It can be extremely hard to resist your cat’s incessant meowing for a taste of the festive snacks on the Christmas table. However, it is extremely important to know what foods can be harmful to your pet, so both of you can enjoy a lovely time this winter season. Here’s a list of foods, common around the holidays, that are a big no-no” for your cats.
- Cooked Bones: Cooked bones can cause gastrointestinal disturbances and even serious injury to the gastrointestinal tract, including perforation.
- Fatty Foods: Fat, skins, and fatty sauces can cause serious gastrointestinal issues like vomiting and diarrhea. If consumed in large quantities, they can even cause pancreatitis.
- Milk and Dairy Products: Most cats are lactose intolerant. Their digestive system cannot digest lactose, leading to digestive disturbances like diarrhea.
- Onions and Garlic: Raw, powdered, cooked, or dehydrated onions and garlic can cause severe anemia.
- Sweets and Chocolates: Sweets are entirely forbidden in your cat’s diet, as they can cause gastrointestinal disturbances. Chocolates, in particular, are highly toxic to the cat’s liver.
- Alcohol: Beer, wine, liquid yeast, and foods containing alcohol affect their liver and brain, and even a small amount can cause permanent damage.
- Nuts: Almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, and other kinds of nuts are difficult to digest and may cause gastrointestinal issues.
- Meat Netting and Strings: These can be tempting treats for cats due to their smell and residues of meat. However, they can become trapped in the cat’s intestines and may require surgery for removal. You must also properly dispose of these products, by cutting them into very small pieces, to make them undetectable to stray cats in garbage bins.
- Dry Fruits: Dried fruits containing hydrocyanic acid, such as bitter almonds and macadamia nuts, can cause muscle weakness, tremors, and vomiting.
Make sure to also let your guests know of these forbidden foods to prevent them from giving into your cat’s charms.
