherwise, then the cat's health is in serious danger. It CANNOT obtain sufficient protein from any combination of vegatable matter, regardless of what vegatables you use or in what combination. If you are not giving it some form of meat or seafood, it will become very sick in time.

You could try a commercial brand called Spots stew. (https://www.halopets.com/spotstew.htm) and available at some pet stores. It so closely resembles human food that when I smelled it, it smelled just like chicken stew. You could also try a homemade food preparation made with balanced recipes that include chicken, taurine, rice etc. Anitra Frazier's book, "The New Natural cat" is a good source of these recipes.

weatherlight · May 5, 2004

Too bad thousands of healthy cats disagree with those of you who say cats need meat, but it's pretty dumb to yell about it to someone who feeds her cats meat. If you like, though, you can scream at me to your heart's content. You can also scream at Kitty and Robin, who love their Evolution dry and like their Evolution canned and fight over the humans' "scraps" of rice milk

vinceneilsgirl · May 5, 2004

Originally Posted by Sol

You know what. I'm gonna be mean. Maybe your cat has got a digestive problem because you don't feed her food suitable for cats. Cats are carnivores, no matter how vegan you are. I'm a vegetarian but I still accept that cats are carnivores and NEED TO EAT MEAT. Cats can't assimilate vegetable fats or vegetable proteins in a good way since their digestive system isn't built to digest a lot of vegetables.

The perfect way to destroy an individuals body is to give it food that's not suitable for her/him.

Cats aren't moral animals and they can't help that they are built to eat meat. If you can't accept that, maybe you shouldn't have a pure carnivore in your home.

How dare you?!? First of all, apparently you can't read...yes, my fiance and I are VEGANS...always will be and so will our kids. However, we do feed our cats CAT FOOD! The only time they eat vegan foods is when we give them table scraps, and that is because I DO NOT NOR WILL I EVER ALLOW ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN MY HOME! May I suggest that you learn to read before you post something so blatantly rude and wrong.

sol · May 6, 2004

Originally Posted by vinceneilsgirl

How dare you?!? First of all, apparently you can't read...yes, my fiance and I are VEGANS...always will be and so will our kids. However, we do feed our cats CAT FOOD! The only time they eat vegan foods is when we give them table scraps, and that is because I DO NOT NOR WILL I EVER ALLOW ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN MY HOME! May I suggest that you learn to read before you post something so blatantly rude and wrong.

I interpreted the fact that you will not tolerate animal products in your home as you don't tolerate animal products in your home. Regular cat food contains animal products and if that is what you feed your cat you do tolerare animal products in your home. And since there are vegetarian food for cats I assumed that was the kind of food you gave her.

And to the one that stated that cats can survive and live healthy lives on vegetarian food... well, I can survive on pasta and ketchup too, it doesn't make that kind of food the optimal food for me. And science has told us many times that cats need meat, I have no reason to doubt those impartial studies. Theoreticaly you can feed your cat a diet based on leather shoes, wood shavings and crankcase oil and this diet will contain the right amount of everything. Do you think that cats on that kind of diet will live long and healthy lives?

And I highly doubt that cats can live long and healthy lives on food that doesn't contain any animal products. Cats are pure carnivores meaning there are certain "things" in meat that cats need, "things" that you can't find in veggies. Mostly we're talking about amino acids...

vinceneilsgirl · May 6, 2004

Originally Posted by Sol

I interpreted the fact that you will not tolerate animal products in your home as you don't tolerate animal products in your home. Regular cat food contains animal products and if that is what you feed your cat you do tolerare animal products in your home. And since there are vegetarian food for cats I assumed that was the kind of food you gave her.

And to the one that stated that cats can survive and live healthy lives on vegetarian food... well, I can survive on pasta and ketchup too, it doesn't make that kind of food the optimal food for me. And science has told us many times that cats need meat, I have no reason to doubt those impartial studies. Theoreticaly you can feed your cat a diet based on leather shoes, wood shavings and crankcase oil and this diet will contain the right amount of everything. Do you think that cats on that kind of diet will live long and healthy lives?

And I highly doubt that cats can live long and healthy lives on food that doesn't contain any animal products. Cats are pure carnivores meaning there are certain "things" in meat that cats need, "things" that you can't find in veggies. Mostly we're talking about amino acids...

I meant that I do not allow animal products that humans consume in my home, nor will I ever. In fact, when friends and family members come and visit they eat vegan for the whole time they are guests here. They find it to be a rewarding experience.

weatherlight · May 6, 2004

Amino acids like methionine? Arginine? Or?

Pasta and ketchup would need be heavily supplemented to be a healthy diet...but a human or cat could live off of leather and wood and oil and still live long and healthy lives if there was sufficient bioavailable nutrition. I just can't figure out how to make that possible

There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that cats can live long and healthy lives on food that doesn't contain any animal products. See http://www.vegepet.com/stories.html and http://www.vegancats.com/gallery.html

And VNG did say she tried many brands...

Oh, and try telling these cats that they need meat: http://www.vegepet.com/Stories/twokittens.html

"Thank you for processing my order quickly for the Vegekit. As a foster parent to abandoned and abused kittens, it was unbelievably distressing to have no means of helping a male and female sibling pair that apparently are food intolerant to just about everything. They have existed for their first 8 weeks on formula, mashed potatoes and small drop of cream cheese. This was the only thing they would not vomit back up; however, everything gave them diarrhea with a bright blood. All tests were done including coccidia and nothing came up, not even worms. I have labored to try to find something they could eat and maintain long enough to gain nourishment from it. Despite everyone's best efforts, the vet included, there was little more I could do.

