what is safe for my kitty to eat?

my cat loves to steal my veggie foods, and i was wondering what is safe for him to eat?

i was looking at the ingredients in my cat's food, and it lists things like corn meal and soybean hulls... so i would take that to mean that cats can eat&digest veggies... right? but i've also been told that cats are "pure carnivores."

anyway, my cat LOVES veggies. i never feed them to him, but he steals them off of my plate all the time. he mostly steals peas and broccoli.. and he actually eats them, he doesn't just bat them around on the floor. he's always after my soymilk, too. i'm not going to make him a plate of steamed veggies for dinner or anything, i just want to make sure that what he swipes isn't harmful for him.

 

veggies are just fine for kitties, although I have never come across a cat that likes to eat them.

My cats are weird about food though, too. They dont like to eat ANY human food except tuna. It's nice though, cause they aren't all over my counters, and I can actually not worry about any food left out.

 

Veggies are fine for cats. The deal is that cats have to have an amino acid that is found in meat. They will not survive on a vegatarian diet. A dog on the other hand could, because they are not dependent on a component of meat to survive like cats.

 

thank you for the info!
sera, you're lucky you don't have to worry about leaving food out. i've gotta guard my chocolate like a hawk... and it's so gross to find a half-eaten chunk of broccoli with your bare foot in the middle of the night. you're certainly lucky there, too.

tarabelle, i've heard something about cats on an all veggie diet. i remember peta trying to encourage it, and when some other group did a study on it, all the cats ended up blind. what you said definitely makes sense.

but anyway, thanks again. perhaps i can toss a couple peas into his food every now and then to spice things up.

 

It's fine for cats to eat veggies. However as they are carnivores by nature extra special care must be taken to ensure they get all the vital nutriets.

Those that can be lacking are.... protein, taurine, arachiodic acid, and retinol (vitamin A)

Some people do manage to give their cats a healthy veggie diet, there is a special suppliment (called vegcat, or something like that) that tides them over nutrient wise.

I'm sure there are sites that can provide better info.

 

my cat eats chocolate muffins. just thought that would add something to the converstion...

 

haha oddly enough my cat loves chocolate muffins, too. i was eating one a week or so ago, and when i turned around, he was up on the table munchin' away. of course, i tell him no, take him off the table, and move the muffin to higher ground... and minutes later, he's at it again, trying to swipe my muffin.

i think chocolate is really bad for cats, so i've gotta guard it from him. especially muffins, oreos and ice cream. it's ridiculous, he's a fiend.

and sage, you're totally right about the suppliments. i knew a little about taurine, but i didn't know about the other suppliments, though. thanks for the info!

 

i have read that onions are toxic to cats...otherwise, i wouldn't be worried if he steals your broccolli...hehe cuteness.