People vs Animal Diets

[Suzy Wong]

Sharky is a sweety! very nice fluffy hair....

Lucky! My cats live on the furniture. They go where ever they'd like, including the dining room table. My senior cat, will eat breakfast right next to my (human) son, he likes smoked salmon, cottage cheese, skim milk, toast, to name a few....And he's quite a big boy....But he takes his daily insulin shot like a trooper.....

[jodyrah]

I'm sure most everyone knows no chocolate for dogs. I did not know until recently that onion are garlic are toxic. Even foods cooked with onions can kill. Small amounts should not be harmful but should be avoided. Larger amounts of onion will not kill you pooch immediately, it takes appoximately 24 hours. I googled this and there are many articles.

[edible complex]

I'm sure most everyone knows no chocolate for dogs. I did not know until recently that onion are garlic are toxic. Even foods cooked with onions can kill. Small amounts should not be harmful but should be avoided. Larger amounts of onion will not kill you pooch immediately, it takes appoximately 24 hours. I googled this and there are many articles.

ham is not good either, and grapes can lead to renal failure.
cat food is not good for dogs either, as it is too high in fat and protein and can lead to pancreatitis.
while many feed people a homecooked, raw or BARF diet, you have to be very careful with "people" food in the canine diet and know how to get a good balance in the diet.
for a list of foods not to feed your dog:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... cleid=1030

[Admin]

Years ago, I knew a very generous, golden-hearted woman who owned five dogs. They were her pampered babies, and she bought stew meat, which she cooked specifically for them every day. I once commented was that something she did for them because of their advanced age, as they all looked to be between 12 and 15 years old. It was only then I learned the oldest among them was five.

[justagirl]

My dad has a list on the fridge at his camp of the things that are bad for pets to eat. I guess that's a good idea.

My dogs get fed the same amount of the same food about the same time and in the same place every morning. I'm structured. lol

When they come in from outside, it's funny, the run right to the kitchen and sit in front of the 'treat' drawer.

I absolutely hate it when people come over and ask if my dogs eat people food. I tell them no, then just a short while later I get "well they like...such and such." No kidding really? Of course they'll eat it, I just don't give it to them. And they do not come around me when I am eating, they know better.

They are both in excellent shape, the right size and sweet as can be.

OK, got to run, time to sweep up more dog hair...LOL

[ChoWeb]

Of course, what has to be remembered about animals like cats and dogs is their relative size. A cat's healthy weight range is between 9-11 lbs., give or take a pound depending on the structure of your cat. However, in percentage, a pound gained is nearly 10% of their weight. Anything more than 5 lbs overweight and you're talking obesity. Cats are also strict carnivores (in spite of what the Beneful company would have you think) They don't digest starch well, which includes most plants. Forget grains. Dogs on the other hand are different and are a bit more flexible in their diets.

The bottom line is that lazy pets that don't exercise and have unlimited access to food can and will be fat, too. Its just not as easily recognizable in them as it is in us given how well fur hides it and that they don't need to have as much fat as we do in order to be overweight. My cat is currently 12 lbs and now is on a diet to shave off the pound. It sounds trivial, and would be to someone human size, just as an extra 15 lbs in a blue whale isn't going to be a big deal.

Oh, and I totally agree with JAG. No people food under any circumstances. It really isn't hard. I never offered it to my cat and she doesn't even look at it as something edible. She likes her dried food and only her dried food.

[Titchou]

For neutered male cats, people food can be very bad. My current angel had a plate of people food every night when we ate dinner...chicken, shrimp, potatoes, and had a piece of angel food cake (he's a confirmed sweets addict) every day. Well, then his urine crystalized (very common in neutered males) and after two days in the vet, IV'd and catheterized, no more people food. 10 years later, he's doing fine but still wants whatever I'm eating. He doesn't get it but I do have to sometimes lock him up so I can eat in peace. You'd think he'd forget what it tastes like by now. He got up to 15 pounds on Science Diet but we changed the formula he was on and now he's down to about 12 which is much more in line with where he should be. He was so fat he's never learned to jump a fence...was 3 before he ever learned to jump on the counters.

[Oyster]

Of course, what has to be remembered about animals like cats and dogs is their relative size. A cat's healthy weight range is between 9-11 lbs., give or take a pound depending on the structure of your cat. However, in percentage, a pound gained is nearly 10% of their weight. Anything more than 5 lbs overweight and you're talking obesity.

Our Maine Coons will eat your puny little 9lb cat. How about up to 25lbs!

From Wiki:
Maine Coons are very large and energetic cats, sometimes weighing up to around 11-12 kilograms (25 pounds); the average weight is 6 to 9 kilograms (13-20 pounds) for adult males and less (7-11 pounds) for females. Male Maine Coons may grow to a length in excess of 1 meter (40 inches); as of 2006, the longest cat on record is a male Maine Coon measuring 122cm (48 inches) in length.[9] Growth to full size often takes longer than for most cats, with Maine Coons usually reaching full size at age four or five.

[ChoWeb]

Our Maine Coons will eat your puny little 9lb cat. How about up to 25lbs!

From Wiki:
Maine Coons are very large and energetic cats, sometimes weighing up to around 11-12 kilograms (25 pounds); the average weight is 6 to 9 kilograms (13-20 pounds) for adult males and less (7-11 pounds) for females. Male Maine Coons may grow to a length in excess of 1 meter (40 inches); as of 2006, the longest cat on record is a male Maine Coon measuring 122cm (48 inches) in length.[9] Growth to full size often takes longer than for most cats, with Maine Coons usually reaching full size at age four or five.

Yeah! Those are big boys. My friend had one who hated woman and it'd corner me whenever I'd walk in the house hissing. Or maybe my friend just said that to make me feel better and it really was just me. That's probably more likely.

Ok, I should amend to say for your standard domestic short hair house cat they should be in between 9-11 lbs. If you have a Bengal, or something other breed that runs big, then by all means. Of course, the Vets know best.

[edible complex]

From Wiki:
Maine Coons are very large and energetic cats, sometimes weighing up to around 11-12 kilograms (25 pounds)

so I guess one of my girls is a Maine Coon...that's her story and she's sticking to it.