The followin’ post will be written in human English fur reader and translator ease. Our Service Cat posts aren’t intended to be an all inclusive Trainin’ Manual but rather Tips, Tricks and Techniques used/developed by mommy A thru her many years of animal trainin’, cats in purrticular. And to offur insight into your questions about Everything Feline. Always remember, Training is all ‘bout Repetition and Rewards.
MeOW Welcome to Service Cats and Everything Feline on Furidays. Each week we take questions and topic suggestions from all of you. We’ve spent the last four weeks focusing on Kitten/Cat Proofing your home. Ifin you missed any of those posts or any post in our Service Cats Series, you can ketch up by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page in our menu. Ifin you have questions or a topic you’d like to see here, you can leave those in the comments below or send us a private e-mail via our Contact page. Just remember, when asking behavioral questions to be as specific as pawssible and give any purrtinent examples. A well behaved and healthy kitty is more likely to keep their furever home.
We previously wrote about human Foods that are Toxic to us kitties and have received a follow up question asking just how Toxic those foods are. So, we’ve decided to expound on that today. With all the information we’re exposed to these days, it can be confusing for pet parents to know what’s what. Most peeps want to do what’s best for the furry members of their family; and spoiling them with a few table scraps couldn’t hurt a thing, right? That depends on what it is and how much of it is given.
The following items should NEVER be given to cats, even in small quantities.
Alcohol: Amounts as small as 1 Tbsp. can cause vomiting, diarrhea, severe liver and/or brain damage.
Chocolate: Even in small amounts, All chocolate, but dark chocolate and baking chocolate in particular can cause heart problems, muscle tremors and/or seizures. The offending ingredients are theobromine and caffeine.
Caffeine: Coffee, Tea, Soft Drinks and Energy Drinks: Small amounts can cause onset of rapid breathing, heart palpitations, muscle tremors, excessive thirst and urination and even death.
Dairy: While this may not cause irreparable damage, most cats are lactose intolerant and can suffer from vomiting and/or diarrhea after consuming dairy products such as milk or ice cream. Even an upset tummy isn’t that much fun, so offer kitty something else instead.
Grapes and Raisins: It is unknown what ingredient is the offender here, but grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure in both cats and dogs.
Onions and Garlic: In larger quantities (a clove) both can cause digestive upset and/or anemia. This is also true of small amounts fed regularly over a long period of time: known as build up.
Xylitol: This is a sweetener used in many products such as gums, sodas, mouthwash, toothpaste and others. It is unknown whether it is deadly to cats but within 30 minutes of exposure, dogs may become lethargic, vomit, and if not treated can even lead to death. It causes a sudden release of insulin which leads to low blood sugar.
Avocado: Small amounts of any part of the Avocado can cause vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Nuts: In particular Macadamia, Almonds, Pecans and Walnuts can cause vomiting, diarrhea and pancreatitis in small amounts.
Marijuana: With the legalization of Cannabis, this is becoming a problem seen by more and more vets. Cats and dogs can be exposed through second hand smoke or ingestion. Symptoms include lethargy, loss of coordination, vomiting, diarrhea, more vocal than normal, a drop in body temperature, reparatory depression, and in severe cases, tremors, seizures and coma can result. The severity of the symptoms depend on the dose. In high enough doses, death can occur.
Nicotene: Cigarettes, Cigars, Tobacco, Nicotene Gum/Patches and E-cigs: Ingesting even a small amount of nicotene can cause vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and/or trouble breathing. Symptoms can occur within 15 minutes to several hours after exposure. A typical dose of 9.2 mg per kilogram of the animals body weight can be fatal.
This world is full of bad things. I’s so glad mommy works hard to keep me safe.
The list could go on and on, but we think these cover the ones most often available in the home. The message here is to keep these things out of kitty’s reach and don’t put it on the plate. Generally symptoms occur within an hour more or less of a toxic exposure. Some toxins act more quickly than others, so take precautions and be safe. We hope this follow up is helpful. And remember, if you think your anipal has been exposed to a toxin, Don’t Wait and See. Call your VET immediately. It’s also good to keep the Pet Poison Hotline number close by, 855-764-7661, a fee does apply with this number. References for this article were the ASPCA, Pet Poison Hotline website and our own VET as well as mommy’s many years of experience.
Me can rest easy knowin’ mommy’s on the job to keep us toxic free.
Well, we’re gonna wrap it up fur now. Remember, you can check out/ketch up on any post in this series by clickin’ the links on our Training Tips and Everything Feline page in our menu above. We’d luv to hear your questions. Just leave them in the comments or send us an email via our Contact page. Mommy says the only stupid question is the one not asked. So, ifin your kitty is doin’ soemthin’ strange and you want to know why, just ask us. Or, ifin kitty is misbehavin’ and you want that to change, just let us know. ‘Member to be as specific as pawssible and give us any purrtinent examples of said behavior. We’ll update you all on our current situation Sunday. Fur now, we’ll just let you know, we do have a signed lease. We’re linkin’ up with Comedy Plus fur Feline Furiday. Okay, we’ll see ya’ soon.
Till the next time…………………………………………………….Be Blest!!!
Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses
Service Cats U.S. 