Until researching food intolerance on the internet I found your site and what a blessing it is. Their first meal was a near-collision food fight as they both wanted to hoard each other's bowls as well as their own! They ate with such gusto that I couldn't believe it was the same kittens. Of course, with full tummies, they fell asleep immediately and slept for hours. Something that had never happened before as foods were ejected within 30 minutes or so. I held my breath when they woke up and made their way to the litter pans and actually had a fairly solid bowel movement, without blood or mewling. It was a miracle! They have been eating the Vegekit for 2 days now and have slowed down on the amount as I believe they are digesting food for the first time. They have such energy now and also sleep well instead waking every hour or so.

I just wanted to thank you so much for your products. I am definitely letting everyone know of this wonderful alternative and the deeper meaning of the vegetarian method in food production that you are pioneering. I was not aware that this was a possibility for cats, though I did know dogs could do so. You have saved these little guys from a terrible fate, even worse than their abandonment - a slow death by starvation despite our best efforts.

After 4 days on your diet, they are so active! And they sleep so well, it is amazing. In all fairness, to be sure they are getting enough to eat, I have placed a bowl of the vet recommended rabbit food (even mixed with Vegekit) which they had been eating a bit of, next to straight Vegekit. Need you guess? Yes, they choose the straight Vegekit every time...and eat it all!

I have increased the amount of food they consume to double since I began the Vegekit.

No one can tell me what the actual disorder or physical problem is that causes them to be so intolerant of all these foods. Our older kitties are now nosing around the bowl and I'm thinking that my next order will have to include food for them as well!

As a somewhat vegan (still clinging to eggs), it has been considerably difficult to me personally to have had to buy a duck, pork, rabbit...on down the line to try to save these little guys. You are a true angel and I thank you so much."

That is one weird case of food intolerance, but interesting, anyway.

sol · May 7, 2004

Originally Posted by Weatherlight

Amino acids like methionine? Arginine? Or?

Pasta and ketchup would need be heavily supplemented to be a healthy diet...but a human or cat could live off of leather and wood and oil and still live long and healthy lives if there was sufficient bioavailable nutrition. I just can't figure out how to make that possible

There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that cats can live long and healthy lives on food that doesn't contain any animal products. See http://www.vegepet.com/stories.html and http://www.vegancats.com/gallery.html

And VNG did say she tried many brands...

Oh, and try telling these cats that they need meat: http://www.vegepet.com/Stories/twokittens.html

"Thank you for processing my order quickly for the Vegekit. As a foster parent to abandoned and abused kittens, it was unbelievably distressing to have no means of helping a male and female sibling pair that apparently are food intolerant to just about everything. They have existed for their first 8 weeks on formula, mashed potatoes and small drop of cream cheese. This was the only thing they would not vomit back up; however, everything gave them diarrhea with a bright blood. All tests were done including coccidia and nothing came up, not even worms. I have labored to try to find something they could eat and maintain long enough to gain nourishment from it. Despite everyone's best efforts, the vet included, there was little more I could do.

Until researching food intolerance on the internet I found your site and what a blessing it is. Their first meal was a near-collision food fight as they both wanted to hoard each other's bowls as well as their own! They ate with such gusto that I couldn't believe it was the same kittens. Of course, with full tummies, they fell asleep immediately and slept for hours. Something that had never happened before as foods were ejected within 30 minutes or so. I held my breath when they woke up and made their way to the litter pans and actually had a fairly solid bowel movement, without blood or mewling. It was a miracle! They have been eating the Vegekit for 2 days now and have slowed down on the amount as I believe they are digesting food for the first time. They have such energy now and also sleep well instead waking every hour or so.

I just wanted to thank you so much for your products. I am definitely letting everyone know of this wonderful alternative and the deeper meaning of the vegetarian method in food production that you are pioneering. I was not aware that this was a possibility for cats, though I did know dogs could do so. You have saved these little guys from a terrible fate, even worse than their abandonment - a slow death by starvation despite our best efforts.

After 4 days on your diet, they are so active! And they sleep so well, it is amazing. In all fairness, to be sure they are getting enough to eat, I have placed a bowl of the vet recommended rabbit food (even mixed with Vegekit) which they had been eating a bit of, next to straight Vegekit. Need you guess? Yes, they choose the straight Vegekit every time...and eat it all!

I have increased the amount of food they consume to double since I began the Vegekit.

No one can tell me what the actual disorder or physical problem is that causes them to be so intolerant of all these foods. Our older kitties are now nosing around the bowl and I'm thinking that my next order will have to include food for them as well!

As a somewhat vegan (still clinging to eggs), it has been considerably difficult to me personally to have had to buy a duck, pork, rabbit...on down the line to try to save these little guys. You are a true angel and I thank you so much."

That is one weird case of food intolerance, but interesting, anyway.

Amino acids such as taurine. I know it can be made synthetical, but I don't believe in synthetic products and just the fact that taurine comes from animals and cats need it points out that cats are natural carnivores.

And what do wild cats eat? Beans, peas, carrots?

I would like scientific proof that veggie-food is healthy for cats. Personally based experience is not good enough for me.

Also remember the saying: "No rules without exceptions".

And remember the cats physiology. The whole body of a cat, inside and out is made for hunting and eating meat. The digestive system is built for digesting meat, not beans. The body is built to be "maintained" through animal products.

As for vinceneilsgirl: OK, I get it now;0) I don't serve my "meat eating human friends" anything else but veggie food either.

OK so what foods are toxic to cats?

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