Feeding 'people foods' to dogs and cats

Some pet owners enjoy feeding their dogs and cats "people foods" for the same reasons that they like to give them treats and snacks. Providing a special treat is a way of showing affection and love, and adding table scraps and other choice food items to a pet's diet is believed to enhance the pet's enjoyment of the meal. Although some human foods are unsuitable for companion animals and should not be fed at all, others only become detrimental if they make up too high a proportion of the pet's diet. Some pet owners insist on feeing least small amount of "people foods" to their companion animals.

MEAT AND POULTRY

Some pet owners believe that because cats and dogs are carnivorous in nature, they should be able o survive on an all-meat diet. However, the muscle tissue of meat and poultry alone cannot supply complete nutrition to companion animals. Both of these high-protein foods are deficient in calcium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, copper, iodine, and several vitamins. It is true that, in the wild, the ancestors of dogs and cats survived on freshly killed meat. However, the fact that they consumed their entire prey, including bones, organs and intestinal contents, is often overlooked. Like other supplemental foods, the addition of meat and poultry to the diet should be strictly limited because of their potential to imbalance the pet's diet.

FISH

Most cats and some dogs love the taste of fish. Advertising campaigns used by some pet food companies have convinced people that cats prefer the taste of fish over many other food items. In reality, cats enjoy fish to about the same degree that they enjoy several other high-protein foods. Although fish is a good source of protein for dogs and cats, it does not supply complete nutrition. In general, most types of deboned fish are deficient in calcium, sodium, iron, copper and several vitamins. Some types of fish also contain small bones that are difficult to remove before cooking. These bones may easily lodge in a pet's throat or gastrointestinal tract and cause perforation or obstruction.

TUNA is a type of fish that is commonly fed to cats because it is readily available and inexpensive. Canned tuna packed in oil contains high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The excessive intake of these oils can result in a vitamin E deficiency as a result of their high polyunsaturated fat and low vitamin E content. In the cat, this can eventually manifest as a condition called pansteatitis or "yellow fat disease" Signs of pansteatitis include decreased appetite, lethargy, elevated temperature, and tenderness and pain in the chest and abdomen. Treatment includes eliminating fish from the cat's diet and replacing it with a well balanced, high-quality commercial cat food.
Raw fish should never be fed to pets. Certain types of fish, such as carp and herring, contain a compound that destroys thiamine, a B vitamin, and may cause a thiamine deficiency.
There is also the potential for parasite transmission when raw fish is fed.

LIVER

Liver is an excellent source of iron, protein, copper, vitamin D, and several B vitamins. However, like other single food items, it is not a nutritionally complete food.
Liver is severely deficient in calcium and excessively high in Vitamin A. Both of these nutritional imbalances can cause bone disorders. Vitamin A toxicity has been shown to develop slowly over a period of years in cats that were regularly fed fresh liver as their primary dietary protein source. The bone deformities of vitamin A toxicity form gradually and may go undetected for several years. Severe and irreversible crippling eventually occurs, and diagnosis is often too late to be of any help. Although small amounts of liver added to a cat's diet are not harmful, liver as a primary component of the diet should be avoided.

MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS

Almost all cats and dogs love the taste of milk. Although milk and dairy products are excellent sources of calcium, protein, phosphorus, and several vitamins, excessive intake may cause diarrhoea in young and adult pets. Milk contains the simple sugar lactose.
Lactose requires breakdown in the intestinal tract by the enzyme LACTASE. Some cats and dogs do not produce sufficient amounts of lactase to handle the large quantity of lactose present in milk. Lack of sufficient lactase results in an inability to completely digest milk and subsequently causes digestive upsets and diarrhoea. Dairy products such as cheese, buttermilk, and yogurt contain slightly lower levels of lactose. Even though these products may be more easily tolerated, they still have the potential for causing diarrhoea and dietary imbalances. Most pets can tolerate and enjoy an occasional bowl of milk, but like all supplementation, the practice of feeding milk should be strictly limited.

Dairy products should not be used as a supplemental source of calcium or protein. Excess dietary calcium can contribute to the development of skeletal disorders in growing dogs and is not helpful in preventing eclampsia in lactating dams.

Although dairy products do supply high-quality protein, they contain deficiencies and excesses of other nutrients and may contribute to a dietary imbalance if large amounts are added to an otherwise adequate diet.