What foods are poisonous to cats?

I have heard that chocolate is deadly to cats.
My cat Twinkles use to steal any chocolate she
could find.She did it for about 7 years.Does
chocolate hurt them internally?I also wanted to
know if tuna is really that bad for your cat.
I was reading a cat facts book and it said that
there is something in the tuna you and I eat
that can be fatal to your cat.Do you know if
this is true? Now I know this next question is
going to make you think I'm nuts....I have fed
my cats RAW BACON before.This site I went to
says that raw meat is actually really good for
cats.Then I heard that RAW CHICKEN can give cats
Salmonella Poisoning.I read that cats have a
very different system than us humans and that
they can handle raw meat.That's how they survive
in the wild right?Do you know any sites on these topics?
Please give me your opinions and advice whether
or not it is good to give my cats raw meat.I think
it's fine as long as you don't give them to much.Thanks.

Chocolate is poisonous to cats. I would avoid tuna, excpet in tiny amounts as an occasional treat. It can cause urinary tract problems. I'm also wary of the salmonella thing with raw chicken.

I do my best to keep my cats on their own cat food. This cuts out a whole host of problems, such as begging for table food. After practicing this with both of them, my cats have not developed the taste for "people food", and usually don't eat it even if it is offered to them. The only exception is tuna, and all they get is to lick out the can when I make tuna for myself, which isn't even close to often.

I believe Onion could cause anemia!

I hope this helps. In the book I just got from Iams it talks about "feeding don'ts" and it lists chocolate, onion powder, cow's milk, raw eggs, and tuna. Chocolate contains theobromine that makes it toxic to cats. It causes increased heart and respitory rates, vomiting, diarrhea, and depression. Onion powder causes anemea. Cow's milk can't be broke down by cats because they don't have the emzymes needed to digest lactose. This can cause digestive problems and diarrhea. Raw eggs have a protein in them that blocks the cats body from using one of the B vitamins. This may cause dermatitis, hair loss, and neurological dysfunction. The last food they listed was tuna, which is too low in calcium and too high phosphorus. If tuna is fed exclusively it may cause a vitamin E dificiency (yellow-fat disease) or rubber jaw which is a form of bone demineralization. I'm not trying to sound like a know-it-all , since this pretty much came word for word from the book. Heck, my mom use to give her cats milk, eggs, and a small amount of tuna all mixed together as a treat once every week or two and they all lived long lifes.

Indeed, onions can cause anemia, chocolate is not good, but there's nothing wrong with raw eggs! The white does contain avidin, which binds biotin (a b-vitamin) but this is nothing to worry about. The yolk, you see, contains a lot of biotin, and biotin is plentiful in other foods as well. One molecule of avidin binds exactly four molecules of biotin, no more, and it is not stored in the body but rather this combo of five molecules goes straight through the body, so it does not have any long term effects.

Regarding the tuna, all meat is high in phosphorous and very lacking in calcium, unless you feed the bone as well, where the calcium is. That is no reason to not feed tuna, no more than it is a reason to not feed meat to a cat, which is a carnivore after all. Raw chicken may have salmonella, but healthy animals are rarely affected by this, as their digestive system is short (no time for bacteria to cause problems) and very acidic, which is not a good environment for bacteria. I'm not saying that cats can handle all bacteria, including salmonella, all the time, but very few have problems, and most of those that do, have been eating only cat food and their body is not used to real food, or their immune system is compromised, or they are very young/old.

The basic rule in regards to feeding our pets is the same we use for ourselves: don't feed anything that's poisonous to them (like the chocolate), don't feed any one food all the time or exclusively. Meaning that you should give them variety and moderation in everything, any food can be harmful when fed in excess, and variety should insure that they get plenty of the nutrients and vitamins they need, and not overdose on anything. Of course there are a few other basic rules, but those two are the most important ones IMO. I feed my younger cat solely on a raw diet that consists of raw meaty bones (mostly chicken wings), raw meat (chicken, pork, beef, turkey, lamb etc etc) and offal (liver, heart, tongue, kidney etc), a bit of ground veggies, raw fish, eggs etc and she's thriving. Attempting to switch my older cat to this diet, too, but it's a battle of wills and I'm losing so far. In any case, thought I'd offer some facts on the raw egg issue etc, and give my opinions on raw foods. If you disagree, that's fine, different things work for different people/cats, just wanted to point out that there's nothing "dangerous" about raw meat or giving you cat a bit of variety. Tasha, if you want to know more, feel free to email me or something.

what about tuna in the cat food? does it have the same affect on them????

Thanks for all your information!My cat's always seem to get in the garbage.Whenever we have chicken, They jump in and steal the bones!
I have heard that this can cut their intestines. Can you help me try and get them out of the garbage?!

With the foods, most of the above is true. The only thing I disagree on is the raw food. I have talked to both my vets in the past on this one. My one vet wont even give raw meat to his dog. It can cause bacteria but it can also cause parasites. which is also a risk when they are outdoors surviving in the wild. My cats get meat as a treat but only once it is cooked to kill any bacteria.
You can try 2 things with the garbage cans. You can either try and get a can with a tight lid, or you can keep a fresh spray of citrus spray on top of the can and garbage. It should keep them away.

I whipped up some lemon,orange and lime juice yesterday and poured some in the garbage.I used a citrus air freshener for the top of the lid and around the can.My cats must have hated the smell of it because they all ran down the stairs.I put some chicken bones in the garbage today after supper and sure enough they watched me.None of them even smelled near the garbage.

Thanks so much for the idea!

Yes, there is bacteria in raw meat. Then again, there is bacteria in cooked meat too, on your table, floors etc. There is bacteria all around us, and most of it does us no harm, unless we're in poor health. In my view, this opposition to raw meat is part of the same germ hysteria that makes people by antibacterial soaps and cleaners, which do more harm than good. As for parasites, raw meat is not a great risk in that regard, and as many people have seen, parasites (like worms) can be gotten from a variety of places. But the small risk is there. Then again, freezing properly should kill parasites, even if it does not kill bacteria. All I can say is that all my pets have gotten at least a bit of raw meat all their lives, and they've never had any kind of trouble with bacteria, let alone parasites. But I'm not trying to paint a rosy picture here, there are risks here, as there is in everything, just trying to offer a different opinion.

As for the vets' opinions, I'm not surprised. Do you know how much training they get in nutrition in vet school? A few weeks usually. And that is provided by pet food companies. Even so, not all vets are against raw meats, and many more are starting to see the benefits of raw, whole foods.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm not trying to turn anyone into a raw feeder here, just wanted to give another point of view. All that matters is that our pets are wonderfully healthy and happy, and that can luckily be achieved by many means.

Tasha....

One thing that is not food but can be deadly to cats is Pointsetia (sp?) plants.
Being the holiday season, anyone with pets should not have live Pointsetia plants in their home.

Again, to clarify the myth. Poinesetta's are not deadly to cats. The most it would cause is vomit and runny stools.

Originally posted by Sandie
Again, to clarify the myth. Poinesetta's are not deadly to cats. The most it would cause is vomit and runny stools.

Click to expand...

OOPS, sorry.

But the cat would have to eat almost the whole plant before liver and or kidney damage would begin. Most cats will nibble on the leaves in play and suffer a nasty tummy ache and loose stool.

About people tuna, there is just not the right vitamins in it to sustain a cat's health for a period of time. A little bit of it is fine, but a lot of it doesn't really help the cat in the long and they can start craving the taste for it and refuse their regular food. And that is a problem you don't want.