“Can cats have yogurt?” – please halt and just put that shiny spoon down for a moment. Hear us out first and you might just save yourself and your little one from a terrible food mishap.
Most of us love yogurt and our mother can attest to that from the huge amount of bottles we leave empty every week. In truth, even mom loves yogurt, just ask grandma and grandpa in this case. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about it, you can say it loud and proud regardless of how old you are.
Yogurt is a portion of healthy food and can be considered as a blessing. In fact, we need the benefits it offers for a healthier tummy. It helps in digestion and protects us from the bad bacterias inside us. It is also proven by health specialists that yogurt aids in improving our metabolism and immune system. With all of these benefits added to its resume, it’s very understandable to think that maybe, cats can benefit from it too. If it’s good for us, why not? RIGHT?! This logic is where we are wrong, very wrong. In fact, almost 85% of the foods that are good for us, HOOMANS, are not good for our cats and other animal families.
FYI: Cats will like yogurt yes, kinda, because it actually tastes like their cat mama’s sour milk. Not that we tried tasting it out (oh, boy…) but because of the commercial formula which most of us can see behind every box. It’s intended to taste similar to the real one so it will be more acceptable for cats to eat.
On the other hand, we are not here just to talk about yogurt. Knowing what we can and can’t feed our cats is very very important and that’s what we would like to discuss more. We can’t stress it enough but its importance is very crucial and can be a matter of life and death in some unlucky cases.
There are hundreds and thousands of other foods we can’t feed our cats but since all of it will not fit in here, we will just give you the top 5 most harmful foods for cats, as an informative guide.
- ONIONS AND GARLIC
Raw or sauteed it doesn’t matter cats are not food connoisseurs unless you named your cat ‘Gordon CATty’ (kidding!). These two are very harmful to eat for our cats. Both contain enough amount of sulfoxides and disulfide to poison their body in just a span of 1 week depending on the amount they have consumed. It will first break down their red blood cells which will soon lead to organ failure. This will happen very slowly, they will suffer terribly before showing symptoms. Worst can eventually lead to death if not diagnosed quickly.
- XYLITOL
If your cat ingests any food with xylitol they will experience liver failure. Xylitol’s effect can increase their insulin level while their sugar decreases rapidly. If you see them showing some signs of lethargy, loss of coordination, vomiting, weakness, pooping and peeing with blood then it is best to take them to the vet ASAP.
QUICK LIST: Foods that contain XYLITOL
Sugar-free puddings and Jello
Over the counter vitamin supplements
Toothpaste.
Baked goods
Chewing gum.
Peanut butter.
Sugar-free candy.
Sugar-free breath mints.
Fruit drinks.
Jellies and jams.
Mouthwash.
Cereals
- CAFFEINE
This will abnormally increase their heart rate and will, later on, cause tremors. It will stretch out and drain their energy causing intense restlessness. If your cat consumed large amounts of caffeine from coffee, chocolate, energy drink, teas or any foods that contain caffeine, take them to the vet immediately as it can eventually lead to death.
Sounds familiar? Yup, they will feel the same effects that caffeine does to us hoomans but on a much different level. We are bigger and our body composition is different that’s why we are able to handle caffeine much better than cats can do.
REMINDER: Everything excessive is dangerous for our health.
Pizza is okay, right?
- RAW FISH
We are not tricking you! Yes, cats do love fish but their small and sensitive stomach will not appreciate raw fish, even if it’s sashimi. Feeding your cats raw fish is actually not safe, it carries bad bacterias and most of the time parasites that even their stomach acids can’t kill. These ba bacterias and parasites can also destroy thiamine which is very essential to our cats’ lives. Prolonged consumption of raw fish can lead to neurological defects. If you see your cat always facing the wall or acting weird (not the cute kind of weird) then it’s time to ask the vet for help.
- DAIRY PRODUCTS
There’s a reason why there are formulated milk made specifically for cats. Hooman milk and other dairy products are not similar to their milk. As discussed earlier, yogurt may taste like their momma’s milk but the composition is not the same. It’s important to know this especially if yours is an adult cat.
Kittens may be able to tolerate it for a few days before eventually trashing your house with liquid poo-poo, but adult cats are lactose intolerant. Giving them hooman milk can lead to diarrhea, dehydration and prolonged weakness that if left unattended, can also lead to death.
Again there’s a lot of hooman foods out there that may sound friendly and taste yummy at the same time but are harmful to our cats and dogs. It is best to always educate ourself about the food topic to make sure that animal families can live a long and healthy life.
We’ve thought that maybe you are asking about our most recommended cat milk but we are not sure. BUT if you are curious and would like us to site some products here, just comment down below and we’d work it. Thank you and we hope this article helps!