Will this kind of diet keep my cats happy\healthy?

chrisstie

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Oct 9, 2003
Messages
40
Purraise
1
Hello all


I have 2 cats, one is about 1.5-2 years, the other is just about a year old..

My older cat, Tenchi, is like the family dog. He will beg for *anything.* When I cook I try to give him tastes of meat, but he particularly likes to eat fruit and will beg for peaches, pineapple, you name it. Is there any harm in giving him foods like this? My household doesn't really have any exotic fruit that may cause an allergic reaction or anything but so far just your run of the meal basic fruits he's been really happy with as a snack. Not to mention steak scraps



My other question lies along the border of nutrition\\behavior. I hope it's alright here in this thread.

Jasmine the youngest came into our house from the pound. They spayed her and we immediately picked her up as soon as she was recovered enough to go home. We got her at 4 months old. Unfortunately she got sick from her operation, and we had to feed her with an eye dropper.. We would give her water through it as well as mushed up food- offered her chicken broth mixed in with dry food heated up in the microwave (sort of a menu our vet gave to us) .. even a supplemental vitamin paste since she began to loose weight.

Jasmine eventually made a very strong recovery and although she is a growing kitten she hasn't grown nearly as big as Tenchi (tenchi is male, jasmine is female btw)..

not to mention that as soon as she was able to eat on her own again and felt strong enough to be free fed- she'd RUN to Tenchi's bowl and eat his dry food. No kitten food, no wet food, no shrimp, no fish, no meat, no fruit..

It seems like the ONLY food she wants is our older cats dry food. Yet our older cat, though he mostly gets dry food supplemented with wet still gets lots of yummy scraps, it seems Jasmine is the opposite.

Thank you for any suggestions\\feedback etc you may have


-Christie
 

kumbulu

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
4,338
Purraise
3
Location
Perth, Western Australia
Christie, we have a nutrition advisor, Pat & Alix, who would be able to answer your questions. Feel free to send him a PM directing him to this thread.

I have heard of cats eating small amounts of fruits and vegetables with no ill effects but I think the most important thing would be to make sure Tenchi's diet is balanced and that he only gets tiny amounts of 'extras'.

As Jasmine is an adult cat now, it's fine for her to be eating Tenchi's dry food. She will most likely always be small due to her illness at 4 months but if you are worried that she is thin, and she has been cleared of illness and parasites by the vet, you could try offering her kitten glop. It's nutritious and tasty. You'll find the recipe here.
 

pat

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 1, 2003
Messages
11,045
Purraise
58
Location
Pacific NW
Originally Posted by chrisstie

Hello all


I have 2 cats, one is about 1.5-2 years, the other is just about a year old..

My older cat, Tenchi, is like the family dog. He will beg for *anything.* When I cook I try to give him tastes of meat, but he particularly likes to eat fruit and will beg for peaches, pineapple, you name it. Is there any harm in giving him foods like this? <snip>

My other question lies along the border of nutrition\\behavior. I hope it's alright here in this thread.

Jasmine the youngest came into our house from the pound. They spayed her and we immediately picked her up as soon as she was recovered enough to go home. We got her at 4 months old. Unfortunately she got sick from her operation, and we had to feed her with an eye dropper.. We would give her water through it as well as mushed up food- offered her chicken broth mixed in with dry food heated up in the microwave (sort of a menu our vet gave to us) .. even a supplemental vitamin paste since she began to loose weight.

Jasmine eventually made a very strong recovery and although she is a growing kitten she hasn't grown nearly as big as Tenchi (tenchi is male, jasmine is female btw)..

not to mention that as soon as she was able to eat on her own again and felt strong enough to be free fed- she'd RUN to Tenchi's bowl and eat his dry food. No kitten food, no wet food, no shrimp, no fish, no meat, no fruit..

It seems like the ONLY food she wants is our older cats dry food. Yet our older cat, though he mostly gets dry food supplemented with wet still gets lots of yummy scraps, it seems Jasmine is the opposite.

Thank you for any suggestions\\feedback etc you may have


-Christie
Hi Christie,

In the research I've done so far, the only fruit I see listed as a "do not give to cats" are grapes or raisins. Other than that, in moderation, you can indulge Tenchi


Am I correct that Jasmine is now about a year old? If so, eating a quality dry food is fine. I would just suggest that you be sure it is the best quality dry cat food you can afford...one with quality protein, not high in additives or carbohydrates. There is a thread here that is a "comprehensive cat food poll" with good discussion on cat foods, plus another one here that is much briefer, discussing natural cat foods.

I hope this helps? If not, please let me know where you'd like more information/advice and I'll see what I can find out for you!
 
Top